Author Topic: abandoned ship? (Read 12698 times)

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #25 on:** February 24, 2014, 16:46 »

Going to a site and seeing Valentine stuff promoted 10 days after the holiday looks ridiculous. Locking contributor threads doesn't alter what buyers and prospective buyers will see.

loop · « **Reply #26 on:** February 24, 2014, 16:49 »

Quote from: Karen on February 24, 2014, 16:37

Quote from: jjneff on February 24, 2014, 09:22
They are looking for new images and can't find them!
Files ~~still~~ ARE showing in portfolios but ARE NOT showing up in searches.
Ghost ship, ghost files...

Search works very well and very fast.

cobalt · « **Reply #27 on:** February 24, 2014, 16:50 »

So they are closing jupiter and photos.com, they have sold iclipart...and people are reporting unusually low sales and seeing less ads for istock. Looks like a major overhaul of marketing and direction. Let's see if they can change their front page on March1st.

Honestly, if I was exclusive this would drive me crazy. What is so difficult about changing a picture? Why keep embarassing yourself to the whole world instead?

It is not the first time they do things where you wonder if there is anyone left at all at istock who is allowed to make decisions.

It's a great pity for the people that work on the team. All they can do is watch while the internet makes fun of istock.

Not fair on them, not fair on the exclusives, but again a lot of fun for the competing agencies who are watching istock fold onto itself.

Red Dove · « **Reply #28 on:** February 24, 2014, 17:23 »

"In Due Course" they said on the forum - which I'm reliably informed is their new mission statement, having received the most votes after a three day workshop attended by their most talented people.

Other suggestions from an intense brainstorming focus group that were not deemed as "impactful" or "sustainable" included "all in good time" and "as and when."

ShadySue · « **Reply #29 on:** February 24, 2014, 20:20 »

Quote from: loop on February 24, 2014, 16:49

Quote from: Karen on February 24, 2014, 16:37
Quote from: jjneff on February 24, 2014, 09:22
They are looking for new images and can't find them!

Files ~~still~~ ARE showing in portfolios but ARE NOT showing up in searches.
Ghost ship, ghost files...

Search works very well and very fast.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=359422&page=1

Goofy · « **Reply #30 on:** February 24, 2014, 20:28 »

if they are an 'Abandoned Ship' why are they collecting money from all us for their overpayment on PP.

loop · « **Reply #31 on:** February 24, 2014, 20:36 »

Quote from: ShadySue on February 24, 2014, 20:20

Quote from: loop on February 24, 2014, 16:49
Quote from: Karen on February 24, 2014, 16:37
Quote from: jjneff on February 24, 2014, 09:22
They are looking for new images and can't find them!

Files ~~still~~ ARE showing in portfolios but ARE NOT showing up in searches.
Ghost ship, ghost files...

Search works very well and very fast.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=359422&page=1

That just affects a handfull of files. Btw, I just sold one uploaded yesterday.

Karen · « **Reply #32 on:** February 25, 2014, 01:14 »

Quote from: cobalt on February 24, 2014, 08:47

If they don´t want to offer exclusive images, then at least they should offer the possibility of a second "exclusive" account, for those who want to send them exclusive stuff.

It is a shame they are offering these deals only to artists that come in from getty instead of offering it to their own community of exclusives.

If I was exclusive this would drive me crazy.

Karen · « **Reply #33 on:** February 25, 2014, 02:24 »

photo contest on the Getty
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=359432&messageid=6987512

Hobostocker · « **Reply #34 on:** February 26, 2014, 01:36 »

Istock is looking like a textbook case of bad management, they finally managed to tank the company with total disregard for both suppliers and buyers along with their notorious lack of vision and long term planning.

There must be a major re-org going on at Getty, they will probably merge IS + Thinkstock and other underperforming divisions, in any case their grand plan for microstock domination totally backfired so far.

prill · « **Reply #35 on:** February 26, 2014, 01:50 »

posted by kelvinjay:
You don't have to do anything. If you do want to spend your time checking recent uploads to see if you are affected, then obviously feel free to do that. But we don't need the information and it won't make any difference to what the developers do to resolve it and won't speed up the process in any way.

Is that not cool?? :-)

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #36 on:** February 26, 2014, 03:22 »

Quote from: JoeClemson on February 24, 2014, 08:48

Continuing the abandoned ship metaphor, are we thinking more the Marie Celeste or the Titanic? Both seem to be appropriate metaphors to me.

