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Microstock Photography Forum - General => Site Related => Topic started by: leaf on October 20, 2007, 18:22

Title: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 20, 2007, 18:22
I have wanted to do this for a while, and THIS THREAD (http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=2608.0) got me motivated.

I am happy to announce that the polls are now open :)
You can get to them by clicking the 'polls' link at the top of the page, or by clicking here (http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?action=pollsvote).

Results are posted here (http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?action=pollsresults), but there is also a link on the 'polls' page you should be able to find.

Let me know if you have any problems or if you have any suggestions as to how to make it better - or if you don't understand anything.  I plan to integrate the poll results into the site a little better later on - and add the rest of the sites (or at least most of them) into the voting.  Perhaps I could say this is the 'beta' mode that seems like such a popular phrase for the time being.

May the best stock site win :)

NOTE: you can only fill in the fields in one poll at a time before you click submit.  if you fill in more than one they will be ignored - if that didn't make sense you will figure it out soon enough.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: GeoPappas on October 20, 2007, 19:15
Very nice.

One comment: The last question can be taken a few different ways.  I understood the word "performance" to mean how fast the website was in responding to requests.  You could also take the word "performance" to mean how much money you make there.  I would suggest trying to clarify that question a little better.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: madelaide on October 20, 2007, 19:39
Done.

I'm curious about some results.  FT gets less that IS in consistency review.  I have a low rejection rate in FT, is it not common?  In BigStock also, rejections are very low (I gave it a 10, although it isn't necessarily a good thing - but it's consistent!).

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: dbvirago on October 20, 2007, 19:40
Step 1. Take Poll
Step 2. Screw it up
Step 3. Read Instructions
Step 4. Take Poll
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: jorgeinthewater on October 20, 2007, 20:14
Done.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: vonkara on October 20, 2007, 20:32
For now there is not very much vote (about 10) but I'm happy to see IS not be even one time the best of his category. But I'm having problem whit the review consistency thing... FT at the end?? I see a lot more IS or SX at this position.

But that's democracy...it's sometime surprising
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: digiology on October 20, 2007, 21:43
Done! The last question I found too similar to the "website user interface" question. (or I am missing something  ???)

I have never dealt with customer service at any sites so I did not vote. I do however appreciate steve-ohs consistent posts here (and on stockxpert) and must give them kudos for that.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on October 21, 2007, 00:32
Done ....   Interesting results...   thank you, sir!!  -tom
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: fotografer on October 21, 2007, 01:49
Congratulations to SS they are winning every single category.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: sharpshot on October 21, 2007, 02:37
I don't know how the StockXpert upload is behind the SS one, I find it much easier.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 21, 2007, 05:54
It looks like there has been at least 31 voters so far - so things seem to be working.  Would be good to get at least 100 votes though so we can see a 'real' average.

with the 'overall' category i just wanted sort of an overall rating for the site.  i thought about trying to calculate one automatically - which is perhaps what i should do but then the various catagories whould be weighted different.  Earnings is perhaps one of the most important factors so it should be weighted heavier. - so in the end I decided to just let everyone vote for their 'overall opinion' of a site.

I am not sure the best way to word it though, so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to voice them.  Or if there are poll categories I missed - let me know of any suggestions.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Opla on October 21, 2007, 08:23
Nice poll, thanks.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Kngkyle on October 21, 2007, 08:39

with the 'overall' category i just wanted sort of an overall rating for the site.  i thought about trying to calculate one automatically - which is perhaps what i should do but then the various catagories whould be weighted different.  Earnings is perhaps one of the most important factors so it should be weighted heavier. - so in the end I decided to just let everyone vote for their 'overall opinion' of a site.

Heres an idea for a calculation:

Earnings x 5
Upload x 1.5
Service x .5
Consistency x 1
Website x 1.5

42
13.05
3.75
8.1
12.45

Shutterstock = 79.35

29.5
11.1
2.65
6.9
11.25

Dreamstime = 61.40

36.5
5.25
2.65
6.6
10.95

Istockphoto = 61.95

25
11.7
3.4
4.6
11.25

StockXpert = 55.95

25
8.85
2.35
6.3
8.85

Fotolia = 51.35

19
9.9
3.15
7.4
9.15

Bigstockphoto = 48.60

You can add overall in there somewhere too, that might make it more accurate.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on October 21, 2007, 08:46
I don't know how the StockXpert upload is behind the SS one, I find it much easier.

Sharpshot...  that's one of the things I enjoy and find interesting about polls and opinion surveys.  Quite often I find the overall results far different than what I thought they'd easily be... LOL 
   I'm going to like this feature.  It should spark some interesting discussion .     -tom
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Opla on October 21, 2007, 08:48
Ok :-)

I think the ease of upload should be rated heavier (x3?).
Don't care about the web-interface so much (x.5?).
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on October 21, 2007, 08:54
Ok :-)

I think the ease of upload should be rated heavier (x3?).
Don't care about the web-interface so much (x.5?).


