MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: Ron on August 29, 2013, 17:37
-
Contributor Newsletter: August 29, 2013
We always aim to give you the most up to date information in the newsletter and on the forums, but by doing that please know that all of it comes with the caveat that things will change. So, announcements and plans that we make in June, will likely not all be the exact same plans that we have in August. Everyday we learn new things about how our customers use the site and the content that they license and everyday we look at our plans to make sure that they still work for the way the content world is evolving. That means that we know for certain that things will change. That can be unsettling. We understand that. The one thing that never changes, though, is that each day we aim to license more content than we did the day before. Everything we do is in support of that goal.
Collections Update:
We continue to monitor how the changes have impacted our Customers. Our overall approach was to give this new landscape 6 months before we engage in additional major content moves. It's only been about 3 months at this point so please do continue to have patience.
There are a number of lingering questions about what is going to happen with Non-exclusive content, when will people see files moved to S+, and why certain content is in one collection and not the other. Please understand there are going to be a number of things that will evolve and change over time. This isn't the end state of Collections, but we have reached the end of the actual restructure.
User Interface Changes:
Similar Stockphotos:
We know that one of the main things contributors do on a File Close up Page is to continue their search, however, we also know that many customers leave the site from File Close up Pages. The aim of this project is to reduce this bounce rate and provide customers with another route and way for them to continue their search for the right image. The purpose of this initiative is not to upsell the customer to a more expensive image, nor is it to expose them to lower prices images. It is purely to increase the number of customers who successfully find their right image.
The Similar Images functionality is pretty simple. It works via keyword relevance. Keyword relevancy is based on interactions on keywords related to each specific image. As such, if the keywording of an asset is poor, it is more likely to result in having poor similar image returns from the new feature.
We've seen mention of how newer files are experiencing some weirdness with their similar offerings. This is entirely related to the fact that new uploads feature keywords that haven't acquired any weight or relevancy in search. It should be stated that as newer files have actions performed on them, the keyword weight of the more relevant keywords will increase the relevancy of the similar files that are provided. We are going to put together an updated Keyword Guide this September. In the meantime, we would like to suggest people try and add their most relevant keywords before adding their more general keywords.
Editors' Picks:
The Editors' Picks icon is featured on all our Vetta content and additional files from contributors who consistently provide us with some of our best material. One of our challenges was to review the nearly 15 million assets we have on the site to establish which should be given the EP flag. In a practical sense this was impossible, so our approach struck a balance between holding a very firm line on quality, while not creating an impossible task. Again, we are planning on investing further in EP going forward as we learn more about how customers are using this flag to find the right file for them.
Upcoming Changes:
New Search Filters and Sort Options:
We will be introducing a few new search filters and a new tab to the search page in the ensuing weeks. We don't want to give to much away at this point but you can expect these changes to be in effect mid-Septemeber.
Search Grid:
Did you say you want bigger thumbnails? We do too! In the next few weeks we will be bumping the thumbnail size up on the search grid. We are also going to be making some additional changes that will clean up the grid view.
We will have more news on these upcoming changes nearer to the launch date.
-
Basically, they're telling us about everything that has happened after it has happened.
New search filters in September? I'd rather they fixed they ones they've got just now and NOT meddle with things in September.
"as newer files have actions performed on them" Hahahahahaha.
Whenever. ::)
-
And EP still means absolutely nothing. It is a graphic flag that says nothing about the file, and is only to reward Getty contributors and favorites, in best match. I don't believe it doesn't affect that.
-
I had to read the first paragraph 8 times and I still don't understand a word of what they're saying.
-
I had to read the first paragraph 8 times and I still don't understand a word of what they're saying.
Its a bunch of excuses for broken promises.
-
I had to read the first paragraph 8 times and I still don't understand a word of what they're saying.
"We're trying to get more sales, but we haven't a clue how to go about it, so we'll keep throwing stuff to see what sticks. Hold onto your hats, it'll continue to be a bumpy ride."
-
How many years in a row will this make it that they introduced something "new" in September and totally effed up the site?
The time to make site changes is in the slow months - Jan/Feb and July/Aug. Even for great development organizations there are bugs to be worked out. And iStock's development organization (which may have nothing to do with the skill of the developers; can't really say from the outside) has to rank among the least competent out there.
The newsletter could have used an editor (for clarity) and a copy editor/spell checker.
Day late, virtually content free and what content there was suggested months of site malfunctions
Woo yay!
-
Day late, virtually content free and what content there was suggested months of site malfunctions
Actually, it was a month late, as Lobo first promised it in late July, then early August.
Content-free: yes, as usual.
Scary content: yes, for the reason you state.
-
And
"IPTC for Vector Submissions:
It's coming. We are really close."
Omg, the technological progress in the microstock world today, it's a-ma-zing!
-
Total waste of time reading it. The only thing I got out of it is that non-exclusive content is staying in the Main collection for at least 6 months. That's contradictory to the initial statements that they would be shifting all content in the early weeks. At mid year I was half way to my RC goal and optimistic that I'd at least keep my current (pathetic) rate. Changes have been devastating to the RC count, especially when over 2/3's of my income there is coming from the PP these days. I notice the newsletter wasn't even worthy of having it's on topic on the forums. Nobody cares anymore.
-
"There are a number of lingering questions about what is going to happen with Non-exclusive content, when will people see files moved to S+, and why certain content is in one collection and not the other." But we have no intention of answering them.
-
I just looked at the istock forum and couldn't find any mention of the newsletter, certainly no reaction from contributors there. Looking back at the recent posts here, specifically about istock, I get the impression that there is a general loss of interest in istock, except for a few optimists. I also looked up the microstock expo advert and couldn't find any speakers from istock only Bruce Livingston who is hardly from istock any more oh and the infamous Yuri but he didn't mention istock as his sponsor. It may be that expressing an opinion on the istock forum is hazardous to your health!
