Flickr Fundamentals: A Tour of Flickr Explore

Flickr Fundamentals

What’s more fundamental to Flickr than celebrating the incredible photography of our community? Our Explore page does just that, which is why we’re here to give you a full rundown of Flickr’s most popular destination. Join us as we demystify Flickr’s Explore page in our latest edition of Flickr Fundamentals.

What is Explore? 

Flickr’s Explore page conveniently lives in your navigation bar. It’s one of the most frequently visited pages on Flickr, which is why having your photo featured there is one of the best ways to get your work in front of millions of photographers and potential future fans. Flickr serves up 500 new images every day to be featured in Explore, providing a rotating showcase of amazing photography that captures the talent and creativity of Flickr photographers from all over the world. 

How Explore curation works

With millions of photos on Flickr, how do we choose just 500 for prime visibility? There are two ways that Explore is curated. The most frequently used method for curation is an algorithm which pulls 500 images based on criteria that we’ll explain shortly. The second approach is a manual curation by the Flickr Community Team which is done once a month and allows staff to handpick photos. 

The algorithmic approach

What shows up in your activity feed on Flickr is fully within your control and free of algorithmic influence. The Explore page, on the other hand, gets a little help. Most days, Explore is curated with the help of an algorithm that factors in variables that include Flickr’s “Interestingness” score and your activity level on the site. “Interestingness” is an internal scoring process that determines which photos are interesting to our community. Some of that scoring is based on data like where the clickthroughs to photos are coming from, who comments on a photo and when, and who marks a photo as a favorite. On Flickr, interestingness changes over time, as more content and stories are added. This means certain aspects of the interestingness scoring remain fluid and somewhat mysterious. One thing that does remain consistent is that original, high quality content helps you achieve those higher scoring marks. So keep it interesting and inspiring! 

Less mysterious but also important to the Explore algorithm is activity level. Activity is measured by a variety of things like joining groups that best meet your interests, your level of engagement in those groups, and photos of yours that include relevant tags. Regularly posting photos is another contributing factor to activity scoring. Photographic metadata is also important for a number of reasons and that remains true for potential Explore features as well. More metadata that is provided for each photo, helps to influence photo scoring so don’t skip this step. 

Teaching Chemistry

Followers don’t equal features

Explore is a great way to gain followers and network with the Flickr community, but it’s not a popularity contest. While activity and engagement is factored into how the algorithm works, Flickr members with more followers do not necessarily have an advantage when it comes to being featured on Explore. 

Another variable that is NOT factored into the selection process is whether you’re a Pro or Free member. Pros don’t have an edge on getting featured in Explore, so whether you are enjoying all of the Pro perks or have a free account, you have equal footing when it comes to getting featured on the Explore page. 

Handpicked features through Explore takeovers

We’ve covered the mysteries of Explore’s algorithm. Now let’s talk about manual curation, the other key method for curating Explore content. At least once a month, the Flickr Community team holds an Explore Takeover where staff members have the pleasure of handpicking theme-specific photos for Explore. At the beginning of each month, the Community team creates a brand new Explore Takeover thread in the Flickr Social group announcing the month’s Explore Takeover theme. The thread is then opened for Flickr members to share on-theme photo submissions, giving them a better chance at having their photos make it to Explore. Staff members will then use these threads as their primary source for building the Takeover for that month. While there are no limits to how many photos can be added, we do ask that you stay on theme and refrain from spamming the thread with random images. 

Explore Takeovers go live the last Thursday of every month. From time to time, the Community team will also sneak in a surprise Takeover so pay attention to Explore. You never know when you’ll run into a fun surprise treat, like our tribute to Flickr’s 21st birthday earlier this year.  

Celebrating your Explore achievements

Now that you have some background on how and why a photo is selected for Explore, what’s next? If your photo is featured in Explore, you’ll receive a comment from Flickr giving you a virtual high five and big congrats on the achievement. After that, get ready for more cheers and accolades from the community. Comments, feedback and conversation are where Flickr engagement thrives and Explore helps you achieve that goal. Use this time to connect with other photographers, discuss photography and continue building your community.

As one of Flickr’s most visited pages, having a photo featured on Explore can dramatically increase your views and likely earn you plenty of favorites along the way. If you’re feeling generous and want to celebrate the moment, consider scrolling through that day’s Explore page and sharing some appreciation with the other Flickr members who are featured alongside you. It’s a great way to keep the positive energy flowing through the Flickr community. Hope to see you on Explore!

