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Author Topic: We need competition to Stocksy!  (Read 21952 times)

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« Reply #75 on: July 14, 2014, 17:00 »
0
SS IS etc rely on "semi-talented" reviewers to act as gate keepers, but they really don't curate the images... the buyer stil has to look for images that fit their vision or need.
How could any curator or curating-group second guess which image would meet a particular buyer's vision or need?1 Puts me in mind of the old frustration of newspaper togs having their photo cropped or changed because a last minute ad was dropped in.
It's not always the 'best' photo which gets used, just the 'best one for the job'.


There are people who have the same vision or esthetic ... If I were ( for example) to create a collection of the best pasta dishes on shutter stock, my view of what is best would be different than yours ( though there may be overlap).  So if a buyer likes how i see things, and they want a pasta dish, they may prefer to look through my collection before they dive deeply into the entire collection.

If I created a "edgy pasta" collection, it would be different than your "romantic Pasta" collection....I know this is what keywording is for, but having a person decide would be different.


« Reply #76 on: July 16, 2014, 21:32 »
+1
could symbios be converted to a coop since it already has a lot of folks on it?


I'm running a symbiostock based co-op -- it's still independent photographers who don't want the hassles of running their own website -- somewhat surprisingly (to me)  this group of independent sites has a very high alexa rating - placing it in the 11th position overall of 180 sites

http://cascoly.com/symbio/list.asp?list=66

I've started my own sub-site concentrating on my recent turkey images
http://turkey.symbiostock-network.com

btw, after our recent fantastic turkey trip, I'm now collaborating with my Turkish guide/.friend to offer new trips to turkey over the next year
http://cascolytravel.com   while not specifically oriented to photography I did manage to bring back over 6000 images which are already r\selling on SS and other sites.  the itinerary is flexible and easily adapted to photographers' specific needs

« Reply #77 on: July 17, 2014, 16:35 »
+1
could symbios be converted to a coop since it already has a lot of folks on it?


I'm running a symbiostock based co-op -- it's still independent photographers who don't want the hassles of running their own website -- somewhat surprisingly (to me)  this group of independent sites has a very high alexa rating - placing it in the 11th position overall of 180 sites

http://cascoly.com/symbio/list.asp?list=66

I've started my own sub-site concentrating on my recent turkey images
http://turkey.symbiostock-network.com

btw, after our recent fantastic turkey trip, I'm now collaborating with my Turkish guide/.friend to offer new trips to turkey over the next year
http://cascolytravel.com   while not specifically oriented to photography I did manage to bring back over 6000 images which are already r\selling on SS and other sites.  the itinerary is flexible and easily adapted to photographers' specific needs


How do you keep Americans safe in turkey? I travel third world and have been to Egypt, India, Amazon, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc, but I wouldn't go back to Egypt, nor would I go to turkey.

« Reply #78 on: July 17, 2014, 19:06 »
+1
could symbios be converted to a coop since it already has a lot of folks on it?


I'm running a symbiostock based co-op -- it's still independent photographers who don't want the hassles of running their own website -- somewhat surprisingly (to me)  this group of independent sites has a very high alexa rating - placing it in the 11th position overall of 180 sites

http://cascoly.com/symbio/list.asp?list=66

I've started my own sub-site concentrating on my recent turkey images
http://turkey.symbiostock-network.com

btw, after our recent fantastic turkey trip, I'm now collaborating with my Turkish guide/.friend to offer new trips to turkey over the next year
http://cascolytravel.com   while not specifically oriented to photography I did manage to bring back over 6000 images which are already r\selling on SS and other sites.  the itinerary is flexible and easily adapted to photographers' specific needs


How do you keep Americans safe in turkey? I travel third world and have been to Egypt, India, Amazon, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc, but I wouldn't go back to Egypt, nor would I go to turkey.


just shows you haven't done your research -- unfortunately, many people, americans in particular have the same conception, and it's really hurt the Turkish tourism industry.

we traveled 6000km over 5 weeks and had no problems -- turks are welcoming and friendly, the food is great & photo ops everywhere.  the east is more conservative,  - a few people show they don't want their pictures taken, but common sense  & courtesy get you thru

we drove to the Syrian border one day, and passed a large syrian refugee camp about 15km from the border.  despite that, there was little police or military presence - certainly less than our first trip 15 years ago  when there were many police check points in the east.