-
... That means that we know for certain that things will change. ...
Their analytical skills of reality are stellar. :P
-
Quote: "announcements and plans that we make in June, will likely not all be the exact same plans that we have in August."
My favourite line.
-
Quote: "announcements and plans that we make in June, will likely not all be the exact same plans that we have in August."
My favourite line.
Well, a fault confessed is half redressed, as they say ;D
-
They could have announced breaking news that as expected by halving the sales price non-exclusives now have half the revenue.
-
Yes, basically they could have wrote it like that: "We screwed up again, but don't worry we will try fix it in September"
Quote: "announcements and plans that we make in June, will likely not all be the exact same plans that we have in August."
My favourite line.
-
Quote: "announcements and plans that we make in June, will likely not all be the exact same plans that we have in August."
My favourite line.
Yeah that line is a scream...
-
Similar images is not a bad idea, many agencies have it. But it needs good implementation,for instance from my perspective as a buyer I would want the similar images to be the excact same price point that I selected in the search. I did a few searches and keep seeing extremely expensive images when I then click on the similar files. This would put me off pretty fast.
And like others have said the similar images from the contributor or the series should come first and the placement of the similar files is awkward.
I like the new way you can select best match/NEW/POPULAR. Much better solution.
What I understand least is that they didnīt think about how to categorize files for editors pick or the different price points before???
I mean they had a very efficient market oriented solution where 30 000 eyeballs were looking at their portfolio and moving files around with their experience for a niche. Now this intense attention for the individual file gets replaced by a non visual robot software. I donīt get it.
Real handpicked collections are extremly valuable. Many agencies do it. Why not make the label mean something and task people to choose great content - including the best handshake and tomatoes? Start with new files and bestsellers and gradually work your way around the exclusive files. Even if it takes two years, it would be really valuable to have these labels. They could also get their inspector team to prefilter files with nominations on given subjects and then the editors just look at those prefiltered light boxes.
You would think that being able to choose the best content on the site is a huge marketing advantage over other sites. Like this it just devalues the whole collection and makes Getty look bad if the label is slapped on an image turned sideways or under exposed etc...
Overall for me the changes donīt look that market oriented, even the super cheap files are not done with sensitivity. I just donīt get it. How will they compete against SS like this?
The extreme drop in prices on the main collection will lead to an extreme loss in revenue. How many new customers do they need to attract to balance the loss of income? Do they need to double the number of customers to make up for the loss? Triple them? And by slapping a "forever" label into their marketing, the extreme difference (in credits marketing speak) is here to stay. Leaving them little choices longterm.
Overall it looks as if Getty loves to micromanage everything and hates it when contributors make their own choices. They clearly do not see them as individual entrepreneurs with webshops who are running a business.
But what do I know? Maybe this strategy is brilliant, they will recover etc...
The best news for the contributors on istock is that all these changes will hopefully be accompanied by a large investment in marketing dollars (to attract all those new customers).
I mean, this would be logical wouldnīt it? They are not just going to rely on the cheaper credit price and keep pushing Thinkstock over istock, will they?
-
SCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.
MACBETH:.........it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
William Shakespeare.
-
"as newer files have actions performed on them" Hahahahahaha.
Whenever. ::)
I would take that to mean real world actions given the context - ie searches, clicks, buys etc. The point being that in order for the keywords of any file to gain weighting (or perhaps rather for a file to gain weighting for any particular keyword) it has to have been out in the real world being searched, found, clicked and bought.
Since relevance probably or possibly determines keyword order over time this likely makes sense of the advice about ensuring that the most important keywords are at the beginning as a file is uploaded.
A best match in which keyword relevancy is a significant factor is likely to be much more robust with respect to negating irrelevant keywords. So over time only the 'newest' search is likely to significantly feature irrelevantly key word spammed images. And buyers who choose to search by newest do some of the work of ranking that newer content with their clicks and buys. Surely this has the potential to be a win-win .... Since it potentially addresses the concerns both of those who complain about keyword spamming and also of those who complain that a mean inspector has removed some important piece of data. The buyers know best. No ?
The newsletter seems like a digest of recent news + several things which are on the horizon. That's exactly what I would expect from a newsletter. There was stuff in it which I appreciated being told. I don't see what the problem is. I wonder what more people expect.
(And so what if the plans are constantly evolving. So are the markets. The best plans are flexible).
-
"as newer files have actions performed on them" Hahahahahaha.
Whenever. ::)
I would take that to mean real world actions given the context - ie searches, clicks, buys etc. The point being that in order for the keywords of any file to gain weighting (or perhaps rather for a file to gain weighting for any particular keyword) it has to have been out in the real world being searched, found, clicked and bought.
Of course that's what it means, but with the best match for almost a year now, and expecially for the past few months penalising new files, and indeed often punishing them if they get early-ish sales, there aren't many 'actions' being performed on them.
-
I love these announcements from iStock, cos I know there'll be much entertainment to be had in these forums in the days following.
-
And like others have said the similar images from the contributor or the series should come first
Those lightbox links often look shonky - and sometimes the links are even missing or dead - or code snippets left showing because someone has not checked their work. Or images not showing because the free hosting has failed etc.
I agree that allowing contributors to do the work of hand picking has real potential advantages. But a site also has to look good - it needs a standard look and feel - same formats, borders, layout, fonts etc.
So ultimately I hope that at some point they will find a way of building in a system around which people could add links to a standard format. But given that there are probably many more important things to do first I doubt that this is coming soon. Therefore pushing all that stuff down below the fold is not such a bad solution - in terms of the look of the pages certainly.
Incidentally - many contributors, some here, have been vociferously arguing that buyers should not be offered any 'see also' links. That they should only be shown the image which they have clicked on in search. That would presumably also mean abolishing contributor generated lightboxes.
