MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Sooooo slow!  (Read 6262 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Microbius

« on: June 06, 2008, 09:38 »
0
God the zym site is slow.
I've been trying to get images edited all day and it's taking forever. The amount of time it takes to refresh the view when you select an image to edit or put in a category is ridiculous (if you've got a large number of images to get through). And the category disappears after you press submit, so you're left unsure as to whether the changes have taken effect aaaaaaand you only get one shot to edit the image then the "edit" button disappears aaaaaaaaaaaaaand you can't order the images in the que by which have been "artist edited" and and and basically it's driving me nuts.

Please learn from those in the industry that have this right and sort your site out!!!


« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2008, 09:41 »
0
They also need some buyers.  I have put them on hold until I see some sales.

« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2008, 09:53 »
0
I tried to upload a few times in recent past and after churning away for quite a while watching the progress bar, nothing happened.  Also found out that some keywords had not arrived on earlier submissions.  So I am laying off for a while, and only have a few online. 

I really like the site and the owners are very responsive.  Commissions are very generous so hopefully the sales will come.  They are doing a few different things (selling fonts).  I hope they take off.

If they could learn something from DT... we have a contributor area where we can sort our photos by upload date / by sales / by views.  I can't find any useable data on Zym.

Does anyone have referrals?  A nice reader of my blog signed up under me last week and there is nowhere on the site that I can find reference to it.

Microbius

« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2008, 10:21 »
0
Good to hear I'm not the only one feeling a bit frustrated with this. I noticed their staff are on this forum a lot so I hope they've taken notice.
I think I'll lay off too till it's out of beta or at least a bit more user friendly.

I haven't seen anywhere to keep track of referrals on the site either.

Does anyone know how long the files I've uploaded but haven't finished editing will stay in the que before they delete them?

I can't face sorting them now and am hoping they won't have disappeared before they sort the problems!


zymmetricaldotcom

« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2008, 11:46 »
0
Well I guess no one noticed our new flash-based batch model release uploader.  :(       

Ok,  I will respond to each of the issues here in points.  I should put a disclaimer, if you want the best level of support then simply raise a support ticket on our website. Yes, we subscribe to this forum section on MSG and will respond, but it's pretty difficult when you are using a different Username on this forum than on our website, and then some more people chime in with issues not directly related to the original issue. 

- Editing: A couple months back, there was no 'Edit' option on the Artists Submissions page. Our Reviewers chose the category and price, which was in my mind, an extra service from us to the people uploading.  Then pressure mounted that some other businesses 'let' you choose categories etc. in advance, and that we should also permit/enforce an after-upload, pre-review Edit option.   So, we changed the system to permit this.  As described on the 'Editing Waiting Submissions' help button on www.zymmetrical.com/account/submissions/,  the choices you make on the Edit screen are optional (except for the minimum 10 keyword requirement).     So it is a compromise; if you want to zip through them, you have the choice, but it will be then our Reviewers choosing the category/pricing for you.         

As for the strange result after pressing submit, the answer is 'Yes', the choices you make are sticking, it's just not updating your screen in some cases. It is a cosmetic error and nothing more, the Reviewers do see your choices. This is in our bug tracker and will be resolved.

I can't think of a good reason why you would need to 'Edit' a submission more than once, but I can think of several why you wouldn't - the main one being, as soon as you click 'Edit', review/make changes, and submit, your file moves up in the queue to receive the Reviewers attention, so they can be working on it at that point.  So what should happen if you were to come back and make changes, when a Reviewer had already started to check it out, it just wouldn't work.   I don't want to use a factory assembly line analogy, but really there is a workflow defined and things can't be efficient unless things flow in a straight line.

- Buyers: Tough one to discuss, I truly respect the patience of everyone participating on our site, some are making money, and of course some not so much thus far. Here's a beacon of hope for you perhaps:  http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=buy+stock+photos&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2. (yeah it's not Goog but they're next ;)  )   We are working hard to build the business, and let the brand define itself, rather than build a brand 'in the cloud' and try and match our business to it.

- File views / etc. Data: We have a system in the works for displaying all sorts of data about whos viewing your files, their country, etc. If anyone here has used Google Analytics before, think that interface, except with data regarding your account/ art files.    Obviously we have some more urgent issues on the plate right now but stay tuned.


