Small Biz

Focus

Be flexible but don't lose sight of your priorities

When Flickr announced the integration of members' Flickr accounts and Yahoo IDs, the team expected (and received) pushback from old-school members attached to the Flickr brand. But Champ says the photo of a dog used on the new sign-in page attracted an unanticipated amount of antipathy from Flickr users, some of whom used the basset hound as a scapegoat for their feelings about the Yahoo acquisition. (At one point, she says, removal of the dog was one of the most requested Flickr "features.") The canine was eventually retired, but Champ says the change was made when the site relaunched and not as a result of the feedback. "Would I rather have the team developing something fabulous and new," she asks, or spending their time on a sign-in page that users step through in seconds? "I think it comes down to balancing where effort should be going."