-
Also it would have been good to hear something official about the company's new(ish) General Manager, so we don't have to rely on press releases posted on external sites.
-
SCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.
MACBETH:.........it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
William Shakespeare.
I was thinking the same in a more XXI century way: Bla bla bla bla
But Shakespeare said it very better
-
Of course that's what it means, but with the best match for almost a year now, and expecially for the past few months penalising new files, and indeed often punishing them if they get early-ish sales, there aren't many 'actions' being performed on them.
I think I can see the logic of new content mostly belonging in the 'newest' search whilst the best match should perhaps mostly be either for hand picked content or for content which has earned a place there over significant time.
It would be great if they could find some way to reward buyers for using the 'newest' search by making it cheaper. But I doubt that is feasible :) - given that buyers who search by 'newest' are effectively going to be doing more work.
-
Also it would have been good to hear something official about the company's new(ish) General Manager, so we don't have to rely on press releases posted on external sites.
It might just be easier to announce who the next GM of Istock will be ... in about 16 months from now.
-
it looks like they're resting on their laurels.
by the way, if they dont announce that the new collections are doing great it's an admission they're not doing good at all so they will give it three more months and then make another mess to further mix the collections.
non exclusives are barely kept as second class citizens, guess they're planning yet another cut in their fees.
all in all, i've the feeling they lost their window of opportunity years ago and now it's too * late to patch the sinking boat, it aint gonna work no mother what they try, it's a deja-vu of the old Adobe vs Quark ..
-
"There are a number of lingering questions about what is going to happen with Non-exclusive content, when will people see files moved to S+, and why certain content is in one collection and not the other." But we have no intention of answering them.
exactly, the next bomb for indies is going to be so big that they are delaying the annoucement (while desperate and greedy contributors keep feeding them)
-
It's not a newsletter. Where's the news? It reads like they just picked up Lobo's replies to complaints on the forums. If I didn't visit their forums once in a while I would have absolutely no idea what the heck they were talking about. (Not that I do anyway.)
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
Oh, heck, they need to clean house and hire an entirely new staff.
-
What's really relevant:
New Tab = Curated (Editor's Pick) or Hot (a mix of best match and Age). I can't think of anything else.I would bet for first one.
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Andrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
-
What I don't understand is why they send me (dear contributor!!)
a news letter without any new,
a news letter where they speak about advantages only for customers
??? ?
Why they don't send me a news letter to explain me how they will sell more and pay more to their "dear contributor"?
Did they forget that we are the suppliers of their feedstock?
And if they have forgotten that, isn't it the time to remember them that without us they could not even exist?!@#*&^?? *
-
... That means that we know for certain that things will change. ...
Their analytical skills of reality are stellar. :P
The universe is in constant motion!!
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Adrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
Him being a communications manager is like giving a Nobel peace price to Assad.
-
Andrew was great! I donīt know who writes the newsletters now, but he or she is (not yet?) anywhere near his level.
It is difficult to communicate well with an international contributor base.
-
Good news that thumbnails are finally going to get bigger. Hope they make a decent job of it.
-
Bugga
-
It reads like they just picked up Lobo's replies to complaints on the forums.
More than that what would you expect or want ? It brings everyone who reads it up to speed which is great if you don't read the forums or miss something. I cannot see what the issue is with the newsletter.
-
Good news that thumbnails are finally going to get bigger. Hope they make a decent job of it.
,,, new interface is so ugly -
-
It reads like they just picked up Lobo's replies to complaints on the forums.
More than that what would you expect or want ?
"Tell us News, not history". I.e. tell us what's about to happen and why. Don't suddenly spring half-functioning features on the website without telling us first. More, timelier newsletters would be more welcome - people can opt out if they wish.
Don't always be caught up in amelioration.
In other words, be proactive, not reactive. Tell us the benefits of the changes, and make sure before you launch them that there will actually be benefits. I and many others (not everyone) have seen nothing but falling dls and $$s for many months now. If they are only targetting a certain kind of customer, tell us - so that those of us with different subjects in our portfolio know that iS is not the place to put these, even if it used to be.
Let us know they know what they're doing and that they have a solid plan and strategy (I have seen no evidence of either for several years).
Don't keep trying to tell us there's 'something great just round the corner'. There hasn't been much of that for several years either.
-
It is difficult to communicate well with an international contributor base.
actually it is so easy, just bring royalties to a fair level and stop messing around with pricing and collections, BTW that is reminding me of an agency ;D
-
"Tell us News, not history". I.e. tell us what's about to happen and why. Don't suddenly spring half-functioning features on the website without telling us first. More, timelier newsletters would be more welcome - people can opt out if they wish.
Don't always be caught up in amelioration.
In other words, be proactive, not reactive. Tell us the benefits of the changes, and make sure before you launch them that there will actually be benefits. I and many others (not everyone) have seen nothing but falling dls and $$s for many months now. If they are only targetting a certain kind of customer, tell us - so that those of us with different subjects in our portfolio know that iS is not the place to put these, even if it used to be.
Let us know they know what they're doing and that they have a solid plan and strategy (I have seen no evidence of either for several years).
Don't keep trying to tell us there's 'something great just round the corner'. There hasn't been much of that for several years either.
You seem to have a very negative outlook. And yet many exclusives have been reporting another strong month of Getty sales - whilst many on the non excluive subscription side have been reporting strong Thinkstock sales and income. It certainly is not all bad.
And from my point of view the site and search changes at iStock seem sensible. I think they are improving the site. I don't expect to be told everything in advance. It's not my site. Shutterstock, Alamy and GI don't tell everyone everything in advance. Why should iStock ? Things seem to be going in the right direction.
Given all the often infectious negativity about iStock I was surprised when I looked at the numbers to find that my income from iStock-Getty combined has been remarkable steady for the past 3 years despite the dreadful world economy; despite massively increased competition relative to the size of my own portfolio; despite microstock per se likely being in decline etc. Moving some of the income to Getty has definitely worked for me and I think for many others too. Moving stuff to different price points represents something like a diversification.
