Quote from: Nico on July 16, 2018, 05:28

My guess is that this behaviour is coded somewhere in the search algorithm, directly, or indirectly. But it can be only a guess, because those algorithms are never disclosed.

or in the finite size of the market

Well, I think the finite size of the market influences the vertical scale of the lifecycle graph (the volume of downloads), but not its shape (up, then down).

Let's take the example of a landscape photo of London.

The number of downloads per month depends on:
- The number of potential buyers (here is the size of the market, or the demand)
- The number of photos from competitors available on stock (more competition = more offer = less downloads for our photo)

I believe that for a landscape photo of London, the demand is stable or increases.

What could create the up and down shape of the lifecycle is an increase of the competition: the photo becomes online, then it gains popularity during the first months, then the competition becomes stronger, and there are less and less sales for our photo.

However photos after photos, subjects after subjects, I notice a consistent shape of the lifecycle. It cannot be random.  I believe that search algorithms take into account the "age of the photo" to show less the old photos, and provide more turnover, so customers always have fresh content. I imagine the three main criteria in search algorithms are:
- Relevance with the search (the higher the relevance, the higher the position in search results)
- Popularity of the photo (the higher the popularity, the higher the position in search results)
- Age of the photo (the oldest, the lower the position in search results)

New photos are not popular, so we don't sell them that much during the first months.
Then maybe they become popular and sell a lot.
Then they get old, go further in the search results, thus become less popular, and sell less and less

I believe you are overthinking it....all products in any industry have a similar life cycle. Nothing "special" about microstock pictures.

Meh, many industries would call it "Market Saturation" I think in stock some photos definitely have a time of relevance ... which may occur well before saturation. Think Saturation if it ends up as a meme and relevance if it's a timely editorial photo.

http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/

yep, it is what it is, has been known forever

Quote from: Nico on July 16, 2018, 12:02

Let's take the example of a landscape photo of London.
The number of downloads per month depends on:
- The number of potential buyers (here is the size of the market, or the demand)
- The number of photos from competitors available on stock (more competition = more offer = less downloads for our photo)
I believe that for a landscape photo of London, the demand is stable or increases.

Poor example, as London's cityscape is changing extremely quickly, probably more now than for some decades previously. I don't live there, but I visited in the same week this year as last year, and there is so much building going on, and buildings which were under construction last year are now completed, with more buildings being built around them. I'd expect a lot of London cityscapes to have a more limited shelf life, as files become dated, unless people are doing 'then and now' articles.

Probably a more "timeless"  landscape would be a better example though even then with political and geological instabilities you can't be sure.....I think while we can all see that every image has a lifespan predicting it for an individual one is impossible...but we can estimate an average.

I recently published an article on UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This is in light of UNESCO this month adding 19 new locations:

http://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2018/07/05/unesco-world-heritage-sites/

Further to the comments above, save for some catastrophic event, local authorities have a legal obligation to to preserve such sites, therefore such images should have a long shelf life.

Most relevant is that supposing you have some quality images of one or more of the 19 new locations. I would predict that the value of such images (even if done at mediocre standard) have gone up considerably owing to the popularity of these world heritage sites. Eventually demand would taper off as the buzz fades away and more visitors snap away. Here's the complete list of new entrants (link to full list of sites on link above):

Aasivissuit � Nipisat in Denmark
Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia
Ancient City of Qalhat, Oman
Archaeological Border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke, Germany
Caliphate City of Medina Azahara, Spain
G�bekli Tepe, Turkey
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region, Japan
Ivrea, Italy
Naumburg Cathedral, Germany
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries, Republic of Korea
Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region, Iran
Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site, Kenya
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, India
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains, South Africa
Chaine des Puys � Limagne fault tectonic arena, France
Fanjingshan, China
Chiribiquete National Park � �The Maloca of the Jaguar�, Colombia
Pimachiowin Aki, Canada
Tehuac�n-Cuicatl�n Valley: original habitat of Mesoamerica, Mexico
 
I was recently in Tarragona, Spain and managed a nice shot of the Roman Amphitheater, as part of the Archaeological Emsemble of Tarraco - UNESCO World Heritage Site. Maybe has a chance as only 286 similar images on SS. Did some time lapses and real time footage there as well.

Brutally honest?

More like "touchingly naive". :-)

Quote

Brutally honest?

More like "touchingly naive". :-)

77,982 Eiffel Tower stock photos
37,205 Big Ben stock photos
30,141 Statue Of Liberty stock photos
29,971 Colosseum stock photos

Compared to the above usual oversupplied suspects, 286 mainly mediocre images means I may have a shot at a few sales somewhere.

----

I think it's naive to underestimate the prestige that comes with a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

I thought he meant it was sweet of you to give us all the heads up!

But how does prestige translate into sales?

Prestige by itself won't necessarily translate into sales since even run-of-the-mill historic sites can be highly profitable depending on a number of factors such as supply/demand/life cycle/technicals, etc. However, sticking with the point about UNESCO, such rubber-stamp seal of approval, in my opinion, gives such historical/natural sites a higher standing than others, regardless if deservedly or not. Nat Geo, Travel guides (such as Lonely Planet), travel blogs, airliner ads/magazines, etc love featuring such sites and of course mention the label.

