Author Topic: Big Change at IS (Read 54624 times)

nruboc · « **Reply #25 on:** August 04, 2011, 17:44 »

"Our goal, and part of my new mandate, will be to make sure we optimize your earnings from your content. "

Fixed this part here:

Our goal, and part of my new mandate, will be to make sure we optimize our earnings from your content.

RT · « **Reply #26 on:** August 04, 2011, 17:46 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 04, 2011, 17:39

Well, lets give the guy credit. He got through a whole announcement without saying anything boneheaded

Haha.....exactly what I thought, clearly he didn't write it. Let's just be thankful that they're finally moving this (insert whichever term you feel suits him best) into some made up position in Manhattan where he can take charge of the 'packaging' of the brand ( I'm guessing they're putting him in charge of filling the goody bags for the lypses)

helix7 · « **Reply #27 on:** August 04, 2011, 17:54 »

From the istock forum:

Quote

Huge Thanx Kelly for all things what you've done for us...

Quote

...more than the money and downloads stats, his achievement is the many lives he changed. I am very thankful.

Quote

Rock on Kelly! I hope this means less travel time for you. And more delicious restaurants...

Quote

Kelly you truly are a rockstar...

Quote

Can't wait to see what happens next

Are we that quick to forget that this is the same guy who delivered that whole "unsustainable" speech last fall?

What a horrible message this sends. The guy hands down a nearly across-the-board royalty cut and less than a year later we're singing his praises. The execs at Getty must read this stuff and think, "Look, we screwed them over and they love us for it!"

I have no doubt that ThinkStock and some of the other collections will not remain optional forever. It's no wonder Getty/istock feel inclined to always act in their own interests before those of the contributors. We pretty much give them license to do it. All the woo-yaying at every turn sends a dangerous message.

caspixel · « **Reply #28 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:00 »

Quote from: helix7 on August 04, 2011, 17:54

From the istock forum:

Quote
Huge Thanx Kelly for all things what you've done for us...

Quote
...more than the money and downloads stats, his achievement is the many lives he changed. I am very thankful.

Quote
Rock on Kelly! I hope this means less travel time for you. And more delicious restaurants...

Quote
Kelly you truly are a rockstar...

Quote
Can't wait to see what happens next

Are we that quick to forget that this is the same guy who delivered that whole "unsustainable" speech last fall?

What a horrible message this sends. The guy hands down a nearly across-the-board royalty cut and less than a year later we're singing his praises. The execs at Getty must read this stuff and think, "Look, we screwed them over and they love us for it!"

I have no doubt that ThinkStock and some of the other collections will not remain optional forever. It's no wonder Getty/istock feel inclined to always act in their own interests before those of the contributors. We pretty much give them license to do it. All the woo-yaying at every turn sends a dangerous message.

I'm so glad someone pointed all that out. Almost four and counting pages of that brown-nosing. "Thank you sir, may I have another!!!! Woo-yay!!"

sharpshot · « **Reply #29 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:02 »

I think anyone with a different viewpoint has either been banned or has given up hope with istock. I wont forget the commission cut and I'm not celebrating this promotion on the back of cutting my earnings.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #30 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:02 »

Quote from: helix7 on August 04, 2011, 17:54

the woo-yaying

it is mainly from top exclusive contributors and staff, there aren´t many guys with a few sales saying that sort of "things", how long will they be exclusive? perhaps "forever", they have given up on other agencies so or they accept their actions or they have a lot of work, actually same stuff with non-exclusives

I am perplex how the "discussion" is still holding without incidents..

Sadstock · « **Reply #31 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:04 »

Good to see him go. Sadly I expect Rebecca Rockafellar to be more of Getty corporate hack, (though with better communication skills).

However, the comments about
* "packaging" of various brands
* "make sure we optimize your earnings from your content"
* "we want the right pictures on the right sites at the right prices",
* "We’re looking at ways to resurface those images to get them selling again—even if it means moving them between sites."
are all ominous.

The "I’ll be looking for your support as we roll out these exciting new options" comment is terrifying. He's setting the table for something really bad that will involve dismembering big parts of Istock.

Certainly suggests forced transfer to Thinkstock is one likely option, but I'm sure there is worse that we have not yet imagined...

Graffoto · « **Reply #32 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:09 »

Manhattan will eat him alive.

Mantis · « **Reply #33 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:11 »

Quote from: helix7 on August 04, 2011, 17:54

From the istock forum:

Quote
Huge Thanx Kelly for all things what you've done for us...

Quote
...more than the money and downloads stats, his achievement is the many lives he changed. I am very thankful.

Quote
Rock on Kelly! I hope this means less travel time for you. And more delicious restaurants...

Quote
Kelly you truly are a rockstar...

Quote
Can't wait to see what happens next

Are we that quick to forget that this is the same guy who delivered that whole "unsustainable" speech last fall?

What a horrible message this sends. The guy hands down a nearly across-the-board royalty cut and less than a year later we're singing his praises. The execs at Getty must read this stuff and think, "Look, we screwed them over and they love us for it!"

I have no doubt that ThinkStock and some of the other collections will not remain optional forever. It's no wonder Getty/istock feel inclined to always act in their own interests before those of the contributors. We pretty much give them license to do it. All the woo-yaying at every turn sends a dangerous message.

I agree. I see nothing in his statement that excites me. What I see is contributors getting fkd more. I mean, he did such a fine job last fall that they promoted him to do more of it....with the incentive to pay for his, perhaps, fluffy salary now.

caspixel · « **Reply #34 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:21 »

Another mind-boggling post from the IS forum: "Congrats Kelly and thanks for doing such a great job." I think they forgot this though: "of screwing contributors and buyers alike."

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #35 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:34 »

If they feel there are too many files at Istock, that suggests content is going to get separated pushed to different sites.

That's old news I guess because Getty is already being purged. This will just be a further shuffling of Getty macro, Istock midstock, and TS micro subscription.

The unknown is whose files will end up where and what the end result will be.

saturated · « **Reply #36 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:40 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on August 04, 2011, 16:37

anybody from 2004 or before can talk about the progression of the royalties payed to contributors? this not an attack or sarcasm or other, just want to know about it, looked around and haven´t found much.. thanks guys

I don't recall royalty percentages ever changing (at least from Nov '04 when I joined) until the beginning of this year. However, prices went up pretty steadily every year, which for me was always enough to offset the sales drop until this year. I believe customers paid $0.50 for a small and $1.50 for a large in Nov '04.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #37 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:42 »

Quote from: saturated on August 04, 2011, 18:40

Quote from: luissantos84 on August 04, 2011, 16:37
anybody from 2004 or before can talk about the progression of the royalties payed to contributors? this not an attack or sarcasm or other, just want to know about it, looked around and haven´t found much.. thanks guys

I don't recall royalty percentages ever changing (at least from Nov '04 when I joined) until the beginning of this year. However, prices went up pretty steadily every year, which for me was always enough to offset the sales drop until this year. I believe customers paid $0.50 for a small and $1.50 for a large in Nov '04.

thanks

luissantos84 · « **Reply #38 on:** August 04, 2011, 18:45 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 04, 2011, 18:34

If they feel there are too many files at Istock, that suggests content is going to get separated pushed to different sites.

That's old news I guess because Getty is already being purged. This will just be a further shuffling of Getty macro, Istock midstock, and TS micro subscription.

The unknown is whose files will end up where and what the end result will be.

this fall?

gostwyck · « **Reply #39 on:** August 04, 2011, 19:37 »

Quote from: caspixel on August 04, 2011, 17:00

Wow, he got a promotion ...

... is the wrong answer. He's basically been sacked. He's been moved sideways and downwards both in the corporate sense and also geographically.

He was the boss of a $1B-worth company with full responsibility for P&L ... until he screwed up and probably halved it's value (at best). Two years ago IS were comfortably the #1 microstock site. Nowadays that's just history. KT's going to be the VP, note VP, of a department without any responsibility for P&L. They've finally realised he can't be trusted with P&L and that will be the ultimate humiliation for him.

Risamay · « **Reply #40 on:** August 04, 2011, 19:56 »

Quote from: gostwyck on August 04, 2011, 19:37

Quote from: caspixel on August 04, 2011, 17:00
Wow, he got a promotion ...

... is the wrong answer. He's basically been sacked. He's been moved sideways and downwards both in the corporate sense and also geographically.

He was the boss of a $1B-worth company with full responsibility for P&L ... until he screwed up and probably halved it's value (at best). Two years ago IS were comfortably the #1 microstock site. Nowadays that's just history. KT's going to be the VP, note VP, of a department without any responsibility for P&L. They've finally realised he can't be trusted with P&L and that will be the ultimate humiliation for him.

This was just explained to me by someone else. Clearly a demotion! As the unnamed source said to me, "VPs are a dime a dozen." And someone else noted, "It's like being a manager at McDonald's."

I get it now. And WooYay! Glad they've shuffled him along, but I don't think it will matter a lick in terms of the way wind is blowing at HQ in terms of policy, sales, etc.

SNP · « **Reply #41 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:07 »

these big shifts are very unsettling to say the least and I'd prefer it was just done without these tidbits of impending announcements about what I think will be a major paradigm restructure in which they're going to separate out files into collections. I think as Paulie said above, we're looking at a splitting out of content into tiers...and I suspect it won't be optional anymore where files go. I'm not happy about that.

if I play devil's advocate - I do welcome a restructure that includes divvying out content wisely into collections if it means that content will get more and broader visibility. however, if any content starts being mirrored in a greedy attempt to get paid at all levels, then I'd feel as negatively as I do about the current incarnation of the partner program.

in regards to Kelly - I'm fortunate to have met him in person before this shift happened. Kelly is an accessible, kind, genuine and truly nice person. He's intelligent and accomplished, but incredibly humble and unfortunately I think that has worked against him in terms of communicating with the community. we're a very tough crowd. I don't know what his new position entails, so I have little to say about it. but I wish him the very best in Manhattan.

gostwyck · « **Reply #42 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:12 »

I think it's almost worse than being sacked for KT __ at least then he'd probably have been due a handsome payout. Instead they offered him a lowly position 3000k miles from his home, presumably anticipating that he would resign in disgust. Unfortunately for them he's actually accepted it! Just shows how much he thought of his own likely worth in today's employment market.

caspixel · « **Reply #43 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:20 »

Quote from: gostwyck on August 04, 2011, 19:37

Quote from: caspixel on August 04, 2011, 17:00
Wow, he got a promotion ...

... is the wrong answer. He's basically been sacked. He's been moved sideways and downwards both in the corporate sense and also geographically.

He was the boss of a $1B-worth company with full responsibility for P&L ... until he screwed up and probably halved it's value (at best). Two years ago IS were comfortably the #1 microstock site. Nowadays that's just history. KT's going to be the VP, note VP, of a department without any responsibility for P&L. They've finally realised he can't be trusted with P&L and that will be the ultimate humiliation for him.

It sounds like they sold the deal to him just like they sold the deal to Bruce when they offered to "improve" iStock, LOL. Thing is, I don't think any of what happened at iStock came from him. I think it all came from Getty. So now they've no use for their whipping boy and who even knows what they are going to do with the company now. I wonder what new title and position they are going to come up with for member JJRD. iStock slowly is being assimilated. Will Getty ultimately replace all the iStockers who were there pre-Getty with their own corporate shills. Boy am I glad I'm not a contributor there. Scary times for you all.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #44 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:25 »

Quote from: gostwyck on August 04, 2011, 19:37

Quote from: caspixel on August 04, 2011, 17:00
Wow, he got a promotion ...

... is the wrong answer. He's basically been sacked. He's been moved sideways and downwards both in the corporate sense and also geographically.