Meanwhile: Shutterstockers continue to be enthusiastic about Shutterstock; Stocksy has an awesome body of work and seems to have made a very impressive launch; Alamy is still a great outlet for the sort of RM editorial content which sells well at Alamy. There is a good range of options and things seem surprisingly ok really.
-
You seem to have a very negative outlook.
I can only say as I find. As you can.
I said that not everyone was reporting falls, and I was talking about iS, not GI or TS, neither of which were mentioned in the newsletter.
What relevance do SS, Stocksy and Alamy have to the iStock newsletter?
-
"Tell us News, not history". I.e. tell us what's about to happen and why. Don't suddenly spring half-functioning features on the website without telling us first. More, timelier newsletters would be more welcome - people can opt out if they wish.
Don't always be caught up in amelioration.
In other words, be proactive, not reactive.
Yes! God, wouldn't you think that would be obvious? A newsletter should express UPCOMING events, not give a half-a$$ed explanation/excuse for past implementations.
It really leaves the impression that half the management doesn't even know what's going on most of the time.
-
Those lightbox links often look shonky - and sometimes the links are even missing or dead - or code snippets left showing because someone has not checked their work. Or images not showing because the free hosting has failed etc.
iStock, having encouraged us to create them and told us how to do it, broke the links a few years back [1]. But only on one of the three (IIRC) ways you could do it, as was explained in an admin's tutorial. So some lightboxes were broken and some were find.
[1]Without telling us.
I remember reading about it in passing in the forum, looking at one of my links and seeing it was OK, and only much later I found that as I hadn't done them all the same way (but all as explained in the tutorial), some had been broken.
I thought I'd fixed all mine, but apparently although I did it in DM, there are some 'odd' files which DM didn't throw up, and I fix them when I find them.
Please allocate blame where it's due.
-
You seem to have a very negative outlook.
I can only say as I find. As you can.
I said that not everyone was reporting falls, and I was talking about iS, not GI or TS, neither of which were mentioned in the newsletter.
What relevance do SS, Stocksy and Alamy have to the iStock newsletter?
iS, GI and TS are different parts of a single thing. I am fairly certain that you need to be looking at the thing as a whole rather than as a bunch of bits in isolation.
SS, Stocksy and Alamy are 3 other good news stories. The point I am making is that despite all of the negative sentiments often expressed here there is lots to be positive about in reality.
iStock, having encouraged us to create them and told us how to do it, broke the links a few years back
I am guessing that after a few years anyone who cares will have gone back and fixed or updated them by now. Presumably people check their work now and again. Especially given that there will be other issues which need checking - Eg external hosting, keywording etc.
ETA: and the broken links often appear to be about sloppy coding - eg when you see bits of UBB in the description because it has not been closed properly.
-
"Tell us News, not history". I.e. tell us what's about to happen and why. Don't suddenly spring half-functioning features on the website without telling us first. More, timelier newsletters would be more welcome - people can opt out if they wish.
Don't always be caught up in amelioration.
In other words, be proactive, not reactive.
Yes! God, wouldn't you think that would be obvious? A newsletter should express UPCOMING events, not give a half-a$$ed explanation/excuse for past implementations.
It really leaves the impression that half the management doesn't even know what's going on most of the time.
Would that be News or a prediction ... forecasting?
This reminds me a bit of watching the 5 o'clock news -- I already know all that. I read it on the internet. Tell me something new ... even if you have to make it up. ;D :P
-
Good news that thumbnails are finally going to get bigger. Hope they make a decent job of it.
Bravo Sir/Madam for finding the lone nugget of goodness in a pile of horse manure ;)
-
"Tell us News, not history". I.e. tell us what's about to happen and why. Don't suddenly spring half-functioning features on the website without telling us first. More, timelier newsletters would be more welcome - people can opt out if they wish.
Don't always be caught up in amelioration.
In other words, be proactive, not reactive. Tell us the benefits of the changes, and make sure before you launch them that there will actually be benefits. I and many others (not everyone) have seen nothing but falling dls and $$s for many months now. If they are only targetting a certain kind of customer, tell us - so that those of us with different subjects in our portfolio know that iS is not the place to put these, even if it used to be.
Let us know they know what they're doing and that they have a solid plan and strategy (I have seen no evidence of either for several years).
Don't keep trying to tell us there's 'something great just round the corner'. There hasn't been much of that for several years either.
You seem to have a very negative outlook. And yet many exclusives have been reporting another strong month of Getty sales - whilst many on the non excluive subscription side have been reporting strong Thinkstock sales and income. It certainly is not all bad.
And from my point of view the site and search changes at iStock seem sensible. I think they are improving the site. I don't expect to be told everything in advance. It's not my site. Shutterstock, Alamy and GI don't tell everyone everything in advance. Why should iStock ? Things seem to be going in the right direction.
Given all the often infectious negativity about iStock I was surprised when I looked at the numbers to find that my income from iStock-Getty combined has been remarkable steady for the past 3 years despite the dreadful world economy; despite massively increased competition relative to the size of my own portfolio; despite microstock per se likely being in decline etc. Moving some of the income to Getty has definitely worked for me and I think for many others too. Moving stuff to different price points represents something like a diversification.
Meanwhile: Shutterstockers continue to be enthusiastic about Shutterstock; Stocksy has an awesome body of work and seems to have made a very impressive launch; Alamy is still a great outlet for the sort of RM editorial content which sells well at Alamy. There is a good range of options and things seem surprisingly ok really.
Even with increased GI sales month after month, my total income is still declining comparing to what I had in IS alone last year.
However, I agree with you, the recent changes seem to be in the right direction, or I hope so. It will tell when the peak season comes in September.
