Monitor Flickr with RSS: 4 Unique Tools

Monitoring Flickr for Updates: Beyond Basic RSS Feeds

Many individuals utilize Flickr as a source of visual inspiration. Consequently, a common question arises regarding effective methods for tracking the platform's ongoing updates and interesting content.

One established approach involves utilizing RSS feeds to monitor Flickr. However, the native RSS subscription options offered by the site, while functional, are somewhat limited in their adaptability.

Available Flickr RSS Feed Options

Flickr currently provides RSS feeds covering a range of activities. These include public photos and videos, updates from friends’ photostreams, publicly favorited images from specific users, group discussions, group pools, forum conversations, and recent activity related to your own photo stream.

Additionally, feeds are available for tracking recent comments you have posted on the platform.

Tools for Enhanced Flickr RSS Feed Control

For users seeking greater control and flexibility over their Flickr RSS feeds, several third-party tools are available. These options allow for more refined filtering and management of image updates.

These tools can provide a more tailored experience, enabling users to focus on the specific content they find most valuable within the Flickr ecosystem.

By leveraging these resources, individuals can effectively stay informed about the latest visual contributions and discussions on Flickr.

Flickr's "Interestingness" Photo RSS Feeds

Flickr features an "Interestingness" section, showcasing photos gaining traction within its community. This section highlights images that are currently popular based on various factors.

Flickr determines 'interestingness' through a complex algorithm. This considers clickthroughs, comments, favorites, tags, and numerous other constantly evolving elements.

The platform explains that "Interestingness" isn't static; it shifts as new and compelling content is uploaded.

Subscribing via RSS

Flickr photo RSS feeds provide a convenient method for tracking the "Interestingness" section using a feed reader of your choice.

Two distinct feed options are available to users:

A feed delivering four recently popular photos each day.
A feed presenting a single, daily featured photo.

The following illustrates how the feed appears when accessed through Google Reader:

These RSS feeds offer a curated view of the most engaging photography on Flickr.

Generating Flickr RSS Feeds Based on Tags

We previously reviewed a useful tool at MUO – the Flickr RSS Feed Generator. It leverages the Flickr API to gather images based on user-defined criteria and outputs a readily usable RSS feed.

This feed can then be subscribed to with any preferred feed reader application.

Customizable Parameters

Several parameters allow for precise control over the generated feed. These include:

Tags: The keywords used to search for images.
Tag Mode: Determines whether all specified tags must be present, or if any tag matches are sufficient.
Sorting: Images can be ordered by 'interestingness', upload date, or relevance.
Maximum Images: The number of images to include in the feed can be limited.

The generated RSS feed provides direct links to both the image page on Flickr and the image itself.

Specifically, it includes a link to the full-size image and a preview link.

The image preview and direct link to the image file are both included within the feed.

digestr: A Flickr Photo Digest Tool

digestr, though currently unavailable, was a resourceful application designed to generate a consolidated digest of Flickr uploads based on user-defined criteria. Its primary function was to circumvent a limitation within the Flickr RSS feed, which at the time only displayed the 20 most recent photographs.

The core concept behind digestr involved combining multiple new photos—posted since the last update—into a single, easily navigable post.

How digestr Improved Flickr Feed Monitoring

Consider the example of an RSS feed originating from a photo pool focused on poor signage. Each update’s title clearly indicates the number of new uploads discovered for that specific day. All newly added photos are presented within a readily scannable digest format.

This approach significantly reduces the likelihood of missing important updates, even when numerous photos are uploaded in a short period.

The tool proved particularly beneficial for actively maintained groups or photo streams that aren't updated frequently, but receive a substantial number of new uploads at once. As explained by its developer:

The initial motivation stemmed from a desire to enhance the experience for friends and family subscribing to photos of my son, Atticus. My updates featuring Atticus typically occur monthly, potentially resulting in a backlog of 10 to 50 pictures. The standard Flickr RSS feed displays each of the latest 20 uploaded images as a separate "post." Therefore, subscribers could receive a burst of up to 20 new posts (and no access to photos beyond that limit). digestr aimed to consolidate these photos into a single, convenient post.

digestr offered a solution to the limitations of the standard Flickr RSS feed, providing a more manageable and comprehensive way to stay informed about new photo uploads.

Discovering Distinctive RSS Feeds from Yahoo! Pipe Users

The ingenuity of Yahoo! Pipe users consistently impresses. I recently dedicated time to exploring numerous Flickr-related mashups, selecting four that stood out as particularly interesting. It’s likely many more valuable pipes exist that I haven’t yet discovered.

Here are the ones I found (please share any other compelling Yahoo! Pipes focused on Flickr in the comments!):

1. Tracking Top Contributors in Flickr Groups

If you frequently engage with specific Flickr groups – such as those utilizing Creative Commons licenses – this pipe enables you to monitor its most active contributors. Simply input the group ID, the desired number of photos per contributor, the total photo count for the output, and the number of top contributors to analyze.

2. Customizing Flickr Feed Image Sizes

This pipe offers the ability to override Flickr’s default thumbnail sizes within RSS feeds, allowing you to specify your preferred image dimensions. Supported sizes include Original, Large, Medium, Small, Thumbnail, and Square – capitalization is important.

3. Enhanced Flickr Group Photostreams

As its name indicates, this pipe facilitates subscribing to RSS feeds for any Flickr group. Notably, it retrieves up to 500 photos, exceeding the standard limit of 20, and allows for custom image size selection.

4. Identifying Engaging Flickr Images (Excluding Flowers)

This pipe is designed to track the most interesting images on Flickr, while filtering out photographs of flowers – a feature for those seeking diverse visual content.