Opla...     makes my exact point right here.  Now we are debating how heavy to weigh each category...  example, I agree with ... her (?? taking a leap here because of the avatar, which then again really means nothing either as far as gender goes...) okay I agree with Opla (that'll keep me out of trouble)  ... I agree with Opla that web-interface is not as big a deal to me... but I wouldn't say  ease of upload,  I would say consistency...that irks the poop out of me.
         Point... these polls are going to be great reading!!   
     LOL  -tom
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 21, 2007, 08:54
Ok :-)

I think the ease of upload should be rated heavier (x3?).
Don't care about the web-interface so much (x.5?).


yeah i thought the same.  Ease of uploading is a BIG factor when submitting to numerous sites.  If they were all as hard as shutterstock we could only feaseably upload to 3or4 sites.  When they are as easy as crestock, lucky oliver or stockxpert it is a breeze to get your portfolio online.  After, we are photographers - not 'image uploaders' - anything to make computer time for efficient is welcomed.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on October 21, 2007, 09:06
Leaf makes a great point too!  I'd be interested in hearing others numbers on that.  Wife and I were talking about it this weekend..
    How much time do you spend actual shooting versus post-work (including uploading)?
      I rough guessed  almost  2 to 1... every two hours shooting I spend at least an hour in post-work.. Some of the uploads are a real pain in the sitting area, some like LO are a snap. Hey,  I'm going to start a new thread on this question..    sorry to go off on a tangent here..

now back to polls!!      8)-tom

p.s.  consistency still irks me more than ease of upload... LOL
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Kngkyle on October 21, 2007, 09:17
I think earnings should have the highest weight percentage. If you increase the weight of ease of upload then that reduces the weight for earnings. I would much rather spend time uploading to a site like iStock (which is a royal pain in the ass) than to a site like Crestock. Reason being, the uploads on iStock will actually make you money, the time you spent on Crestock will get you hardly anything.

(I do upload to Crestock, and have nothing against them.)

Website should be more than .5 (as suggested by some) because having the ability to edit your files information easily and check detailed statistics is important, in my opinion at least. Certainly weighted more than .5.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Opla on October 21, 2007, 09:21
Ok, so something like

Earnings x 6
Upload x 3
Service x .5
Consistency x 1
Website x 1

Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 21, 2007, 09:59
you make a good point that webiste is important.  I dread ever wanting to try and delete or edit a photo on shutterstock.  To try and figure out which upload batch it is in is nearly impossible...

here is my suggestions (out of 10)

earnings x 5
upload x 2
service x 1
consistency x 1
website x 1
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Kngkyle on October 21, 2007, 10:07
you make a good point that webiste is important.  I dread ever wanting to try and delete or edit a photo on shutterstock.  To try and figure out which upload batch it is in is nearly impossible...

here is my suggestions (out of 10)

earnings x 5
upload x 2
service x 1
consistency x 1
website x 1


That seems good. Now somehow make it work.  ;)
Something like what gamesbids has for bid index would be awesome, but I have no idea how that works. http://www.gamesbids.com <-- can see it on the right.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 21, 2007, 10:09
yeah i plan on doing that actually - but i need time before it will work.  if I am going to say that a site went up or down a certain % then I have to compare it to a time before.  I have planned to compare the sites to themselves month by month - so as soon as next months voting starts we can see which sites have gone up and down.  I think this will be most interesting in regards to earnings, but will also be interesting to see peoples opinions on things like user interface and site design when sites change their layout.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: madelaide on October 21, 2007, 13:34
I think we need a poll for the weights in the averaging formula.  :D

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: hatman12 on October 21, 2007, 15:23
I agree that the results should be weighted.  The key component is MONEY.  An agency might have the best web site and customer service in the world, but if they cannot sell one's pictures all of that is pointless.

On the other hand if an agency is very successful in selling and generates a very good economic return on one's images, then complex uploading procedures and/or high quality requirements are worth the effort.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 23, 2007, 03:53
up to at least 52 voters so far.  it is looking good.

I will add the rest of the sites before the next months voting starts.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: Karimala on October 23, 2007, 06:12
Just a suggestion on the poll's design...

There are currently six sites and 10 performance options.  It would be easier to enter our opinions  with an equal number of choices, like six sites and six performance options or 10 and 10.   
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 23, 2007, 06:21
yeah i see where you are coming from, but there is going to be around 30 sites when they are all entered :)

I could put in more 'vote options' though ... that might be helpful when there are so many sites.  Not sure it will be the same number of sites, but i could easily put it up to 20
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: GeoPappas on October 23, 2007, 06:23
Just a suggestion on the poll's design...

There are currently six sites and 10 performance options.  It would be easier to enter our opinions  with an equal number of choices, like six sites and six performance options or 10 and 10.   

At first, I thought the same thing, but now I like it with more options than sites because it allows us to show a gap that might exist between sites.

