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February 07, 2008
Flickr fans take on Microsoft
Fans of Flickr, Yahoo's photo-sharing service, want Microsoft to leave Flickr alone if the software giant successfully acquires Yahoo.
To accentuate their point, loyal Flickrites created a group, MICROSOFT: KEEP YOUR EVlL GRUBBY HANDS OFF OF OUR FLICKR, which features images portraying their sentiment, like the crying Britney guy above. After a few days, the group had accumulated 2,539 members and 263 images.
The group fears what Microsoft might do to their beloved site, so members launched a petition drive and are making plans to migrate to competitors' sites if their fears are realized.
At this point, there's not much Microsoft can do except listen closely, but it could have a swat team of empathetic community managers standing by if and when the acquisition goes through. Reaching out to existing Yahoo communities would be key to a smooth integration of company assets.
If Microsoft plays it right, this could be an ideal opportunity for Microsoft to win over an evangelistic, and vocal, group of fans that Yahoo has successfully nurtured via Flickr, Groups, and Answers.
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