The new Flickr, even the change embraces minimalism

Flickr is offering a sneak look at their new layout, in a move said to make the Flickr experience more social.

Added to the page are group photos (it was previously just a link) and “interesting photos” below the fold. This is the official spin:

Whatever the best part of Flickr is for you, your new home page now surfaces much more of the action going on around you on Flickr. More of the amazing photos, groups, and interesting tidbits that show up on Flickr every day. And while we were at it, we made it easier for you to turn down the volume on things you don’t want to see, or just find some help.

And it’s exciting!

We’re excited to share the changes with you!

Now it’s easy to hate on sites who decide to change their layout, Facebook being a deserving case in point, but here’s the thing: the only real change is that photos are now in the left column instead of the right, and there’s a few extras photos. Buried in there someone where is also suppose to be an activity stream, because when uploading photos, that’s the first thing many people will want

Before and after

I’m not excited, but I don’t hate it either. Flickr helped popularize the minimalist layout, and they’ve kept true to their roots going for a minimalist change. The good news though is so few people will notice anything different, that they won’t be facing a Facebook style revolt.