The Internet sounded the alarm and, so it appears for now, Flickr has answered the call. The photo-sharing site responded on Thursday to a campaign crying out for a revitalization of the once-great service.
On Tuesday, the website DearMarissaMayer.com published eight simple words its creator hoped would catch fire -- "Dear Marissa Mayer, please make Flickr awesome again."
The target in question, of course, is new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who takes office amid hopeful buzz that she can turn around the ailing Internet giant.
Her background at Google -- and as a developer -- seems to be giving the masses hope for Yahoo's survival. Flickr users, in particular, seem to be crying out the loudest for change.
The website and matching Twitter hashtag were started by Sean Bonner, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and global director of Safecast, a nonprofit that currently monitors radiation levels in Japan. Bonner also runs a "hackerspace" in L.A., is a contributor to BoingBoing, and is involved with several other startups.
"I've always loved Flickr since the beginning," Bonner told Mashable. "After Yahoo bought them, they abandoned it, and it's been falling apart and neglected ever since. I'm hopeful that Marissa Mayer could be a catalyst for change. I didn't have her email address, so this was as great way to sound the bullhorn."
Bonner, however, wasn't positive that the website would be a success. "It was kind of like a litmus test. If I made the website and no one reblogged it, then its a dumb request. But if other people responded and passed it on? Then it must be worthwhile."
Flickr was once considered the go-to place to share photographs on the web. The service launched in February 2004, the same month that Facebook, the current photo-sharing go-to, was launched. A year later, the website was acquired by Yahoo. It thrived for several years, but has been in decline as of late.
Flickr responded to the campaign on July 19 with one of their own:
Bonner, while he would love to hear a "formal commitment from Yahoo that they hope to make it better," and an "official statement on what they plan to do," seems to be happy about the response.
This is awesome!! flickr.com/dearinternet /// They even copied the hidden line of source code!!— Sean Bonner Ⓥ (@seanbonner) July 19, 2012
"Hiring people is a great sign," Bonner told Mashable. "This website is a great sign. They never would have been able to do that three years ago."