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Author Topic: Istock survey  (Read 4556 times)

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« on: October 04, 2010, 03:06 »
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Istock sent me an email to take the survey about their uploading and submitting system. So, I clicked to fill-out the survey, and then they started asking questions like, do I have a studio or not, do I have professional lighting equipment, do I hire professional models....???
What kind of questions are that? What does this have with uploading process? My conclusion is that Istock just wants to learn more, to make some future changes, that will make the business better for "all of us".
What do you think?


« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2010, 03:44 »
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I did the survey in the hope that they would have somewhere to leave comments but they didn't, so it was a waste of time.  I also wondered about some of the questions, not really to do with the uploading and submitting procedure.

« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2010, 04:23 »
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I started doing the survey but stopped when there were too many questions completely unrelated to the topic.

« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2010, 08:41 »
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I never started it.  I won't be uploading anything there, so there didn't seem much point.

« Reply #4 on: October 04, 2010, 08:45 »
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You can find out if someone has a studio and hires professional models in 5 seconds, just glance at their portfolio. 

Doing a survey doesn't give good data because you will not get a representative sample, and in any case people will lie or exaggerate.  But that may not be the point ...

I didn't get the survey but from the sound of these questions I'd say they're thinking of culling the herd.

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2010, 08:47 »
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I got it also but didn't fill it out. Like disorderly I don't intend to upload any more so I figured what's the use. It is strange that they would be asking rather you have a studio or not and models ect. It almost makes one wonder if they are scoping out who they want and who they don't based on professional equipment and such under the disguise of a survey. It wouldn't surprise me if they did, knowing the tactics of Getty/iStock.
« Last Edit: October 04, 2010, 08:49 by donding »

« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2010, 09:06 »
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...
I didn't get the survey but from the sound of these questions I'd say they're thinking of culling the herd.

OK I just found the survey, I didn't notice it at first in my inbox because it looked like junk mail.

I did the survey, and changed my mind about its purpose.  It looks like they're mostly trying to get ideas about what to do about the upload process to speed it up for people who upload a lot.

Not sure about the questions about equipment, studio and models because as I said this can be deduced pretty accurately and quickly from looking at people's portfolios (and EXIFs, for the people who don't strip them).  Maybe they have something built into their spreadsheet for analyzing the survey data which differentiates the opinions of people shooting at a pro vs. amateur level.

rubyroo

« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2010, 09:10 »
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I completed the survey... interesting theories about the questions re models etc.  I had assumed they were using those to determine how big a player was the person who'd completed it (without having to look up their port).  Perhaps a way to establish who's opinions matter most to them?  e.g, someone who says they outsource is likely to be a big player.  I've no idea.. just an initial guess.

« Reply #8 on: October 04, 2010, 09:24 »
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It is just data. They don't really have to have a purpose for collecting it. They can just collect it and decide how they want to use it later. I thought the more detailed stuff was in relation to the topic, uploading.

The most interesting question I saw was about doing the keywording yourself versus an editor doing it.

« Reply #9 on: October 04, 2010, 10:56 »
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Not trusting Istock at the moment, the first thing that comes to mind is that while the data likely has a valid purpose, it sure helps Istock better analyze who its contributors are and how they can best tailor future strategies to minimize the amount it needs to pay out to contributors, yet retain their content.  Needless to say, Im not answering the survey.

Were Istock to offer a keywording service (presumably only to exclusives), I also wonder about Istock claiming some type of "ownership" of such keywords, preventing me from copying the entire list of keywords to other sites if I dropped exclusivity.  Sounds farfetched, but I would not put it past them.

microstockphoto.co.uk

« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2010, 13:18 »
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for a while I thought they were eventually considering a normal upload process including FTP and proper IPTC import

but after reading their survey questions, I am afraid they aren't

for those uploading to IS, deepmeta is the only good option

pdx

« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2010, 13:47 »
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What baffles me is how seemingly out of touch istock is with its contributor base. If they seriously need a survey to understand and figure out how to simplify and accelerate the upload process then something's really amiss. For crying out loud, if they need help they can call Canstock. A giant leap forward would be to provide contributors with a model release library. Heck, how about just fixing the darn category-transfer thingy? Normally I'd be asking for FTP too but seeing as how they managed to muck that up on the video side that's probably a bad idea. So what we're left with after this whole royalty fiasco is just another botched project leaving us scratching our heads wondering what's up in Calgary. Why hasn't an admin jumped into the thread to shed some light on this ridiculous survey to tell us what our choice of focal lengths has to do with the upload process? If this is some sort of secret covert black ops thing then why didn't they just call it a general survey and spare people the confusion? Geez, 850 posts in the F5 bug thread and here they are asking questions in an apparent effort to muck things up even more.

« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2010, 14:16 »
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I filled out the survey and wondered if it was originally only sent to exclusives, sounds like they sent it to all contributors.  Anyhow, I filled it out and couldn't figure out why they wanted that other info or why they need to ask about FTP upload process when people have been suggesting that in the iStock suggestion forum for years.  I'm sure there is some other reason behind wanting all that information.  Personally I use a mix of professional models and volunteer/amateurs - but they didnt have that option so I just selected that "yes, I use professional models."  It really depends on the shoot.  I've even hired a makeup artist and hairstylists for certain shoots - though, granted, not the majority of my shoots - too tight of a budget!  :)

sort of on topic, though-- with just about 14 days left in my '30 day waiting period' to drop my exclusivity at iStock, I got my first taste of the upload process at a few other sites.  (some will let me apply and upload without selling anything until my contract at iStock is up, thus not breaking my contract there).  And wow!  so much easier than iStock's lame upload process.  Granted, I use Deepmeta now, but sometimes you still have to use that antiquated upload system at iStock.

Seriously, I totally agree with you, pdx,  they go through all that trouble and work with the site redesign F'n F5 or whatever .. and they don't even upgrade the upload process?  they are only NOW sending out a survey about it?  talk about deaf ears.  I guess it really has been a long time since they actually listened to contributors.  Sure could have saved a lot of time on that survey by just listening to contributors and reading their own suggestion forum.

« Reply #13 on: October 04, 2010, 14:25 »
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SS introduced FTP uploads at the end of 2004. I forget when they started stored model releases, but it was a very long time ago. Other sites - particularly those whose sales aren't all that high - have gone to considerable lengths to make sure that the upload process is really streamlined.

I filled out the iStock survey although I can't imagine when or if they'll do anything about it. As you mentioned, people have been suggesting these things for years and nothing. Given that Getty is trying to squeeze out maximum profits, why they'd spend money now on improving things for contributors is a mystery to me.

I could make a very long list of tools for contributors they've actually promised, but have failed to deliver (batch editing tools for keywords? a useful interface for adding/removing files to E+ - that was going to be "in a few weeks" after it launched, and they've stopped saying anything about when). And the list of things they broke that were once working (the list for extended licenses that no longer has a date column, for example). I finally switched to Deep Meta because for a year they couldn't fix the bug where the site upload couldn't read IPTC data. Their track record with software is pitiful.

I don't think there's any mystery about what would be needed to lift IS out of the basement in terms of uploads and contributor tools. There's a ton of examples out there to follow.

pdx

« Reply #14 on: October 04, 2010, 15:34 »
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And the list of things they broke that were once working (the list for extended licenses that no longer has a date column, for example).

instead they give us video faqs  ???

« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2010, 17:41 »
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The most stupid question... What focal lengths do I use  ::)  what .?

« Reply #16 on: October 04, 2010, 17:55 »
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Stupid think is that you can fill only one survey.
If you have splited port 50/50 or 30/30/30% like as illustrator and photographer or videographer???
Anyhow I checked everything as very poor like as is.

molka

    This user is banned.
« Reply #17 on: October 09, 2010, 03:29 »
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Istock sent me an email to take the survey about their uploading and submitting system. So, I clicked to fill-out the survey, and then they started asking questions like, do I have a studio or not, do I have professional lighting equipment, do I hire professional models....???
What kind of questions are that? What does this have with uploading process? My conclusion is that Istock just wants to learn more, to make some future changes, that will make the business better for "all of us".
What do you think?

They want to know which of you are professionally equipped. The rest is coverup, they know, everybody knows that theit upload system is medieval.


 

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