Flickr Fundamentals: A Tour of Flickr Explore

Flickr Fundamentals

What’s more fundamental to Flickr than celebrating the incredible photography of our community? Our Explore page does just that, which is why we’re here to give you a full rundown of Flickr’s most popular destination. Join us as we demystify Flickr’s Explore page in our latest edition of Flickr Fundamentals.

What is Explore? 

Flickr’s Explore page conveniently lives in your navigation bar. It’s one of the most frequently visited pages on Flickr, which is why having your photo featured there is one of the best ways to get your work in front of millions of photographers and potential future fans. Flickr serves up 500 new images every day to be featured in Explore, providing a rotating showcase of amazing photography that captures the talent and creativity of Flickr photographers from all over the world. 

How Explore curation works

With millions of photos on Flickr, how do we choose just 500 for prime visibility? There are two ways that Explore is curated. The most frequently used method for curation is an algorithm which pulls 500 images based on criteria that we’ll explain shortly. The second approach is a manual curation by the Flickr Community Team which is done once a month and allows staff to handpick photos. 

The algorithmic approach

What shows up in your activity feed on Flickr is fully within your control and free of algorithmic influence. The Explore page, on the other hand, gets a little help. Most days, Explore is curated with the help of an algorithm that factors in variables that include Flickr’s “Interestingness” score and your activity level on the site. “Interestingness” is an internal scoring process that determines which photos are interesting to our community. Some of that scoring is based on data like where the clickthroughs to photos are coming from, who comments on a photo and when, and who marks a photo as a favorite. On Flickr, interestingness changes over time, as more content and stories are added. This means certain aspects of the interestingness scoring remain fluid and somewhat mysterious. One thing that does remain consistent is that original, high quality content helps you achieve those higher scoring marks. So keep it interesting and inspiring! 

Less mysterious but also important to the Explore algorithm is activity level. Activity is measured by a variety of things like joining groups that best meet your interests, your level of engagement in those groups, and photos of yours that include relevant tags. Regularly posting photos is another contributing factor to activity scoring. Photographic metadata is also important for a number of reasons and that remains true for potential Explore features as well. More metadata that is provided for each photo, helps to influence photo scoring so don’t skip this step. 

Teaching Chemistry

Followers don’t equal features

Explore is a great way to gain followers and network with the Flickr community, but it’s not a popularity contest. While activity and engagement is factored into how the algorithm works, Flickr members with more followers do not necessarily have an advantage when it comes to being featured on Explore. 

Another variable that is NOT factored into the selection process is whether you’re a Pro or Free member. Pros don’t have an edge on getting featured in Explore, so whether you are enjoying all of the Pro perks or have a free account, you have equal footing when it comes to getting featured on the Explore page. 

Handpicked features through Explore takeovers

We’ve covered the mysteries of Explore’s algorithm. Now let’s talk about manual curation, the other key method for curating Explore content. At least once a month, the Flickr Community team holds an Explore Takeover where staff members have the pleasure of handpicking theme-specific photos for Explore. At the beginning of each month, the Community team creates a brand new Explore Takeover thread in the Flickr Social group announcing the month’s Explore Takeover theme. The thread is then opened for Flickr members to share on-theme photo submissions, giving them a better chance at having their photos make it to Explore. Staff members will then use these threads as their primary source for building the Takeover for that month. While there are no limits to how many photos can be added, we do ask that you stay on theme and refrain from spamming the thread with random images. 

Explore Takeovers go live the last Thursday of every month. From time to time, the Community team will also sneak in a surprise Takeover so pay attention to Explore. You never know when you’ll run into a fun surprise treat, like our tribute to Flickr’s 21st birthday earlier this year.  

Celebrating your Explore achievements

Now that you have some background on how and why a photo is selected for Explore, what’s next? If your photo is featured in Explore, you’ll receive a comment from Flickr giving you a virtual high five and big congrats on the achievement. After that, get ready for more cheers and accolades from the community. Comments, feedback and conversation are where Flickr engagement thrives and Explore helps you achieve that goal. Use this time to connect with other photographers, discuss photography and continue building your community.

As one of Flickr’s most visited pages, having a photo featured on Explore can dramatically increase your views and likely earn you plenty of favorites along the way. If you’re feeling generous and want to celebrate the moment, consider scrolling through that day’s Explore page and sharing some appreciation with the other Flickr members who are featured alongside you. It’s a great way to keep the positive energy flowing through the Flickr community. Hope to see you on Explore!

Flickr Fundamentals: A Tour of Flickr Explore

Flickr Fundamentals

What’s more fundamental to Flickr than celebrating the incredible photography of our community? Our Explore page does just that, which is why we’re here to give you a full rundown of Flickr’s most popular destination. Join us as we demystify Flickr’s Explore page in our latest edition of Flickr Fundamentals.

What is Explore? 

Flickr’s Explore page conveniently lives in your navigation bar. It’s one of the most frequently visited pages on Flickr, which is why having your photo featured there is one of the best ways to get your work in front of millions of photographers and potential future fans. Flickr serves up 500 new images every day to be featured in Explore, providing a rotating showcase of amazing photography that captures the talent and creativity of Flickr photographers from all over the world. 

How Explore curation works

With millions of photos on Flickr, how do we choose just 500 for prime visibility? There are two ways that Explore is curated. The most frequently used method for curation is an algorithm which pulls 500 images based on criteria that we’ll explain shortly. The second approach is a manual curation by the Flickr Community Team which is done once a month and allows staff to handpick photos. 

The algorithmic approach

What shows up in your activity feed on Flickr is fully within your control and free of algorithmic influence. The Explore page, on the other hand, gets a little help. Most days, Explore is curated with the help of an algorithm that factors in variables that include Flickr’s “Interestingness” score and your activity level on the site. “Interestingness” is an internal scoring process that determines which photos are interesting to our community. Some of that scoring is based on data like where the clickthroughs to photos are coming from, who comments on a photo and when, and who marks a photo as a favorite. On Flickr, interestingness changes over time, as more content and stories are added. This means certain aspects of the interestingness scoring remain fluid and somewhat mysterious. One thing that does remain consistent is that original, high quality content helps you achieve those higher scoring marks. So keep it interesting and inspiring! 

Less mysterious but also important to the Explore algorithm is activity level. Activity is measured by a variety of things like joining groups that best meet your interests, your level of engagement in those groups, and photos of yours that include relevant tags. Regularly posting photos is another contributing factor to activity scoring. Photographic metadata is also important for a number of reasons and that remains true for potential Explore features as well. More metadata that is provided for each photo, helps to influence photo scoring so don’t skip this step. 

Teaching Chemistry

Followers don’t equal features

Explore is a great way to gain followers and network with the Flickr community, but it’s not a popularity contest. While activity and engagement is factored into how the algorithm works, Flickr members with more followers do not necessarily have an advantage when it comes to being featured on Explore. 

Another variable that is NOT factored into the selection process is whether you’re a Pro or Free member. Pros don’t have an edge on getting featured in Explore, so whether you are enjoying all of the Pro perks or have a free account, you have equal footing when it comes to getting featured on the Explore page. 

Handpicked features through Explore takeovers

We’ve covered the mysteries of Explore’s algorithm. Now let’s talk about manual curation, the other key method for curating Explore content. At least once a month, the Flickr Community team holds an Explore Takeover where staff members have the pleasure of handpicking theme-specific photos for Explore. At the beginning of each month, the Community team creates a brand new Explore Takeover thread in the Flickr Social group announcing the month’s Explore Takeover theme. The thread is then opened for Flickr members to share on-theme photo submissions, giving them a better chance at having their photos make it to Explore. Staff members will then use these threads as their primary source for building the Takeover for that month. While there are no limits to how many photos can be added, we do ask that you stay on theme and refrain from spamming the thread with random images. 

Explore Takeovers go live the last Thursday of every month. From time to time, the Community team will also sneak in a surprise Takeover so pay attention to Explore. You never know when you’ll run into a fun surprise treat, like our tribute to Flickr’s 21st birthday earlier this year.  

Celebrating your Explore achievements

Now that you have some background on how and why a photo is selected for Explore, what’s next? If your photo is featured in Explore, you’ll receive a comment from Flickr giving you a virtual high five and big congrats on the achievement. After that, get ready for more cheers and accolades from the community. Comments, feedback and conversation are where Flickr engagement thrives and Explore helps you achieve that goal. Use this time to connect with other photographers, discuss photography and continue building your community.

As one of Flickr’s most visited pages, having a photo featured on Explore can dramatically increase your views and likely earn you plenty of favorites along the way. If you’re feeling generous and want to celebrate the moment, consider scrolling through that day’s Explore page and sharing some appreciation with the other Flickr members who are featured alongside you. It’s a great way to keep the positive energy flowing through the Flickr community. Hope to see you on Explore!