Alamy now sells at least 5 times more of my RM images as it used to, but the income is just 1/5 or less than what I used to earn. Nowadays they often license unique images for both prints and e-books for 10 years period for less than $100. Due to the uniqueness of these images, they cannot sell in volumn. At much reduced prices, it definitely is not a wise idea.
-
You seem to have a very negative outlook.
I can only say as I find. As you can.
I said that not everyone was reporting falls, and I was talking about iS, not GI or TS, neither of which were mentioned in the newsletter.
What relevance do SS, Stocksy and Alamy have to the iStock newsletter?
iS, GI and TS are different parts of a single thing. I am fairly certain that you need to be looking at the thing as a whole rather than as a bunch of bits in isolation.
This is a thread about the iS newsletter.
SS, Stocksy and Alamy are 3 other good news stories. The point I am making is that despite all of the negative sentiments often expressed here there is lots to be positive about in reality.
That's as may be, but this thread is about the iS newsletter.
iStock, having encouraged us to create them and told us how to do it, broke the links a few years back
I am guessing that after a few years anyone who cares will have gone back and fixed or updated them by now. Presumably people check their work now and again.
They broke the links against w3c guidelines:
http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI.html (http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI.html)
I would never have expected iS to break the links they had given us, without even telling us about it - we had to find out about it on the forums. Unless it was during the time I and others had opted in for newsletters, but weren't getting them (before they started duplicating them on the forum).
-
Those lightbox links often look shonky -
My lightboxes might look 'shonky' to you, but I can 100% guarantee if I've got things in a 'similars' lightbox, they are in fact similars as described in the title, not any random picture that someone has lied /spammed about or misidentified.
-
And
"IPTC for Vector Submissions:
It's coming. We are really close."
Omg, the technological progress in the microstock world today, it's a-ma-zing!
Wow! They are just one step away from hovercars!
-
Those lightbox links often look shonky -
My lightboxes might look 'shonky' to you, but I can 100% guarantee if I've got things in a 'similars' lightbox, they are in fact similars as described in the title, not any random picture that someone has lied /spammed about or misidentified.
I do not know anything about your individual lightbox links or your portfolio in general. The points I made were general ones. The way you have written that, I am not sure but I have the impression that it reads as if it were a response to some personal criticism.
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Andrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
That would explain it. They've piled additional responsibilities on Lobo, so he just cuts and pastes his responses from the forums. Because he doesn't know how to write a newsletter (clearly).
In that case they should send a newsletter saying there will be no more newsletters and directing people to the forums. Because that newsletter just screamed of unprofessionalism.
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Andrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
That would explain it. They've piled additional responsibilities on Lobo, so he just cuts and pastes his responses from the forums. Because he doesn't know how to write a newsletter (clearly).
In that case they should send a newsletter saying there will be no more newsletters and directing people to the forums. Because that newsletter just screamed of unprofessionalism.
They need to sack Lobo, much better option, and get some competent people in.
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Andrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
That would explain it. They've piled additional responsibilities on Lobo, so he just cuts and pastes his responses from the forums. Because he doesn't know how to write a newsletter (clearly).
In that case they should send a newsletter saying there will be no more newsletters and directing people to the forums. Because that newsletter just screamed of unprofessionalism.
The newsletter does not scream of unprofessionalism. That's a complete over reaction. It's just an update of stuff which people might be interested to know since the last newsletter. Remember that most people probably do not have time for the forums etc.
RogerMexico was a good communicator as everyone would agree. But you will also remember that the last site changes a few years ago were a disaster despite the great newsletters and communication. The implementation was a mess for ages. Things so far seem to be going much more smoothly with the current revisions. And little by little, without breaking other stuff, most of the long running problems seem to be gradually being addressed. I would take that as evidence of effective and cautious IT planning. Which is what matters.
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
What else do you expect people to do? Walk into IS HQ with guns and take over the company? Silly comment, its forum, and people do exactly what a forum is supposed to be used for.
-
Sounds like somebody doesnīt understand how forums and community driven sites work in the first place...
Welcome to the year 2013! :)
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
What else do you expect people to do? Walk into IS HQ with guns and take over the company? Silly comment, its forum, and people do exactly what a forum is supposed to be used for.
sorry, i had no idea a forum was was to be used as a platform for continual complaining and speculation.
-
Sounds like somebody doesnīt understand how forums and community driven sites work in the first place...
Welcome to the year 2013! :)
by continually complaining? and speculating? welcome to the year of go get another beer and tell them how to do it coach.
-
;
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
What else do you expect people to do? Walk into IS HQ with guns and take over the company? Silly comment, its forum, and people do exactly what a forum is supposed to be used for.
sorry, i had no idea a forum was was to be used as a platform for continual complaining and speculation.
complaining is much easier than working hard or coming up with constructive ideas I guess.
What on earth are you talking about? This forum is FULL of constructive ideas for IS. In fact it seems you are the one disagreeing with everything that is suggested.
-
Having read News Letters from FT, DT, and SS I'm failing to see a lot of difference. Don't they all talk about what is in their blogs or forums?
Why should the "news" from iS be any different?
-
I only get the newsletter from SS but its not in the slightest the same as the drivel from IS.
-
I had to read the first paragraph 8 times and I still don't understand a word of what they're saying.
"We're trying to get more sales, but we haven't a clue how to go about it, so we'll keep throwing stuff to see what sticks. Hold onto your hats, it'll continue to be a bumpy ride."
Doors The End is perfect background music for reading these newsletters
-
I only get the newsletter from SS but its not in the slightest the same as the drivel from IS.
drivel is drivel. ;)
-
I only get the newsletter from SS but its not in the slightest the same as the drivel from IS.
drivel is drivel. ;)
I didnt say SS newsletter was drivel, its not. Dont twist my words.