There's always a danger with speaking generally since there are so many exceptions and I don't want this response to be too long. Venice and its Lagoons is listed as a World Heritage Site (Ref 394), but a quick search will indicate that such images of Venice are oversupplied. I've been there 3 times and came back with 100s of images which rarely sell.

There are many sites which are deservedly world-class but few people have heard of them since perhaps they don't receive the coverage they deserve. It's like the the whole "if a tree falls in a forest does it make a sound" riddle. In the travel stock world it's more like "if nobody has heard of it, will it sell?" An argument can be made to put it in a specialist agency and not on micros but that's another matter.

Therefore, selecting to capture such sites and within a budget may translate into sales. Next onto the budget.

I suspect not enough to finance a photo-taking trip to some of those new sites.

I'm fortunate that I spend quite a bit of time in Italy which is the country with the highest number of World Heritage Sites (55). I'm in Milan and within a 300km basis I can relatively easily and at low cost reach one of at least 20 sites on a day-trip, perhaps even more than one.

For those who live in the Midwest of the US, for example, it's not so easy, of course. Vast distances and huge costs. All depends where you live. Here's a link to the UNESCO site listing all the locations by country via an interactive map.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/

It's nearly impossible to justify huge expenses for images that end up on micros. I suspect a trip to Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia won't come cheap and you'll get awkward questions by immigration officers on your return to the US.

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 16, 2018, 12:17

I believe you are overthinking it....all products in any industry have a similar life cycle. Nothing "special" about microstock pictures.

Or microstock the business, the agents, or our photos. Secret codes, where does this come from, sci-fi movies? "Klaatu barada nikto"

Yes it does and freedom of speech is not a license to be stupid. But forums are a place for anyone to put up any crazy idea and somebody will believe them and repeat it as a fact. Dumb is dumb all over. Doesn't matter how many people say the same dumb things, that isn't making it more truth.

Quote from: YadaYadaYada on August 04, 2018, 20:30

Quote from: alan b traehern on July 30, 2018, 12:18

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 16, 2018, 12:17

I believe you are overthinking it....all products in any industry have a similar life cycle. Nothing "special" about microstock pictures.

Or microstock the business, the agents, or our photos. Secret codes, where does this come from, sci-fi movies? "Klaatu barada nikto"

Yes it does and freedom of speech is not a license to be stupid. But forums are a place for anyone to put up any crazy idea and somebody will believe them and repeat it as a fact. Dumb is dumb all over. Doesn't matter how many people say the same dumb things, that isn't making it more truth.

As your post proves. Still almost 14 Years later My #1 seller is still My first Uploaded pic to Micro.

You mean this one (last photo on your SS port when ordered by "New")?
Excuse me, but I have hard time believing it.

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 16, 2018, 12:17

I believe you are overthinking it....all products in any industry have a similar life cycle. Nothing "special" about microstock pictures.

Or microstock the business, the agents, or our photos. Secret codes, where does this come from, sci-fi movies? "Klaatu barada nikto"

Funny Tragic, true story. about 35 Years ago or More Im at a restaurant across the street from My Office On Sunset Blvd.. I see Patrica Neal sit down and My all time Fav scifi Flick comes up in My head. i say to myself I have to do this. I get up walk over to her and very Politely say Klaatu Barada Nikto and said I have to know what it meant and what did Gort think? and even told her it was what you said to Gort because she looked confused... she Looked up and said. Im so sorry But, I have no idea what your talking about. Man, I felt Bad. a week Later I was told she had a stroke. Being a Lifelong film buff she always blew me away. Especially In HUD.I found out years later it meant save the world

Nope, far from first Image Just Like most things on SS. screwed up.Spoon of sugar  was early  though If that helps your Point whatever that is.Also that Football Image had a very successful Print /Gallery run 3 Years Prior to Micro.It was film BTW, If thats helps whatever spin your trying to do.
   ID: 424161

The Forward Line  July 14th 2005.

My spin is that your are contradicting yourself, trying to do your own spin. I can understand that often it's hard to keep track of details, when you are spinning.

You don't have a photo with the ID: 424161!

You could be talking about your first photo related to football you ever uploaded to micro. That's photo ID: 432037 (see below).


So, while that football photo could be your best seller, indeed (it's a good shot, currently on the second global popular page when searching for "football line" photos), it's clearly NOT the first photo you have uploaded to micro.
Assuming that SS was the first micro agency you ever tried, then the spoon shot is, very likely, your "first Uploaded pic to Micro", unless you deleted some of your early uploads.

You should know better than blaming Shutterstock for your mistakes. Half truths are worse than full lies.

I am also a true believer of them manipulating Our sales. and That statement is Not a tinfoil Hat . just experience.

Define "manipulating".

I said it before, even your local supermarket is "manipulating" their sales by placing specific products in high traffic areas, let alone Amazon & Co, through their sophisticated ways of tracking buyers preferences. Why would SS be different?

Speaking about tin foil: what do you think about "Better Call Saul"?