Yahoo Buys Flickr Photo Sharing Site

Just days after announcing its plans to launch a blog service called 360, Yahoo confirmed it has purchased online photo sharing site Flickr. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Flickr will be integrated into the Yahoo Network, and many of its features brought to Yahoo Photos.

Flickr, currently in beta, allows users to upload their digital photos and place comments and tags within pictures, which become "Flickrized." The service is also tightly integrated with the so-called blogosphere, enabling users to easily post their Flickrized photos onto Web logs.

Yahoo confirmed the deal over the weekend, and employees of Flickr's parent company Ludicorp reassured users that the service will remain the same.

"Flickr will be continuing on the path it's on -- to Flickr 1.0 and beyond," Ludicorp's Caterina Fake wrote. "We're going to grow and change, but we're in it for the long haul, with the same management and same team."

Fake also noted that Flickr's team will not be replaced with corporate suits. "Having the team building out the team's vision for Flickr has been stressed as our number one priority, and keeping us around -- in spite of our wiseassery, tomfoolery and tendency to hoot spontaneously -- is crucial for preserving the Flickrness that is Flickr," she said.

One of the initial changes to come from the deal will enable Yahoo users to log into Flickr using their Yahoo ID.