Microbius

« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2008, 12:05 »
0
Apologies for the different name here to the one I use on sites. I want to able to comment on the sites I upload honestly without being banned from their forums etc. (not that I think you would do that, but I have no doubt some of them wouldn't hesitate!)

I hadn't realized that there was pressure from some contributors about being allowed to enter their own categories.
In my experience serious contributors (those with larger portfolios) tend to rave most about upload procedures on sites where categories are not even used.

I fully understand why you wouldn't want images edited while they are in the que for review. That's why the sites that don't let you do this allow you to move the files back from the "review" que (which is located separately) to the "edit" que if you realize you may have made a mistake.

I am not complaining about the amount of work required, I mean all your asking is for the addition of a category. No biggy.
What I am finding annoying is :
"The amount of time it takes to refresh the view when you select an image to edit or put it in a category is ridiculous "
(Copied cos I can't be bothered to retype it.)
I.e. the functionality of the site--how long it takes to make this simple change.
How about for example allowing categories to be changed for multiple files before having to wait ages for the screen to update?

I am not attacking you here, I think your site has great potential as well as a particularly fair compensation scheme for contributors. I also appreciate how quick you are to respond to issues when they are raised!

« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2008, 12:17 »
0
And if I may add, we just posted a press release this week showing an example on how we market Zymmetrical directly to image buyers with strategic relationship instead of only using Ad words in the hope that someone will notice.
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php/topic,4890.0.html

We will be announcing more of these relationships in the future as we engage Zymmetrical to be present, and visible, anywhere and anytime someone has the intend to purchase photographs.
 Our marketing strategy is comprise of much more than just relying on word of mouth or links exchange, and we are using the full power of our relationships and experience to bring your images in front of the eyes of those who will pay to license them.

We are generating sales, quite well in fact, but as Rome, or longer established companies, we will not be at full speed in one day.

Hope that helps

Microbius

« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2008, 13:02 »
0
I don't doubt it and here's to our joint success!
I just wanted to give you feedback on your upload process and let you know that, for whatever reason, at this time I don't think it's as good as many out there (though obviously better than say IStock's).
Whether you choose to take note is, of course, up to you.


« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2008, 13:29 »
0
Microbius,

We are taking note and we thank you for your feedback !!

Cheers !!


Microbius

« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2008, 13:31 »
0
No problem, thanks for listening!

« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2008, 01:04 »
0
Improperly slow site. Zymmguys, I do not care about your flash uploader since I upload directly by FTP. Please do not bind colorful and useless features. You should better concentrate on pictures review and buyer bringing in.

Another question: is it normal for files to be more than 5 month on FTP without review  ???

This site becomes really annoying.

zymmetricaldotcom

« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2008, 02:22 »
0
Nata, as stated, the Flash uploader is for Model/Property Releases. Even if you are submitting by FTP, you still need to upload release forms for pics requiring it. As far as I know, we have the only batch upload process for model releases in the industry. If that's annoying, then..     :-\         

At any rate, we have a nice surprise this week, stay tuned.

Microbius

« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2008, 06:08 »
0
You must be doing something right because your Alexa ranking is the best of the newbie sites. You still need to iron out those kinks though!

zymmetricaldotcom

« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2008, 17:26 »
0
Alexa is a nice ballpark estimate but the proof is in the $ pudding $.  :)       Notoriously USA-centric, Alexa is not a good indicator for Europe, Asia, and other important markets, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.     

Anyhow, kinks + ironing = day to day job, stay tuned and we will have a site on cruise control for everyone.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
slow reviews

Started by Greg Boiarsky General Stock Discussion

6 Replies
6565 Views
Last post March 17, 2006, 12:57
by leaf
18 Replies
8547 Views
Last post August 10, 2006, 15:57
by maco0708
56 Replies
32966 Views
Last post February 16, 2008, 14:55
by Read_My_Rights
12 Replies
3805 Views
Last post April 10, 2008, 18:29
by grp_photo
6 Replies
6927 Views
Last post October 04, 2008, 14:27
by RGebbiePhoto

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors