Author Topic: "Crossroads" on Shutterstock (Read 18035 times)

Shelma1 · « **Reply #25 on:** November 24, 2018, 17:57 »

Quote from: Brightontl on November 24, 2018, 16:38

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 24, 2018, 13:42
Quote from: increasingdifficulty on November 24, 2018, 12:47
Quote from: Shelma1 on November 24, 2018, 07:27
Could be. Or it could be a videographer they want to work with. Or their algorithm could just favor contributors with the lowest royalty rate, which seems most likely. That way Shutterstock maximizes profits, because they keep more of the money made from each sale.

The royalty rate is always 30% for footage. So, no.

But I would assume most footage contributors also contribute still images, so their royalty rates would be different for those. And since still images sell more than footage, the algorithm would still benefit Shutterstock.
Sorry Shelma,
Wrong assumption.
If you contribute footage, you would never, ever want to contribute still images as well

I assume you're being facetious, since it seems you have 645 photos on Pond5? And you create youtube videos advising people how to create still images for stock sites?

mindstorm · « **Reply #26 on:** November 24, 2018, 18:52 »

Quote from: Brightontl on November 24, 2018, 16:38

Sorry Shelma,
Wrong assumption.
If you contribute footage, you would never, ever want to contribute still images as well

Huh??? What world do you live in? Almost every photog I know that submits video also does stills. I'm sure there are videographers that don't shoot with a still camera at all who only do one. Otherwise, they are probably in both.

In fact, with only one exception, everyone I know that submits footage started in stills, and keeps that portfolio active (which, BTW, includes me...)

derek · « **Reply #27 on:** November 25, 2018, 03:24 »

Quote from: Brightontl on November 24, 2018, 16:38

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 24, 2018, 13:42
Quote from: increasingdifficulty on November 24, 2018, 12:47
Quote from: Shelma1 on November 24, 2018, 07:27
Could be. Or it could be a videographer they want to work with. Or their algorithm could just favor contributors with the lowest royalty rate, which seems most likely. That way Shutterstock maximizes profits, because they keep more of the money made from each sale.

The royalty rate is always 30% for footage. So, no.

But I would assume most footage contributors also contribute still images, so their royalty rates would be different for those. And since still images sell more than footage, the algorithm would still benefit Shutterstock.
Sorry Shelma,
Wrong assumption.
If you contribute footage, you would never, ever want to contribute still images as well

Why do you say that? I mean I dont know but I certainly contribute both and have done for ages mostly to the trad agencies but still. Given this forum I would have thought most people do both?

shoopinoz · « **Reply #28 on:** November 25, 2018, 03:40 »

If you search for 'road' the first result is by a contributor called 'Eighth Wonder' and the model in that clip is the same model who appears in some of the footage by 'Crossroads'.

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-1018737826-black-millennial-girl-opens-trunk-white-vintage [nofollow]

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-1012359638-girl-on-skateboard-her-friend-pushes-down [nofollow]

Shelma1 · « **Reply #29 on:** November 25, 2018, 04:04 »

Eighth Wonder has 12.5 million clips on Shutterstock?

Cider Apple · « **Reply #30 on:** November 25, 2018, 04:13 »

What worries me too is shuterstocks rocketstock.com collection. They have basically been watching what sells and make their own versions of it. They have copied loads of my texture video clips. Cheats....

Steveball · « **Reply #31 on:** November 25, 2018, 05:38 »

Quote from: Cider Apple on November 25, 2018, 04:13

What worries me too is shuterstocks rocketstock.com collection. They have basically been watching what sells and make their own versions of it. They have copied loads of my texture video clips. Cheats....

Let them know there's blatant copying going on and get the account closed!

UKstock · « **Reply #32 on:** November 25, 2018, 08:15 »

If you search 'business' in footage it shows all of Gorodenkoff's work too, pages and pages. I suspect this is just a glitch or data analysis trial. It's been Thanks Giving too so hoping it sorts itself out once the programmers return to the Empire State building.

We should send a message to support though.

Stephan · « **Reply #33 on:** November 25, 2018, 10:51 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 25, 2018, 04:04

Eighth Wonder has 12.5 million clips on Shutterstock?

This is a glitch in the search engine. Click on the videos and you see that there are different contributors.

qunamax · « **Reply #34 on:** November 25, 2018, 11:34 »

When I search "office" it's a mix of "Eighth Wonder" and "Gorodenkoff" and to my eyes they look like absolutely the same.

Video-StockOrg · « **Reply #35 on:** November 26, 2018, 08:01 »

SS support has admitted that this is no bug and was obviously intentional...

Quote

Hi xxx,

Thank you for contacting Shutterstock Contributor Care.

As per your email, I could understand that your concern is regarding the search results.

I wish to inform you that it depends on the downloads and purchases made by customer worldwide which allows images to stay in the popular section of Shutterstock website.

