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April 11, 2012

500px Looks to Take on Flickr with New Subscription Plan

By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer

While Flickr is still considered by many to be the main destination on the web for sharing photos, comparative newcomer 500px is looking to take on Flickr, and it's looking to do so by offering up a new level of subscription access to their pictures.



Previously, 500px was out for the big-name users, offering up unlimited uploads and a personalized online portfolio all for $49.95 a year under the so-called “Awesome” plan. And for the target market, this was a good idea, but many couldn't justify paying $50 for a year's worth of unlimited access when they only had a couple dozen photos or so in a year to upload.

Thus, 500px changed its subscription schedule to include the “Plus” plan, a plan that provides unlimited uploads, as well as user analytics like the “Awesome” plan offers, but instead removes the personal portfolio. A free membership plan offers just 10 uploads a week, and for many, that may be enough.

These moves are geared toward pulling more people away from Flickr and into 500px, and considering the market of late, they seem like smart moves. Giving potential users more options ensures that the largest number of potentially interested users become actual users, as no one's looking at their screen and lamenting that they're paying $49.95 a year for a service they only use occasionally. Allowing users to adjust their usage according to their budgets, especially in a soft economy, is also an excellent move.

But it's far too soon to count Flickr out. Flickr's parent company, Yahoo, may have seen better days, especially recently, but they're still a very big name with plenty of patents, cash and power behind them. They have the necessary resources to make the environment very hostile for new entrants. But considering that Google (News - Alert) is also getting into the act with Google+, the new entrant market may have a tough act to follow.

Still though, with Flickr getting what some consider to be short shrift in updates, and Google+ having a few image issues, 500px may well be able to build a sufficient following to make it one to watch, and one to use, ahead of its competitors in the market space.






Edited by Jennifer Russell
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