I was, as a nonflickr user up until 5 minutes ago , apparently uncool — tragically even. A situation I have just fixed.
Honestly though, I think I had an account before, years ago and just didn’t get into it that much. But looking again makes me realize how many cool pictures I have that I could have shared with the internets by now. For example, those I seeded my account with.
I would like to think that I am pretty hip to the social networky awesomeness that is the modern social network, but lately I find my self spending more time on simpler mediums.
Part of the reason why I got a flickr account is because I have tried to put images on my own site, like Brendan talks about and I have experienced the pain of trying to build my own or use others gallery software. It would be easier to let someone else maintain that stuff while I can focus on making and uploading the pics.
The other thing I like about the modern flickr, which I noticed adding the pictures, was how easy uploading new content has become. Compared to other services, like deviantART, which I have an account on(dead, mostly), it requires the least effort and thought on the users part.
That I think is part of why more sites will move to using technologies like OpenID and OAuth, even though implementing them can be annoying sometimes(just use a library, or middleware). They are better for the consumer of the sites services. Less passwords to remember, more control over your information are awesome things.
Oh and if you were wondering, the shoes are still awesome.