Perhaps the Costa Concordia, which the captain deliberately drove too close to the rocks in the mistaken assumption that he could get out of the situation he was getting everybody into. Then he tried to run away when the thing started sinking.
Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the mysterious Rebecca Rockafellar no longer seems to mention iStock in her job title. Everywhere I look she refers to herself as Getty Images' senior VP of e-commerce. It's as if iStock has ceased to exist as an independent entity .... is that something to do with "istock 'from Getty Images' "? Is it just one more GI collection, like Photographers' Choice?

ShadySue · « **Reply #37 on:** February 26, 2014, 03:44 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 03:22

Quote from: JoeClemson on February 24, 2014, 08:48
Continuing the abandoned ship metaphor, are we thinking more the Marie Celeste or the Titanic? Both seem to be appropriate metaphors to me.
Perhaps the Costa Concordia, which the captain deliberately drove too close to the rocks in the mistaken assumption that he could get out of the situation he was getting everybody into. Then he tried to run away when the thing started sinking.
Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the mysterious Rebecca Rockafellar no longer seems to mention iStock in her job title. Everywhere I look she refers to herself as Getty Images' senior VP of e-commerce. It's as if iStock has ceased to exist as an independent entity .... is that something to do with "istock 'from Getty Images' "? Is it just one more GI collection, like Photographers' Choice?

Didn't someone discover that RR had been replaced, quite some time ago, by another woman, though it was never officially announced?

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #38 on:** February 26, 2014, 03:49 »

Quote from: ShadySue on February 26, 2014, 03:44

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 03:22
Quote from: JoeClemson on February 24, 2014, 08:48
Continuing the abandoned ship metaphor, are we thinking more the Marie Celeste or the Titanic? Both seem to be appropriate metaphors to me.
Perhaps the Costa Concordia, which the captain deliberately drove too close to the rocks in the mistaken assumption that he could get out of the situation he was getting everybody into. Then he tried to run away when the thing started sinking.
Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the mysterious Rebecca Rockafellar no longer seems to mention iStock in her job title. Everywhere I look she refers to herself as Getty Images' senior VP of e-commerce. It's as if iStock has ceased to exist as an independent entity .... is that something to do with "istock 'from Getty Images' "? Is it just one more GI collection, like Photographers' Choice?
Didn't someone discover that RR had been replaced, quite some time ago, by another woman, though it was never officially announced?

I didn't know that. If true it's just another sign that they don't have a clue what to do with the place. What a come-down from the days when Bruce would have tech mag staff queuing to report the latest pearls of wisdom from the genius behind the iStock brand. Now it seems you have to struggle to find out who's supposed to be running it.

Newsfocus1 · « **Reply #39 on:** February 26, 2014, 04:03 »

Quote from: ShadySue on February 26, 2014, 03:44

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 03:22
Quote from: JoeClemson on February 24, 2014, 08:48
Continuing the abandoned ship metaphor, are we thinking more the Marie Celeste or the Titanic? Both seem to be appropriate metaphors to me.

Perhaps the Costa Concordia, which the captain deliberately drove too close to the rocks in the mistaken assumption that he could get out of the situation he was getting everybody into. Then he tried to run away when the thing started sinking.
Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the mysterious Rebecca Rockafellar no longer seems to mention iStock in her job title. Everywhere I look she refers to herself as Getty Images' senior VP of e-commerce. It's as if iStock has ceased to exist as an independent entity .... is that something to do with "istock 'from Getty Images' "? Is it just one more GI collection, like Photographers' Choice?

Didn't someone discover that RR had been replaced, quite some time ago, by another woman, though it was never officially announced?

Ellen Desmarais: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/getty-images-names-ellen-desmarais-general-manager-of-istockphoto-215622531.html

Not that we've heard anything from her either.....

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #40 on:** February 26, 2014, 04:20 »

Quote from: Newsfocus1 on February 26, 2014, 04:03

Quote from: ShadySue on February 26, 2014, 03:44
Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 03:22
Quote from: JoeClemson on February 24, 2014, 08:48
Continuing the abandoned ship metaphor, are we thinking more the Marie Celeste or the Titanic? Both seem to be appropriate metaphors to me.

Perhaps the Costa Concordia, which the captain deliberately drove too close to the rocks in the mistaken assumption that he could get out of the situation he was getting everybody into. Then he tried to run away when the thing started sinking.
Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the mysterious Rebecca Rockafellar no longer seems to mention iStock in her job title. Everywhere I look she refers to herself as Getty Images' senior VP of e-commerce. It's as if iStock has ceased to exist as an independent entity .... is that something to do with "istock 'from Getty Images' "? Is it just one more GI collection, like Photographers' Choice?

Didn't someone discover that RR had been replaced, quite some time ago, by another woman, though it was never officially announced?

Ellen Desmarais: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/getty-images-names-ellen-desmarais-general-manager-of-istockphoto-215622531.html

Not that we've heard anything from her either.....

