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Speaking of people being annoying with the Web 2.0 stuff, flickr has introduced the idea of "blocking" other flickr users from doing stuff with your photos: see the 30th July, 2005 entry in Flickr news (no <a name/> tags to link to).

What's interesting about this feature is that it only works if the person is logged in to their flickr account. I suspect that if they're either logged out of the account, or (of course), if they start up a new account, they'll be able to much with your fotes full force.

So, if you really wanted to fuck with someone, you could get around this blocking stuff. This doesn't mean that blocking is broken, per say, and it doesn't infect other key features, e.g., you still have to be logged in to do things like add tags to other people's photos.

Bobby-Jo's Soppy Head

What's interesting to me here is the question: does the blocked user value their flickr identity enough that this blocking feature would work?

That is, let's say I'm a disgruntled ex-boyfriend who, until that big fight last night, was marked as a "friend" of sweet, sweet Bobby-Jo's in flickr. Now, being an asshole, I want to go to each of Bobby-Jo's pictures (esp. those of me and her together! yeah!), and add in notes that say things like, "check out the fat-head on Bobby-Jo!" or comments like, "my grandmother's bacon grease cup has more character than your soppy head, Bobby-Jo! (Take me back! Plz advise.)"

Instead, because Bobby-Jo has blocked me, I can't add any of these things. Now, if blocking works, I'll have the following thought, "damn it! that mawkish-twat has blocked me! I only have this one identity on flickr, and there's no way or reason I can switch it or use another one! The state of being that person is too valuable to me, even when I want to go graffiti up sweet, sweet Bobby-Jo's fotes."

The Identity Roach Motel

That is, it's an interesting study of using roach-motel lock-in, via identity, to control an online user's behavior. In this case, the flickr identity of the above asshole, is so valuable, that they only want to take on/use that identity online. So, you can use that fact to derive feature implementations, like this blocking business.

Whether it'll work: we'll see. It certainly works (?), on the classic example of this identity-lockin, eBay.