-
In general, the constant whining about iStock on this forum often destroys any possibility of a genuinely constructive or helpfully useful conversation. It creates an atmosphere in which any sensible conversation about iStock is almost immediately undermined by miserable negativity. It also makes it difficult to distinguish any legitimate concerns from the background noise.
If a few people constantly moan about everything and anything (often seemingly linked to real or imagined slights or rejections - or because they were banned from the forum for trolling) it discourages others from joining in or expressing any sort of contrary positive opinion. What you end up with is a forum which will only be populated by people who all reinforce and congratulate each others' often malformed and unrepresentative opinions. And stamp down on any attempt to express a positive perspective.
People often say that iStock was better at some point in the past. The truth and reality is that iStock was often broken and there was constant jealously about the best match which was a forbidden subject until recently. The site has been the subject of almost constant moaning here and at the old Yahoo group since forever. Certainly back to the days when the forum was much less politely moderated. Remember that ? On the old iStock forum I think it was Bitter himself who described the Yahoo group as "the old ladies sewing circle".
And it isn't just iStock. The launch of Stocksy was initially greeted with enthusiasm. That quickly turned much less positive when people found that it was going to be carefully curated. What that seems to demonstrate to me is that much of the moaning expressed here may likely be connected sometimes to a feeling of jealousy or exclusion.
-
Everyone moaning here is part of IS, so that argument is a non argument.
What I mean is, the people that complain are part of IS, so its not as if they are jealous.
-
Those lightbox links often look shonky -
My lightboxes might look 'shonky' to you, but I can 100% guarantee if I've got things in a 'similars' lightbox, they are in fact similars as described in the title, not any random picture that someone has lied /spammed about or misidentified.
I do not know anything about your individual lightbox links or your portfolio in general. The points I made were general ones. The way you have written that, I am not sure but I have the impression that it reads as if it were a response to some personal criticism.
Not at all.
I meant exactly what I said. My lightboxes may look shonky, but at least my similars are actually similar, unlike some of those imposed by the auto system.
From a buyer's pov, if there was a straight choice between identical rows of often dissimilar 'similars' and 'individualised' properly-tagged files, most would choose the latter.
There is no reason why they couldn't have both. iS could simply have set a template for people to use as a similars banner if they felt uniformity was more important than a little bit of personality.
But granted, the spammers are always with us. >:( :(
-
was there any announcement about the new CEO? that's actual news.
-
Complainers change their complaints, but they never reduce the amount of time spent in complaining.
"complaining is much easier than working hard or coming up with constructive ideas I guess." - i think they just wake up in the morning and need to complain about something. everything is the fault of IS or GI.
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
talking about yourself? ;D
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
talking about yourself? ;D
no, i am talking about the regular team who comes in here and complains to no end about IS. If that is you, then perhaps it was you i was talking about, and if you are not a complainer, then it was not you.
i find the amount of complaining on these forums about IS and GI to be depressing and non productive.
then if you say anything good about IS or GI you get shot down.
just reminds me of armchair sports fans telling the team how they should play or should have played the game.
it this really so difficult to understand?
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
talking about yourself? ;D
no, i am talking about the regular team who comes in here and complains to no end about IS. If that is you, then perhaps it was you i was talking about, and if you are not a complainer, then it was not you.
i find the amount of complaining on these forums about IS and GI to be depressing and non productive.
then if you say anything good about IS or GI you get shot down.
just reminds me of armchair sports fans telling the team how they should play or should have played the game.
it this really so difficult to understand?
lets be short and sweet
1 - what can iStock offer these days? (beside the ridiculous 15% royalties indies earnings are going down (month after month), same for many exclusives)
2 - tell me what new(s) was inside the newsletter that we couldn't live without?
-
;
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
Agree 100%
-
Good! Then go and light up the istock forums! Make them a place where people enjoy spending their time and encourage creativity!
How about some real life community building and interaction?? Actually do something truly positive and inspiring for istock on their own site??
Or is that too much real hard work??
So much easier to whine about that msg doesnīt love you...
Did it ever occur to you that the impression a company gives here is the direct result of their actions?
Good work = good reputation
....
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
"couldn't live without" its an expression, never heard of it? do you have an OCD with "words" and their meaning? of course I am not talking about starving or other but mainly regarding stock material like commissions, royalties, etc did you got many of those in the newsletter?
yes a truly professional doesn't get 15%-19% because the real professional deal with professionals, these days you wanna be a professional just join iStock/GI, easy ;D
BTW do you know many "professional" indies getting over 17% or 18% or 19%? I am very happy to receive 16%, thank you iStock ;D
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
Agree 100%
if you wouldn't I would be surprised considering your over 3k files uploaded this year ;D
-
;
-
I know it's an expression. I was saying it applies to all newsletters why would expect istocks to be different. There also was talk about royalties and images staying in collections longer than some expected.
so what is your opinion/analysis regarding the delay of independent content into S+?
-
;
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
you beat me to 'short and sweet'...
i never really read newsletters as they all skim the surface of what is really going on, it's more a pr tool than anything.
IS treats me very well as it does many photographers, as does GI. If it did not work out for you sorry to hear it but please quit your complaining/whining/moaning and up your game and drop your sense of entitlement. IS and GI owe you nothing.
Buyers will decide on your success. They have choices of what images to buy, and if yours are not being purchased, the clue is in who determines this, the buyer - not the agency. You could say this of any agency. If your work is second rate and/or in some cases not really stock worthy, then buyers will determine this, not the agency.
personally, i have no troubles selling my work on IS or GI, regardless of whether their newsletter is skimming the surface and providing nothing but drivel. it's a newsletter for crying out loud not an annual report.
-
Not sure why, but this forum reminds me so much of a typical weekend armchair sports fan that is physically out of shape always screaming what the quarterback should do or should have done while he sits back in his lazyboy recliner and snacks away on beer and nacho chips.