Hmm.... as soon as you see that the new girl has skills in "impactful growth initiatives" and has a "remarkable ability to drive impactful results" you know that nothing has changed.

You'd think changing the wallpaper on the landing page would be an impactful result, and not one that required "remarkable ability", either.

ShadySue · « **Reply #41 on:** February 26, 2014, 04:41 »

It's no wonder we think it's an abandoned ship.
What else does the 'front pages designer' actually do?

Perry · « **Reply #42 on:** February 26, 2014, 05:57 »

LOL.. they are even answered the question this time:

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback but, as pointed our in a previous thread on the same topic here, it's something we are already aware of. The site has most definitely not been abandoned and the various landing pages will be updated in due course.

They are "aware of" it!

How hard is it to know that Valentine's day images are not the hottest thing to sell february 15th? Why don't they have the next images ready? Are they just plain stupid? They always seem to need a couple weeks of "aware of"-time before doing any simple task...

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #43 on:** February 26, 2014, 06:51 »

I always thought they couldn't fix all the bugs they are aware of because the computer code was fiendishly complicated, but if the GM can be aware of the Valentine's picture issue and can't be bothered to pick up a phone and tell someone to drop an Easter picture and text into that slot, then maybe the problem is ineffectual leadership and a command structure that is so rigid and moribund that it is incapable of even deciding to wipe its own bottom when the need arises.

Ploink · « **Reply #44 on:** February 26, 2014, 07:07 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 06:51

...then maybe the problem is ineffectual leadership and a command structure that is so rigid and moribund that it is incapable of even deciding to wipe its own bottom when the need arises.

They are past caring, which, in light of your colorful analogy, is a bit scary...

Karen · « **Reply #45 on:** February 26, 2014, 09:03 »

The captain of this ship is busy investigating September and October 2013 payouts irregularities.

Red Dove · « **Reply #46 on:** February 26, 2014, 09:47 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 06:51

I always thought they couldn't fix all the bugs they are aware of because the computer code was fiendishly complicated, but if the GM can be aware of the Valentine's picture issue and can't be bothered to pick up a phone and tell someone to drop an Easter picture and text into that slot, then maybe the problem is ineffectual leadership and a command structure that is so rigid and moribund that it is incapable of even deciding to wipe its own bottom when the need arises.

In the western economy companies I've worked for or with, it is not considered wise to tell other departments or employees they are useless or what to do on their manor. Mostly this is not about company policy or even good diplomacy but down to the fear that if you do say something the problem ends up in your in tray.

Too often senior managers use words like "empowering" their people to do their jobs properly when what they really need is the hairdryer treatment and a swift kick up the arse as they leave the room.

gbalex · « **Reply #47 on:** February 26, 2014, 11:33 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 26, 2014, 06:51

I always thought they couldn't fix all the bugs they are aware of because the computer code was fiendishly complicated, but if the GM can be aware of the Valentine's picture issue and can't be bothered to pick up a phone and tell someone to drop an Easter picture and text into that slot, then maybe the problem is ineffectual leadership and a command structure that is so rigid and moribund that it is incapable of even deciding to wipe its own bottom when the need arises.

As we know Istock dropped the ball, the site needed to be revamped long ago. The code is outdated and was never meant to scale to the size it is today. Other sites are having the same issue. Including SS. If you don't invest in the underlying technology, bugs crop up that can not be resolved. They might be able to patched some short term, but not resolved. Hence the long missing image and keyword thread at SS that never ends in the Bug Forum.

Snip
Q: Someone said if Bruce was controlling iStock now, iStock surely will be different from what it is today. Do you agree? Can I have your comments on today’s iStockPhoto?

B: If I were controlling iStockphoto, I would be investing in a long term strategy, not managing the budget by the quarter. I would firstly work on the underlying technology as it's old and outdated. It was never designed to be as big as it has become. The "best match" needs a lot of work, or could be removed entirely. The most important thing I would be doing is giving a larger share of the royalties to photographers. They should be fairly paid.

http://www.tukusheying.com/info/es_t_20130506102659.html

ShadySue · « **Reply #48 on:** February 26, 2014, 11:40 »

runeer · « **Reply #49 on:** February 26, 2014, 12:04 »

Knock knock... anyone in the iHQ? $:-\$

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Author Topic: abandoned ship? (Read 12698 times)

Jo Ann Snover

loop

cobalt

Red Dove

ShadySue

Goofy

loop

Karen

Karen

Hobostocker

prill

BaldricksTrousers

ShadySue

BaldricksTrousers

Newsfocus1

BaldricksTrousers

ShadySue

Perry

BaldricksTrousers

Ploink

Karen

Red Dove

gbalex

ShadySue

runeer

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