I assure you that there is no bug issue as of now. In case there is any issue found we would surely let you know about that.

Also, this just proves how easy it is for them to cap your sales. Eat this non-believers.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #36 on:** November 26, 2018, 08:31 »

Quote from: Video-StockOrg on November 26, 2018, 08:01

SS support has admitted that this is no bug and was obviously intentional...

Quote
Hi xxx,

Thank you for contacting Shutterstock Contributor Care.

As per your email, I could understand that your concern is regarding the search results.

I wish to inform you that it depends on the downloads and purchases made by customer worldwide which allows images to stay in the popular section of Shutterstock website.

I assure you that there is no bug issue as of now. In case there is any issue found we would surely let you know about that.

Also, this just proves how easy it is for them to cap your sales. Eat this non-believers.

Well, that's just a standard "have you tried plugging it in" answer.

I don't believe Contributor Care would have the slightest clue what goes on behind the scenes. They can't "admit" anything.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #37 on:** November 26, 2018, 09:31 »

Quote from: Video-StockOrg on November 26, 2018, 08:01

SS support has admitted that this is no bug and was obviously intentional...

Quote
Hi xxx,

Thank you for contacting Shutterstock Contributor Care.

As per your email, I could understand that your concern is regarding the search results.

I wish to inform you that it depends on the downloads and purchases made by customer worldwide which allows images to stay in the popular section of Shutterstock website.

I assure you that there is no bug issue as of now. In case there is any issue found we would surely let you know about that.

Also, this just proves how easy it is for them to cap your sales. Eat this non-believers.

It just proves how little control they have over their own search engine results. Its probably become so complex over the years a small tweak can have unforeseen consequences.

daniel hurst · « **Reply #38 on:** November 26, 2018, 09:48 »

Something changed again today, "eight wonder" added to the top looks like another in-house collection added to the top of search.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #39 on:** November 26, 2018, 09:54 »

Quote from: daniel hurst on November 26, 2018, 09:48

Something changed again today, "eight wonder" added to the top looks like another in-house collection added to the top of search.

Do Shutterstock have in house collections?

StockStudio · « **Reply #40 on:** November 26, 2018, 10:01 »

I wrote to SS customer support. Here is the reply:

Thank you for contacting Shutterstock Contributor Care.

I understand that you have a concern regarding our search engine. I can certainly help you with this.

I would like to inform you that we have checked our search page and everything is showing perfect in the page. Just as returned search results are dynamic, so is the position of images within those results. It is common for images or footage to move up and down search results and also depends on the number of times that image or footage has been downloaded. Besides downloads and age, there are many other factors that affect the image position in search results.

Additionally, we perform regular tests of small modifications to the search algorithms to test results that increase downloads. These tests are typically released to limited segments of the overall customer population. If a test performs well over time, which typically means an increase in the total number of downloads, then the resulting search algorithm change will be applied to the entire site.

Search testing and analysis is a continuous process of small improvements that generally won’t result in dramatic swings in search. Changes are carefully tested and evaluated to make sure that the overall effect on customer downloads and/or purchases is a positive one.

Customer demand, content differentiation, keyword quantity and quality, global holidays, seasonality and other factors will affect an individual contributor's day-to-day earnings. We recommend allowing a little time before evaluating the effect of changes to the search engine on your personal portfolio.

If the search result order has not been updated on your computer for a significant amount of time, it is most likely that your browser is reverting to an old search result that is cached. If this is the case we recommend you to clear your cache and cookies and restart the browser.

Thank you for your feedback and concern. We really appreciate it.

Seems to me like someone from the inside promoted this "crossroads" account, and never thought someone will notice. I don't buy the whole "they have good quality clips shot in Alexa" thing. Many other great contributors with equally great quality content didn't get to rule the first page of shutterstock as far as I remember. (been there since 2012)

Shelma1 · « **Reply #41 on:** November 26, 2018, 10:06 »

Anyone who doesn't believe Shutterstock manipulates search to favor some contributors over others is drinking the kool aid.

derek · « **Reply #42 on:** November 26, 2018, 14:38 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 26, 2018, 10:06

Anyone who doesn't believe Shutterstock manipulates search to favor some contributors over others is drinking the kool aid.

Dont say things like that Shelma! soon you will have every newbie ghostbuster telling you youre imagining things because theyre getting 2 sales per day which in their eyes is exeptionally good!!!

StockStudio · « **Reply #43 on:** November 26, 2018, 14:49 »

Just a thought...
If investing the right amount of money in purchasing your own clips. you pay 70% to SS obviously.
But what if investing, let's say, $1,000 brings you up in the search engine to a place that earns you $2,000?
What if this "crossroads" bought their own new clips a few times (maybe using a discounted clip pack), boosted their positions and now making more money?
Does this make any sense?
BTW - just thought about this - in the previous model of VideoBlocks - you could boost your own video rankings by buying them again and again, and only pay tiny amounts to the agency in the process...

