iPhone, the Fifth Most Popular "Camera" on Flickr

Here's what I consider to be a fascinating statistic: iPhone is now ranked as the fifth most popular camera in the Flickr community (see: Most Popular Cameras in the Flickr Community). For readers who have never heard of it. Flickr is the preeminent photo-storing and sharing web site and passed the three billion mark for stored images last November. In this survey and preceding iPhone in the ranking were three Canon digital cameras and one Nikon model. So what are we to make of these data regarding "camera" preferences? Below are some of my initial observations:

• As with many examples of emerging information technology, camera functionality was initially integrated into cell phones in order to appeal to buyers and because it did not add excessively to the product price point. "Let's throw it against the wall and see if it sticks."
• This same camera and video functionality is now a highly valued feature of cell phones because, in part, the convenience factor of the technology for users provides a significant advantage -- the snaps can be immediately mailed as attachments via the internet to friends and for posting on Flickr. The convenience factor trumped the photo quality factor.
• Having just returned from a hiking vacation in Arizona, I did not take my camera with me on any of the excursions. I just used the cell phone to take photos because I had it with me anyway and I was not overly picky about the quality of the images.
• Now and given the obvious appeal of this camera feature for users, cell phone manufacturers will continue to improve the quality of the images that can be taken such that for many users, perhaps the majority of them, a standard camera will be an unnecessary purchase. The creation of a virtuous circle. This is similar to the custom now that many young people no longer wear wrist watches -- their cell phones now conveniently provide the time of day.
• This whole scenario reminds me of Christensen's disruptive technology theory whereby a technological innovation is brought to market that improves a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically by being lower priced or designed for a different set of consumers. The camera manufacturers did not initially understand this threat to their business. This is also a classic example of technology convergence.
• Although Flickr has a huge lead in terms of a web service for storing photos, other services more tightly integrated into microblogging such as Twitter will arise such as TwitPic and SnapTweet that enable users to post their Flickr photos on Twitter.
• The quality of microblogging will increase enormously with the ability to more closely integrate photos and videos with tweets, allowing more complex narratives. This is particularly important given the 140 character limit that is placed on tweets. This new type of information integration will attract more users to Twitter. Another virtuous circle.

Comments

[Brian Dolan]

Bruce, I'd like to add to Ole's question: While the iPhone is understandable convenient as a camera while on vacation and other on-the-go situations, even if it's screen was large enough to use in the way Ole explained, I wonder if there's a need or a reason to use the iPhone to diagnose pathology cases? Can you think of a scenario where it'd be MORE convenient?

[Ole Eichhorn]

Bruce, just curious, would you be comfortable and/or would you find it useful to diagnose pathology cases via whole-slide images viewed on an iPhone?

The resolution is there, and the color quality, but I wonder if you can see enough imagery information at once on such a small screen to make the experience useful.