Petapixel:

Flickr is in trouble… again… or maybe still. In an open letter to Flickr users and fans published on the company’s blog, SmugMug CEO and Co-Founder Don MacAskill admitted that his company has not yet managed to make Flickr profitable, and implored photographers to consider upgrading to Flickr Pro in order to “keep the Flickr dream alive.”

The letter, titled “The world’s most-beloved, money-losing business needs your help,” starts by explaining why SmugMug acquired Flickr in the first place, and all of the progress that has been made.

“We didn’t buy Flickr because we thought it was a cash cow. Unlike platforms like Facebook, we also didn’t buy it to invade your privacy and sell your data,” says CEO MacAskill. “We bought it because we love photographers, we love photography, and we believe Flickr deserves not only to live on but thrive. We think the world agrees; and we think the Flickr community does, too. But we cannot continue to operate it at a loss as we’ve been doing.”

This is not good. Given the desperation of this, I wouldn’t expect Flickr to be around in its present state in two years.