Flickr

Michael Blowhard does not get Flickr.

And here's something that puzzles me more generally: What are the advantages that the social-networking approach to weblife offers over the old website-plus-email model?

Much of my bewilderment no doubt has to do with age. Age does seem to be one of those big digital divides, after all. For one thing, older people can’t see any reason to scatter pieces of themselves all over the web. Show them a MySpace page and they'll wince and look away. Explain to them about microblogging and they'll ask, "Why on earth would anyone want to do that?"

I certainly do not find Flickr to be an easy way to post and share photos.