He was the boss of a $1B-worth company with full responsibility for P&L ... until he screwed up and probably halved it's value (at best). Two years ago IS were comfortably the #1 microstock site. Nowadays that's just history. KT's going to be the VP, note VP, of a department without any responsibility for P&L. They've finally realised he can't be trusted with P&L and that will be the ultimate humiliation for him.

Going from COO to VP kinda sounds that way. Maybe he didn't hit his growth targets and they found a role that's a better fit for him.

They're sending a business schooled corporate person to run Istock. From what it sounds like, Kelly was a programmer that ended up doing marketing stuff and moved up the ranks. Those people almost always get ousted by a corporate lifer.

It'll be interesting to see if Rebecca tries to rebuild the destroyed contributor trust or do more of the same hacking away at contributors to boost profits. It's amazing how much has changed in a year.

gostwyck · « **Reply #45 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:41 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 04, 2011, 20:25

It'll be interesting to see if Rebecca tries to rebuild the destroyed contributor trust or do more of the same hacking away at contributors to boost profits. It's amazing how much has changed in a year.

Boy, has she got a job on her hands! The fact that they sacked the boss indicates just how far south of 'projections' the business was heading. How . they turn the ship around is a good option for a new thread. They've spent the last two years doing everything they could to piss off both their customers and their contributors and it is really difficult to see where they go from here ... except further south. IS have been totally out-manoeuvred by SS on every front and it looks game-over from my stat's. Once the exclusives wake up to that fact then IS could virtually be history.

nruboc · « **Reply #46 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:46 »

The time is ripe for the dumping of Getty's standard array of collections into iStock. Look for more content and not just at AC price points.

caspixel · « **Reply #47 on:** August 04, 2011, 20:48 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 04, 2011, 20:25

It'll be interesting to see if Rebecca tries to rebuild the destroyed contributor trust or do more of the same hacking away at contributors to boost profits. It's amazing how much has changed in a year.

This doesn't bode well: In December 2005, Ms. Rockafellar served as Senior Director Of Business Development where she was responsible for various mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and management of company-wide business initiatives. She served as the vice president of platform and product management, leading teams to leverage technology to Getty Images.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #48 on:** August 04, 2011, 21:44 »

Quote from: nruboc on August 04, 2011, 20:46

The time is ripe for the dumping of Getty's standard array of collections into iStock. Look for more content and not just at AC price points.

I'd say this is a good bet. I think Getty will continue purging itself of stuff that isn't selling at macro prices and dump it or send it to Istock. A mix of moderately valued to low value stuff will get pushed from IS to TS. TS needs to have a mix of lower value stuff plus some decent stuff to attract buyers. Stuff that isn't selling at IS or TS will probably get deactivated.

I had a beer with a friend of mine that's in marketing at a large company. He goes back and forth between buying at Getty and IS. He said he finds a few gems at IS but fairly often goes back to Getty because the collection is tighter and he can more quickly find keepers. I think this will be a goal for Getty for all sites. Shuffle for more keepers and push everything else down the ranks to see where it fits.

Get ready for some pushing and shoving.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #49 on:** August 04, 2011, 21:45 »

"in regards to Kelly - I'm fortunate to have met him in person before this shift happened. Kelly is an accessible, kind, genuine and truly nice person. He's intelligent and accomplished, but incredibly humble and unfortunately I think that has worked against him in terms of communicating with the community. we're a very tough crowd. I don't know what his new position entails, so I have little to say about it. but I wish him the very best in Manhattan."

I'd agree with this. People may still be hurting and nursing bruises, but sometimes it's ok to talk to the person and not necessarily the position. I will say I'm in a much better place then I was when Bruce left, and while I'd like to attribute all that to my awesome ability ...

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Author Topic: Big Change at IS (Read 54624 times)

nruboc

RT

helix7

caspixel

sharpshot

luissantos84

Sadstock

Graffoto

Mantis

caspixel

PaulieWalnuts

saturated

luissantos84

luissantos84

gostwyck

Risamay

SNP

gostwyck

caspixel

PaulieWalnuts

gostwyck

nruboc

caspixel

PaulieWalnuts

Sean Locke Photography

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