i dont really see the point it in

there's easier ways to just host photos

I like flickr as well

is it just a photo album site or am i missing something?

I don't know what it is, same way that I can't describe twitter or plurk to my parents but it is a lot more than simple image hosting

well i can understand twitter and plurk for the social aspect

what features/services does it provide?

Image hosting is a main one

I can see where you are coming from I am struggling to think of reasons but if you were to go up to any photographer and ask them to name 1

image hosting site, a very large proportion would say flickr

well, how about, how does it differ from any other image hosting site - say, photobucket, for example

nice people use it and comment on your pictures and make you feel like the world isn't quite so big and people are actually ok.