« Reply #79 on: July 21, 2014, 10:05 »
+1
By the way: How long will it take until buyers are tired of this special Stocksy style?

i read the title of this thread and i shake head LOL, to be a competition you must have a track record (like Shutterstock or Getty). in marketing, anything less than 10 years is no track record. flavor of the day, month, decade, means NFA because consumers span like a 3 yr old. much like you see every garbage day in your elite "rich" neighbourhood... when you drive by to see all the last year's model is out there in the trash with "free to take away!".
repeat, until these new names with amazingly funny criteria of "new stock ideas" (and they laugh at Mr. Arcurs when he said mobs are the new micro!!!)..
and they goo ooh ahhh with Stocksy because the ex-Istock magician owns it .

remember Istock if i wiki it, made fame with giving away free images,
then he sold and took profit,
then poof, he is now the new magician with new stock thing. oh, with offset, of course !!!

LMAO..

« Reply #80 on: July 21, 2014, 10:13 »
-2
So did they turn you down ?

« Reply #81 on: July 21, 2014, 13:25 »
+3
So did they turn you down ?

lol, no, not yet!  but why is it u have to turn personal ? r u so lacking in constructive discussion?
as Tyler mentioned, we are not here to go off topic each time we say something u disagree!
the irony is that as soon as we all look to another choice besides SS or some new flavour of the market,
everyone goes gaga, like pop music with the lady LMAO

ok btt. it is to the interest of everyone to have more choices than just SS . as for offset and stocksy,
you cannot tell me it's making a success. everything that is new looks successful at the beginning.
as i said, we all felt the same way with Veer.  remember?

« Reply #82 on: July 23, 2014, 11:01 »
+1
SS IS etc rely on "semi-talented" reviewers to act as gate keepers, but they really don't curate the images... the buyer stil has to look for images that fit their vision or need.
How could any curator or curating-group second guess which image would meet a particular buyer's vision or need?1 Puts me in mind of the old frustration of newspaper togs having their photo cropped or changed because a last minute ad was dropped in.
It's not always the 'best' photo which gets used, just the 'best one for the job'.


There are people who have the same vision or esthetic ... If I were ( for example) to create a collection of the best pasta dishes on shutter stock, my view of what is best would be different than yours ( though there may be overlap).  So if a buyer likes how i see things, and they want a pasta dish, they may prefer to look through my collection before they dive deeply into the entire collection.

If I created a "edgy pasta" collection, it would be different than your "romantic Pasta" collection....I know this is what keywording is for, but having a person decide would be different.

first, having semi-talented reviewers are no better or worse than having say at IS,etc another contributor reviewing your work ( have you walked into the kitchen to smell conflict of interest, anyone???...
as they say in Resident Evil ... "manyyyyy!")
... psst, sure, go ahead and add that minus sign.  i don't mind at all lmao!!!

secondly, i agree, there is really not that much art in isolated apples,etc..
and if your pasta looks better , fresher, different from the rest of your pasta...
you might just come up ahead of the rest of the not so tasty looking pastas

unfortunately, most clients don't give a r@t$ ar$e about creative photography, creative focusing  ( ie. creative focusing, and not just sheer totally off focus camera user blunder,lol)...
proper rendition of daylight during the period when the WB is never white ( as one classic painter
once corrected his apprentice when he painted the cloud white all the time. .."are you painting what you see, or just painting what you remember?")

anyway, off topic.  but yes, we do need alternatives. but from the right side of this page,
i see lots of alternatives, but not many viable one with a track record of consistent sales and regular payout to me, you ,etc..
only lots of promises of higher commissions, and more only smoking allowed, no jeans pls,etc.
but nothing really worth investigating outside of Shutterstock and Getty.

at least, not yet ! i am always open to a nudge and a wink, if you show me the money  ;)
just don't give me the political rhetorics !!!


