Ninja-like roll-out...
Flickr, the popular photo-sharing site has introduced a new "groups" functionality. Check-it-out here! It is interesting to note that this new feature was rolled-out quietly with very little fanfare... almost too quietly, as I only just realized it was a new feature when someone I follow mentioned it on Twitter. Flickr's toolbar has always struck me as a bit "small" in relation to the rest of the page and this new feature blended-in with their existent line-up of tools. The site's new "Upload" process, however is clearly called-out. Good lesson... when launching a new feature of an existent product; let users know on both the logged-in and logged-out main page why they should engage and what the end-benefit will be.

Time-saving functionality...
Lack of fanfare aside, one of my favorite features of Flickr "Groups" is that a photo marked as "private" will automatically be viewable by all participants when it is added to a group's photo pool. This seems valuable as it would save time that would otherwise be spent re-classifying multiple photos. However, if you are unaware of this feature, it could be a recipe for embarrassment. What are examples of other sites with "groups" functionality that you are excited about? When might it actually be helpful to launch a new feature under the radar?

Learn more about this new feature on the Flickr blog.