Flickr, a giant real-time viewbook of college life?

I’ve never thought about it before, but it makes sense.

Flickr, the popular photo sharing website acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in March 2005, has all it takes to replace your institution viewbook in the heart and mind of some prospective students.

If they search for the truth about college life at your institution in unofficial blogs, they are definitely bound to look for real photo shots taken by their peers already enrolled at your university.

I’m not talking about those late-night party shots that had campus police departments or student life administrators get their facebook accounts. I’m talking about photos taken from the campus buildings, games and other events that students, staff and faculty members upload to share with their friends and family.

Don’t think prospective students will go and search for your institution at Flickr?

Well, think again.

Paul Stamatiou, a student at Georgia Tech as well as a popular blogger, explained last February in an exchange with one of his readers, Michael, that he did use Flickr to get a feel about the institutions he was considering:

“When I was accepted into Georgia Tech, I wasn’t able to visit until the summer. I had gotten into a blind agreement, but then I just hit up flickr and was thoroughly impressed with the photos I found so I wasn’t shocked or anything when I finally got a chance to visit. I also did the same thing with the other 9 or 10 colleges (yeah, I applied to a lot of schools) I was accepted into.”

Michael, apparently a student from American University, then added:

“Another thing about college+flickr is that University Students are more likely to post and tag photos on flickr than say…older folks. Using flickr like this is cool because you see the college campus without bias and really get a sense for what the campus is like. Plus, it’s a great way to find out about the people who attend the college, which I find important.”

So, what should you do?

• Search for your institution name in Flickr to find out more about the photos available on this website (it’s better to know what you’re up against ;-).
• You can also create a Flickr group (Amherst College and Simmons College, among others, did) to gather existing users from your college and generate interest among Flickr users to post even better shots of your institution.
• Last, you could even use Flickr to discover great photos for your next publications. If the perfect shot is available on Flickr, why not try to contact its author to buy its high resolution version? Alternatively, you could launch a contest and invite users to post their best shots about your institution. The winners could have their photos published on your website or in your next magazine…