Agree 100%
if you wouldn't I would be surprised considering your over 3k files uploaded this year ;D
I'm sorry, I won't upload anymore to SS,IS, FT, DT, DP ,123, P5 .............. ;D
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
you beat me to 'short and sweet'...
i never really read newsletters as they all skim the surface of what is really going on, it's more a pr tool than anything.
IS treats me very well as it does many photographers, as does GI. If it did not work out for you sorry to hear it but please quit your complaining/whining/moaning and up your game and drop your sense of entitlement. IS and GI owe you nothing.
Buyers will decide on your success. They have choices of what images to buy, and if yours are not being purchased, the clue is in who determines this, the buyer - not the agency. You could say this of any agency. If your work is second rate and/or in some cases not really stock worthy, then buyers will determine this, not the agency.
personally, i have no troubles selling my work on IS or GI, regardless of whether their newsletter is skimming the surface and providing nothing but drivel. it's a newsletter for crying out loud not an annual report.
what you said ain't entirely correct, do you mean there is no favoritism, best match changes, search engine tweaks, different algorithms and other that can't change buyer search results?
the "perfect" file is the one sold every time for the reason its the best one? sorry but no and you know that doesn't happen
-
;
-
The counter to that argument is Yuri. As a nonexclusive he was one of the top if not the top seller.
sure but what do we know? there might be a ton things behind every contributor like special deals no? how can Yuri still have files at DT?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
of course that having top quality pictures will help but its not 100% guarantee, the best example I always remember is William (fotovoyager) case with serious downtrend along the latest years but perhaps in this specific case maybe its just a "downtrend" in terms of buyers looking for travel photography
-
of course that having top quality pictures will help but its not 100% guarantee, the best example I always remember is William (fotovoyager) case with serious downtrend along the latest years but perhaps in this specific case maybe its just a "downtrend" in terms of buyers looking for travel photography
Or, as I suggested earlier, that iStock might be targetting certain types of buyers more than before, when they seemed to be targetting all sorts of buyers. That's the sort of thing the newsletter should be telling us.
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
you beat me to 'short and sweet'...
i never really read newsletters as they all skim the surface of what is really going on, it's more a pr tool than anything.
IS treats me very well as it does many photographers, as does GI. If it did not work out for you sorry to hear it but please quit your complaining/whining/moaning and up your game and drop your sense of entitlement. IS and GI owe you nothing.
Buyers will decide on your success. They have choices of what images to buy, and if yours are not being purchased, the clue is in who determines this, the buyer - not the agency. You could say this of any agency. If your work is second rate and/or in some cases not really stock worthy, then buyers will determine this, not the agency.
personally, i have no troubles selling my work on IS or GI, regardless of whether their newsletter is skimming the surface and providing nothing but drivel. it's a newsletter for crying out loud not an annual report.
what you said ain't entirely correct, do you mean there is no favoritism, best match changes, search engine tweaks, different algorithms and other that can't change buyer search results?
the "perfect" file is the one sold every time for the reason its the best one? sorry but no and you know that doesn't happen
how long have you been a professional stock photographer?
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
you beat me to 'short and sweet'...
i never really read newsletters as they all skim the surface of what is really going on, it's more a pr tool than anything.
IS treats me very well as it does many photographers, as does GI. If it did not work out for you sorry to hear it but please quit your complaining/whining/moaning and up your game and drop your sense of entitlement. IS and GI owe you nothing.
Buyers will decide on your success. They have choices of what images to buy, and if yours are not being purchased, the clue is in who determines this, the buyer - not the agency. You could say this of any agency. If your work is second rate and/or in some cases not really stock worthy, then buyers will determine this, not the agency.
personally, i have no troubles selling my work on IS or GI, regardless of whether their newsletter is skimming the surface and providing nothing but drivel. it's a newsletter for crying out loud not an annual report.
what you said ain't entirely correct, do you mean there is no favoritism, best match changes, search engine tweaks, different algorithms and other that can't change buyer search results?
the "perfect" file is the one sold every time for the reason its the best one? sorry but no and you know that doesn't happen
how long have you been a professional stock photographer?
I know where you heading and I will remind you that this is a microstock forum, that said I pay most of my bills with microstock but please explain me why are you changing the subject? short of answers?
-
;
-
yor best example is Fotovoyager? He's still exclusive, what does that mean?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
-
;
-
yor best example is Fotovoyager? He's still exclusive, what does that mean?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
looks to me like even with a downtrend that is so horrendous he still thinks istock is the place to be. Understand my point now?
I have always understood your point, like all other doing nicely at iStock, that said doesn't mean we independents should be happy and never complain about pricing/collections/royalties/search placement and so on
yep I wonder how aeonf is doing... maybe as anonymous now here
-
Couldn't live without? That's a pretty high standard, food, water, shelter and something from a newsletter? Is there any newsletter you've seen that had information you couldn't live without? And what professional microstocker is getting 15%?
you beat me to 'short and sweet'...
i never really read newsletters as they all skim the surface of what is really going on, it's more a pr tool than anything.
IS treats me very well as it does many photographers, as does GI. If it did not work out for you sorry to hear it but please quit your complaining/whining/moaning and up your game and drop your sense of entitlement. IS and GI owe you nothing.
Buyers will decide on your success. They have choices of what images to buy, and if yours are not being purchased, the clue is in who determines this, the buyer - not the agency. You could say this of any agency. If your work is second rate and/or in some cases not really stock worthy, then buyers will determine this, not the agency.
personally, i have no troubles selling my work on IS or GI, regardless of whether their newsletter is skimming the surface and providing nothing but drivel. it's a newsletter for crying out loud not an annual report.
what you said ain't entirely correct, do you mean there is no favoritism, best match changes, search engine tweaks, different algorithms and other that can't change buyer search results?
the "perfect" file is the one sold every time for the reason its the best one? sorry but no and you know that doesn't happen
how long have you been a professional stock photographer?
