For those that don’t know, Flickr is owned by Yahoo. Some think the consolidation will destroy what has been the internet’s most popular photo management and sharing site.
The fears are that Microsoft will either moderate and censor photos or take away the open nature of the site and the Flickr API (Application Program Interface). Really, It’s all the same concerns that arose when Yahoo acquired Flickr… and so it goes on.
With Flickr’s popularity, Microsoft will certainly not shut it down as it has done with other companies, but the most definite integration with Windows Live may make some people cringe. On the top end of the spectrum however, this may help their search market share. There may be an increase, but even combining Microsoft and Yahoo together doesn’t begin to approach Google’s dominance in the market.
Oh, have you noticed? This has gone on for a long time.