Pauws99 · « **Reply #44 on:** November 26, 2018, 14:52 »

Quote from: StockStudio on November 26, 2018, 14:49

Just a thought...
If investing the right amount of money in purchasing your own clips. you pay 70% to SS obviously.
But what if investing, let's say, $1,000 brings you up in the search engine to a place that earns you $2,000?
What if this "crossroads" bought their own new clips a few times (maybe using a discounted clip pack), boosted their positions and now making more money?
Does this make any sense?
BTW - just thought about this - in the previous model of VideoBlocks - you could boost your own video rankings by buying them again and again, and only pay tiny amounts to the agency in the process...

Its possible but they would be breaking SSs T and Cs thats not to say they didn't of course but a risky strategy.

Newbee_2018 · « **Reply #45 on:** November 26, 2018, 15:17 »

I wonder if it is possible that SS support member who answered that they see normal search results could just not get the question right? Or just was not senior enough to give the proper answer?

Because in their answer they say: "we have checked our search page and everything is showing perfect in the page. Just as returned search results are dynamic, so is the position of images within those results".

No one could have said things like that if they had opened just the total SS video base sorted by Popular or Best Match. It is just not possible - because now for 30+ pages I can see almost only one author - Eighth Wonder (aka Crossroads). No way they could call such results "perfect" or "dynamic".

BTW, now we can see that Eighth Wonder's portfolio counts 3200+ videos and the 1st of the was accepted mid October. So 3200 videos in under 1,5 months and straight to the top...

Has anyone else asked the support about this? I wrote them but got just a standard answer - as if a person did not even have a look. Or it wasn't a person in the first place. So I wrote them again but still got nothing.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #46 on:** November 26, 2018, 15:37 »

Quote from: Newbee_2018 on November 26, 2018, 15:17

I wonder if it is possible that SS support member who answered that they see normal search results could just not get the question right? Or just was not senior enough to give the proper answer?

Because in their answer they say: "we have checked our search page and everything is showing perfect in the page. Just as returned search results are dynamic, so is the position of images within those results".

No one could have said things like that if they had opened just the total SS video base sorted by Popular or Best Match. It is just not possible - because now for 30+ pages I can see almost only one author - Eighth Wonder (aka Crossroads). No way they could call such results "perfect" or "dynamic".

BTW, now we can see that Eighth Wonder's portfolio counts 3200+ videos and the 1st of the was accepted mid October. So 3200 videos in under 1,5 months and straight to the top...

Has anyone else asked the support about this? I wrote them but got just a standard answer - as if a person did not even have a look. Or it wasn't a person in the first place. So I wrote them again but still got nothing.

I just assumed it was a standard letter. If the building was in flames they wouldn't tell contributors till it was on National News.

Newbee_2018 · « **Reply #47 on:** November 26, 2018, 15:45 »

Quote from: StockStudio on November 26, 2018, 14:49

Just a thought...
If investing the right amount of money in purchasing your own clips. you pay 70% to SS obviously.
But what if investing, let's say, $1,000 brings you up in the search engine to a place that earns you $2,000?
What if this "crossroads" bought their own new clips a few times (maybe using a discounted clip pack), boosted their positions and now making more money?
Does this make any sense?

I am not sure but I think that to push even one clip to the top of 12M+ clips you have to buy it quite a lot of times, some hundreds of times. And they have 3000+ clips occupying first 30+ pages. You do the math

Besides, right after them there are other authors whose works go in bunches (not as huge but still).

Newbee_2018 · « **Reply #48 on:** November 26, 2018, 17:08 »

Official reply from Shutterstock:
newbielink:https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/95821-crossroads/?do=findComment&comment=1718006 [nonactive]

It was a glitch after all but they are working on fixing it right now (and it is seen on the site)

Pauws99 · « **Reply #49 on:** November 26, 2018, 17:53 »

Quote from: Newbee_2018 on November 26, 2018, 17:08

Official reply from Shutterstock:
https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/95821-crossroads/?do=findComment&comment=1718006

It was a glitch after all but they are working on fixing it right now (and it is seen on the site)

99 times out of 100 "cock up" beats "conspiracy".

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Author Topic: "Crossroads" on Shutterstock (Read 18035 times)

Shelma1

mindstorm

derek

shoopinoz

Shelma1

Cider Apple

Steveball

UKstock

Stephan

qunamax

Video-StockOrg

increasingdifficulty

Pauws99

daniel hurst

Pauws99

StockStudio

Shelma1

derek

StockStudio

Pauws99

Newbee_2018

Pauws99

Newbee_2018

Newbee_2018

Pauws99

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