« Reply #83 on: July 23, 2014, 17:32 »
0
I have had an idea bouncing around in my head that might be time to talk about.

Crowd sourced curation.


Comments?


istock had this long ago with their excellent public lightbox system. You could create as many public galleries as you wanted and a designer could then bookmark this gallery for future reference. Many people are not the best shooters (or have no time to shoot) but they are excellent curators and those galleries were unbelievably fascinating. And  files that were taken up into many public lightboxes sold extremely well and were very reliable in their sales, because you are less dependent on best match.

You could also have several admins for a gallery,for instance invite your friends to add files if you were interested in the same subject, or if you had done a shoot together, or just ask other people from your town to add their local files.

I loved the istock lightboxes. And for every image you could check the galleries it was in on a special page. They even had little previews for the galleries the designer could mouse over.

Public lightboxes are an excellent way to crowd source editing. And the marketing team can then promote the best editors in their own page or competitions etc...because good editing is an art in itself.

I really wish Shutterstock would give us public lightboxes to add files from many contributors, or allow us to share galleries with others. You of course need to limit the content from your own files, so the gallery remains useful, for instance not more than 50% your own content.

It takes worlds of work from the curators, they then just have to be "super curators" who can ride on the wave of prefiltered content from the crowd.

It also creates a new layer for the community to interact, especially between the designers/ buyers and the artists. So when you are not shooting and uploading, you could browse the gallery section for inspiration. Even more "stickiness" for the site.

Have a look at all the galleries Tina created. and many other artists still have them visible. http://www.istockphoto.com/t-lorien
« Last Edit: July 23, 2014, 17:41 by cobalt »

« Reply #84 on: July 24, 2014, 12:06 »
-3
from the little i read of Stocksy, i take it that it is a coop, like everyone says it is, that is different from the other new thingey... Symbiostock . but technically speaking, i do not see the difference much.
it is both having a group of like-thinking people making their own exclusive or special interest site, linking to each other, or as JSLocke mentioned in one of his post re Stocksy, you have to have social-media because we push each other. i think that what he said.
Symbiostock is the same, no?

so, really, for today, the flavour of the month(s) is pointing to everyone reaching for straws in response
to what our friend on SS (*his new thread ) is asking "are you driving us away?".

we all no doubt will end up into little tribes, and either we co-exist (stocksy, symbiostock, creative-commons,) or we plunder each other while SS and the great emperor Getty  sit there and still generate more income and more millions of new images from new contributors...
and
nary
a
blink
...

the new microstock,   TRIBAL STOCK...
now, if only i can convince Yuri and Dolgachov to be my honourary contributors.

i am sure of making the initial years a boon startup, without even taking in any more contributors  8)

um, Mr Dolgachov, sir !!! Mr. Arcurs, sir!!!....  (brown nosing here!!! LMAO)

« Reply #85 on: July 24, 2014, 20:17 »
+9
I'm not a member of Stocksy, primarily because I'm iStock exclusive. But two years of plummeting sales has me thinking about greener pastures. This is after 12 years of loyalty to iStock. I'm a big believer in what Stocksy is doing and I'm sure I could become a member because their philosophies regarding that fine line between art and business seem to be inline with my own. I prefer creating images in a very focused way with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

Yes, they are quite exclusive. One common complaint I've heard from my designer friends is that they love everything about Stocksy except they can't find the images they need. I also believe that Stocksy's management wants to keep their collection pristine and beautiful, which comes at the cost of limiting content. On the other hand, after witnessing iStock's stellar management for the first 10 years of it's existence, I do feel that they will find a better balance over time. Over 10 years, iStock grew from a freebie site, to invent microstock, and then find it's way to midstock which developed the perfect balance between high quality content and high volume of sales. They had a nice little niche and a lot of artists became successful. 