For example, Site A might be the best at something and Site B might be second best, but Site A might be twice as good as Site B.  With the current system you could give Site A a 10 and Site B a 5.

I hope that makes sense...
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: GeoPappas on October 23, 2007, 06:27
yeah i see where you are coming from, but there is going to be around 30 sites when they are all entered :)

leaf:

I'm not sure that I would put in every site.  As almost everyone has agreed, the most important feature of a site is monthly income.  And most of the sites outside the Big 6 don't offer much of a monthly income (if anything at all).  I think that adding in another 25 or so sites would really complicate the polls but wouldn't add anything of interest.

I would add a few more sites, such as a few of the Up and Coming sites (LuckyOliver, 123RF, etc), but that is it.

Anyway, just my opinion...
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: madelaide on October 23, 2007, 06:48
Giving a thought on the poll itself, I also think that 1 to 10 is a very broad range, 1 to 5 would be easier to use.

Earnings are quite important, but I think it doesn't put the other aspects so behind.  I mean, IS is my top earmer (not this month), but I do like StockXpert much better because it is a very good earner (my best this month) and has a much easier upload system. 

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 23, 2007, 06:57
hmmm. good points.

I think i will keep at least 10, or maybe add more options.  I don't really see any disadvantage to having more voting options.  If you want to only use 5 options, like 2,4,6,8,10 you can.  The more specific people can rate the site in relation to each other the more accurate the poll will be.

Right now I voted dreamstime and fotolia earnings the same.  If the poll had 20 voting options I might have put one just over the other.

As for what sites to include - yeah it is tough.  Perhaps just including the 'up and coming' sites would be allright.  On the other hand, it is nice to know which new sites are starting to produce for people. 

If I had lots of sites on the poll it would be just as simple to 'not vote' for all the sites you didn't submit too.  Perhaps the top 15 sites could be on the poll.  that would mean we could include 5 of the new sites.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: GeoPappas on October 23, 2007, 06:58
Earnings are quite important, but I think it doesn't put the other aspects so behind.  I mean, IS is my top earmer (not this month), but I do like StockXpert much better because it is a very good earner (my best this month) and has a much easier upload system. 

I agree with you.  My point was that adding sites such as USphotostock, Fotomind, Photola, etc., etc. would just add confusion to the poll and wouldn't add anything positive.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 24, 2007, 07:04
Earnings are quite important, but I think it doesn't put the other aspects so behind.  I mean, IS is my top earmer (not this month), but I do like StockXpert much better because it is a very good earner (my best this month) and has a much easier upload system. 

I agree with you.  My point was that adding sites such as USphotostock, Fotomind, Photola, etc., etc. would just add confusion to the poll and wouldn't add anything positive.


yeah, agreed.  But then what is a good way to find out when a site becomes good enough to add to the poll?  I may just put them at the bottom so it is easy to overlook them if you want.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: madelaide on October 24, 2007, 15:51
Maybe we can keep the "Big 6" in one poll and another for other existing and new sites?  And maybe this second poll could have a simpler questionnaire, about earnings and uploading only?

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: GeoPappas on October 24, 2007, 17:33
Maybe we can keep the "Big 6" in one poll and another for other existing and new sites?  And maybe this second poll could have a simpler questionnaire, about earnings and uploading only?

FWIW, I agree that a second poll would make more sense.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 25, 2007, 08:43
Maybe we can keep the "Big 6" in one poll and another for other existing and new sites?  And maybe this second poll could have a simpler questionnaire, about earnings and uploading only?

FWIW, I agree that a second poll would make more sense.

yeah a second poll might not be such a dumb idea.

I would split the voting up some way or other.

What I had considering doing was have the voting for earnings on one page and have all 20 or so sites listed - with the sites you had voted on previously nearest the top.  Then voting for "upload process" on another page and so on....  hmm i`ll have to think about which would be best.

HOWEVER for a solution to the `overall` catagory I think i had an idea.
Perhaps scrap the user vote for the overall catagory and just have a site calculated one.
The site calculated value would be visible to the voter, and when viewing the results the user could change the weights of each of the catagories - so if he wanted the upload process score weighted heavier he could!!  So that way it would default to a nice value - what i think is important... and if the user thought someone else he could easily change it for his purposes
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: snem on October 27, 2007, 10:07
I've tryed to vote but...
"Query 34 failed: You have an error in your SQL syntax;...."
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: leaf on October 27, 2007, 11:08
I've tryed to vote but...
"Query 34 failed: You have an error in your SQL syntax;...."


try again now - i have been working on the poll a bit today trying to get it a bit more finished for next month.
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: madelaide on October 27, 2007, 11:43
"Query 34 failed: You have an error in your SQL syntax;...."

SQL has been a problem in our lives lately.  :D
Title: Re: The polls are open :)
Post by: snem on October 27, 2007, 12:00
Works :-)