Yahoo! owned photo-sharing website Flickr has become a top priority for further investment according to new chief executive Marissa Mayer, in a bid to catch-up on rivals Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Earlier this week Flickr released the first significant overhaul to its mobile presence by updating its iPhone app to include Instagram-like artistic photo filters, and the ability to share uploads on both Twitter and Facebook.
The changes come shortly after Twitter unveiled its own photo-editing suite, complete with retro photo filters. The new tool was introduced after Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – cut ties with Twitter meaning that users could no longer view Instagram pictures directly from the Twitter platform.
In a recent interview Flickr’s head of product marketing in Europe confirmed Flickr was a focus for Mayer, commenting: "Supporting our core products on mobile is an important goal as well. With the launch of this app we hope to optimise the rich functionality of Flickr on desktop on the mobile. It's been a core focus since Marissa's been here”.
Following news of her appointment earlier this year a dedicated website dearmarissamayer.com was set up with an open plea to Mayer to “make Flickr awesome again”.
Since Yahoo! purchased Flickr for a reported $35 million in 2005 the site has lost significant ground to its rivals with Instagram now boasting more than 100 million amateur photographers on the platform.