Does anyone here remember iStockPro? I think it was a failed experiment because it took iStock's focus away from who they really were and were really just mimicking the more traditional agencies out there. On the other hand, I believe that from a business growth perspective, Stocksy will open the doors a little wider in the future and even come up with a Stocksy-Lite version that will offer high quality generic stock at a more competitive price. That will act as a separate entity so it doesn't dilute their existing highly curated collection. But we may be talking 3-5 years here.

If any of us here felt like it was a good idea to start up an agency, we would have done it a long time ago before there was 44+ pre-existing agencies. Does anyone have a couple million dollars to invest in a startup agency? Probably not, and even then that would be a lot of work and a lot of risk. What we should be doing is supporting these guys at Stocksy and petitioning them to make a bigger play for generic imagery as well.

« Reply #86 on: July 25, 2014, 03:02 »
+1
I wonder whether they will ever allow non members to submit. ie open submissions for people who are not part of the co-op. At a reduced rate and no dividend. Like being an associate.

stock-will-eat-itself

« Reply #87 on: July 25, 2014, 03:51 »
+2
One common complaint I've heard from my designer friends is that they love everything about Stocksy except they can't find the images they need.

This is the problem I've had, I've tried buying images there before but they didn't have any illustrations or icon sets to go with the images I needed.
If they had illustrations I would have bought everything at Stocksy, but deadlines are always tight and I ended up buying an image pack at SS.
I love the collection at Stocksy but the reality is clients need a variety of images and illustrations for their marketing which makes it difficult for designers like me to shop there.


« Reply #88 on: July 25, 2014, 04:33 »
+1
Since last week, I was looking for some interior shots with photo frames on the wall. Since I want it to look not too generic, not the same popular images  that are spread across all all microstock site, I check out Stocksy as I know their images are exclusive, but nada, I can't find a thing. Getty has something, but no way I will support them.

« Reply #89 on: July 25, 2014, 08:40 »
0
This is the problem I've had, I've tried buying images there before but they didn't have any illustrations or icon sets to go with the images I needed.
If they had illustrations I would have bought everything at Stocksy, but deadlines are always tight and I ended up buying an image pack at SS.
I love the collection at Stocksy but the reality is clients need a variety of images and illustrations for their marketing which makes it difficult for designers like me to shop there.

Right now, it's not meant to be a one stop shop for everything.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #90 on: July 25, 2014, 11:22 »
+2
I don't think we need competition to Stocksy. What would that do - drive down prices?
What could be needed is a fair agency, with inspection standards, which would supply the image types/styles which Stocksy doesn't want.
First find your multi-millionaire with previous industry experience ...

« Reply #91 on: July 25, 2014, 17:10 »
+2
I don't think we need competition to Stocksy. What would that do - drive down prices?
What could be needed is a fair agency, with inspection standards, which would supply the image types/styles which Stocksy doesn't want.
First find your multi-millionaire with previous industry experience ...

1) isn't that what SS is doing? supply the image Stocksy doesn't want?
2) if i were your mutli-millionaire, why would i be foolish enough to start another agency?


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #92 on: July 28, 2014, 11:32 »
-1
I don't think we need competition to Stocksy. What would that do - drive down prices?
What could be needed is a fair agency, with inspection standards, which would supply the image types/styles which Stocksy doesn't want.
First find your multi-millionaire with previous industry experience ...

1) isn't that what SS is doing? supply the image Stocksy doesn't want?
The subs price level is insultingly low for rigidly inspected images; not in the same ball game.

2) if i were your mutli-millionaire, why would i be foolish enough to start another agency?
Quite.

« Reply #93 on: July 28, 2014, 12:31 »
0

1) isn't that what SS is doing? supply the image Stocksy doesn't want?
The subs price level is insultingly low for rigidly inspected images; not in the same ball game.

