No, it’s not about Web 2.0

I just converted my entire 2,500 photo, 3 year collection to be hosted on flickr instead of on shutterfly or on my home-built server.

There are a number of reasons for this, but it’s not about web 2.0.  I’m so sick of the web 2.0 buzz-bubble I could puke.  Shutterfly could have added better photo classification features.  But they didn’t.   Shutterfly could have created an interface that was less graphically heavy…but they didn’t.   I’ve even seen the new Shutterfly and though I can’t talk about what it’s got in it, I’m still using flickr.  It’s just about listening to what users want, and then trusting that if you build a service they’ll love, they’ll show you how to make money from it.

This is actually a lesson my CEO has taught me repeatedly.  Offer services clients value, and they’ll show you how to make money.  It is, in fact, deceptively simple.  And by the way, if you’re building a service you’re not sure if they’ll value, you’re going to get your butt kicked.  Bubble, burst, pot kettle black.  You know the drill.

That photo badge in the upper right corner of my site is the latest flickr photo from the daily baby set, or you can always go to my flickr page and see what I’ve made public.