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Flickr has gotten into the moving pictures business. Just not the way some might expect — or some may want.

The photo-sharing Web site now shows videos up to 90 seconds long. The videos show up anywhere photos do, such as Flickr photostreams and search results. Only Flickr users with a Pro Account (paying members) can upload clips, though anyone can watch Flickr videos.

Or make that “long photos.”

That's the term Flickr uses to describe its video content which, based on the site's highlighted clips, aims to offer the same artsy aesthetic as Flickr photographs but with a more highbrow touch than YouTube.

“It's an evolutionary step,” says Shanan Delp, Flickr's senior product manager. “We don't feel like this is a revolution for Flickr.”

The evolution means 90 seconds per video, and only the first 90 seconds of longer videos will play. You can share a video as a link or embed it in a Web page. A Flickr Pro Account runs $24.95 for one year.

It's certainly new territory for Flickr and its members, which explains other Flickr video definitions like “personal,” “simple” and “The Great Unknown.” But for some Flickr fans, The Great Unknown looks more like The Great Unwanted.

The Flickr group “We Say NO to Videos on Flickr” has more than 29,000 members and a photo pool teeming with anti-video images. Another Flickr group called “NO VIDEO ON FLICKR!!!” has more than 12,000 members and a petition in more than a dozen languages requesting Flickr stick to photography.

“We don't need another YouTube!” it says at the NO VIDEO ON FLICKR!!! page. “I have nothing against YouTube, I just don't want to see all the $*#% that (sic) on there to wind up on here!”

Naturally, there's backlash to the backlash. The Flickr group, “We say YES to Videos on Flickr,” touts itself as saying “no to no,” while the group “we say YES and NO to video!” provides a forum for thoughts pro and con.

Heather Champ, director of community at Flickr, says video is really the first significant change to Flickr since the site launched in 2004. And whether users think Flickr video is a step forward or a step back, Champ notes it is a way of getting back to the site's roots.

“When you can see the story that's framing that image of somebody's baby and cat, it's really enchanting,” Champ says, “and maybe it's really sharing the story of what is ‘the moment.'.”

René A. Guzman | 210SA contributor