2) if i were your mutli-millionaire, why would i be foolish enough to start another agency?
Quite.

partly true, it is at times a bit anal, and with Atilla 100% rejection for those who complained in the threads here and there, it is seemingly rigid. but i have seen some of the rejection complaints and they are not quite the stock photos u want in SS either. and yes, they do look out of focus, WB off, or even poor compositions. but i agree, if u want to be that rigid,
then let's see more money.

but we have over 20 sites that are less rigid and they don't sell at all. look at it, 0.4 - 6 %
is not exactly encouraging, for me to spend time uploading to a site.
that could well explain why Shutterstock is a bit rigid, and at time anal.
but not enough to justify Atilla and her motely breed of 100% rejectors.



still, we don't get 38 cents or 33 cts all the time. i still see a buck, 2 bucks, 28 bucks, 80 bucks, 105 bucks,... so it is not just 33 cents. u will see 33 cents for the marginal stuff or clones of clones by cousins and cousins' cousins  8)
but i would not object to anyone asking for more money for all of us.

and i am still waiting for a multi millionaire to come in , start a new site and say she/he cares for suppliers (hyperbole much???).
but not holding my breath...   as i have seen too many striped leopards  8)
« Last Edit: July 28, 2014, 12:37 by etudiante_rapide »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #94 on: July 28, 2014, 14:15 »
-1
still, we don't get 38 cents or 33 cts all the time. i still see a buck, 2 bucks, 28 bucks, 80 bucks, 105 bucks,... so it is not just 33 cents. u will see 33 cents for the marginal stuff or clones of clones by cousins and cousins' cousins  8)
I've never heard that only simple or common images get sold for subs. I thought it was just up to the buyer's needs for the image. I thought even the most special stuff could earn you 25c - 38c or woteva.

« Reply #95 on: July 28, 2014, 14:40 »
0
still, we don't get 38 cents or 33 cts all the time. i still see a buck, 2 bucks, 28 bucks, 80 bucks, 105 bucks,... so it is not just 33 cents. u will see 33 cents for the marginal stuff or clones of clones by cousins and cousins' cousins  8)
I've never heard that only simple or common images get sold for subs. I thought it was just up to the buyer's needs for the image. I thought even the most special stuff could earn you 25c - 38c or woteva.

I was answering to your statement that SS pays insultingly low for rigidly inspected images
to which i say from my own earnings i quoted as above that it is not true.
repeat... i have earned daily one, two dollars, and also 28 dollars, 80 odd dollars, and lately 105 dollars per image download.
so, in answer to your comment, NOT INSULTINGLY LOW subs prices. and i am sure many other SS-ers who have good portfolios, will tell you the insultingly low  subs prices are not a regular anymore.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2014, 14:44 by etudiante_rapide »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #96 on: July 28, 2014, 16:17 »
0

I was answering to your statement that SS pays insultingly low for rigidly inspected images
to which i say from my own earnings i quoted as above that it is not true.
repeat... i have earned daily one, two dollars, and also 28 dollars, 80 odd dollars, and lately 105 dollars per image download.
so, in answer to your comment, NOT INSULTINGLY LOW subs prices. and i am sure many other SS-ers who have good portfolios, will tell you the insultingly low  subs prices are not a regular anymore.
I said the subs prices are insultingly low, and made no comment about anything else.
I accept your right to believe that 25c-38c for a sub sale is not an insult, though I obviously don't agree. Don't change what I said.

« Reply #97 on: July 28, 2014, 16:58 »
0
Don't change what I said.

LOL,  when u examine the net too closely u miss the fish
« Last Edit: July 28, 2014, 17:09 by etudiante_rapide »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #98 on: July 30, 2014, 06:25 »
0
Don't change what I said.

LOL,  when u examine the net too closely u miss the fish

Not only do I know people within and outwith MSG who get very few non-sub sales at SS, the fact that cheap sub sales are there (and elsewhere, obviously) perpetuates the idea that images are, and should be, cheap.
Stocksy's minimum price is a more realistic $10.

Tror

« Reply #99 on: July 30, 2014, 09:11 »
+3
Just a quick comment regarding SS review: I do NOT think it is rigid or strict. Not at all. What bothers me is that it is random and totally unprofessional - Inspectors do not seem to know the markets, the demand, no idea about composition and in general do not seem to know what they are doing. Actually I would welcome a even more rigid Inspection if they would know how to inspect / curate / edit properly.


 

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