I know where you heading and I will remind you that this is a microstock forum, that said I pay most of my bills with microstock but please explain me why are you changing the subject? short of answers?
why do you need to remind me the is a microstock forum? and what makes you think i was changing the subject? and where was i heading?
i know i should never answer questions with questions, but you seem to have this uncanny ability to know where everything is going, and all this factual speculative information about how IS works... favoritism, best match changes, search engine tweaks, different algorithms... etc. how do you know this speculative factual information?
please please please show us the tangible evidence you have to support this your facts drivel. otherwise it is purely drivel and speculation. i'd love to have a conversation with you if the conversation had merit and tangible evidence to support your facts. but having a conversation that is based on speculation is not an easy one to be constructive cause you can change everything i say into something else, whereas if we just stuck to the facts you would have no wiggle room to twist it up in any manner you see fit for your own justified needs, which is more or less to knock IS and/or GI in any way possible.
truth be told my friend, the buyers make the final call, on any site.
-
yor best example is Fotovoyager? He's still exclusive, what does that mean?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
looks to me like even with a downtrend that is so horrendous he still thinks istock is the place to be. Understand my point now?
I have always understood your point, like all other doing nicely at iStock, that said doesn't mean we independents should be happy and never complain about pricing/collections/royalties/search placement and so on
yep I wonder how aeonf is doing... maybe as anonymous now here
i am curious--- who is it exactly that has forced you to be with IS? who is it exactly that forces you to remain with IS? why would you stick with such an unsatisfactory agency and constantly be angry by their actions?
There are many other agencies out there, why would you not join them and forget IS all together? i don't get it at all. there are literally hundreds of agencies, microstock and macrostock, RF and RM. why are you beating yourself up and sticking with the one agency that really seems to annoy you.
what a way to live man, always pissed off.
-
yor best example is Fotovoyager? He's still exclusive, what does that mean?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
looks to me like even with a downtrend that is so horrendous he still thinks istock is the place to be. Understand my point now?
I have always understood your point, like all other doing nicely at iStock, that said doesn't mean we independents should be happy and never complain about pricing/collections/royalties/search placement and so on
yep I wonder how aeonf is doing... maybe as anonymous now here
i am curious--- who is it exactly that has forced you to be with IS? who is it exactly that forces you to remain with IS? why would you stick with such an unsatisfactory agency and constantly be angry by their actions?
There are many other agencies out there, why would you not join them and forget IS all together? i don't get it at all. there are literally hundreds of agencies, microstock and macrostock, RF and RM. why are you beating yourself up and sticking with the one agency that really seems to annoy you.
what a way to live man, always pissed off.
is that you God? don't you worry about my way of living, if you want I can give you my paypal address ;D
where have you seen/read that I am angry and pissed off with iStock? actually I have more and better things to spend my time, I believe you are the one starting the drivel and speculation here, that said and to finish this "conversation" I am still an iStock contributor so I can say/express what I wish/feel ;)
you are such a kind and relaxed person that Yuri can have portfolios outside iStock, yep it doesn't matter ;D
-
In addition to hiring new IT staff, they clearly need to hire a professional to write their newsletters (but maybe this one is so bad because they're losing money and had to fire the person who used to write them?).
RogerMexico (Andrew) who used to write the newsletters has left, and I believe Lobo writes them now, as he is the Contributor Communications Manager sic.
That would explain it. They've piled additional responsibilities on Lobo, so he just cuts and pastes his responses from the forums. Because he doesn't know how to write a newsletter (clearly).
In that case they should send a newsletter saying there will be no more newsletters and directing people to the forums. Because that newsletter just screamed of unprofessionalism.
The newsletter does not scream of unprofessionalism. That's a complete over reaction. It's just an update of stuff which people might be interested to know since the last newsletter. Remember that most people probably do not have time for the ...
It absolutely screams of unprofessionalism. It's poorly written and obtuse. And since most people do not have time for the forums, they probably won't understand a lot of the references in the newsletter.
Going beyond the poor quality of the writing, there is nothing in this newsletter to rally the troops in a time when many contributors are experiencing a drop in sales and uncertainty about the future of iStock. And as others have pointed out, there seems to be no clear plan in place for the future of the company. No mention of making the site faster. No plans to make uploading easier.
It's haphazard and lacks focus. Much like the company it comes from.
-
Science news: Haters Are Gonna Hate, Study Confirms (http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/08/28/haters_are_gonna_hate_dispositional_attitude_study_confirms_it.html)
Haters really are going to hate. A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology corroborates the hip-hop and Internet truism that you just cant win with some people ...
In their paper Attitudes Without Objects, psychologists Justin Hepler and Dolores Albarracin show that those who already hold a lot of negative views are more likely to react negatively to new stimuli
-
Good! Then go and light up the istock forums! Make them a place where people enjoy spending their time and encourage creativity!
How about some real life community building and interaction?? Actually do something truly positive and inspiring for istock on their own site??
Or is that too much real hard work??
So much easier to whine about that msg doesnīt love you...
Did it ever occur to you that the impression a company gives here is the direct result of their actions?
Good work = good reputation
....
They cant because they are anonymous. LOL. They are so positive about Istock that they need to be anonymous. Possibly because then no one can verify their hallelujah claims about Istock and Getty. :)
-
;
-
yor best example is Fotovoyager? He's still exclusive, what does that mean?
having the best content doesn't mean you will succeed so saying that the indies/exclusives doing poorly is their own fault and iStock has no guilty is far from right
looks to me like even with a downtrend that is so horrendous he still thinks istock is the place to be. Understand my point now?
Not speaking for him in particular, I don't know him or his situation, but it is possible that someone could mark time as an exclusive there while pursuing other, non-RF avenues.
a better example might be some of the long time exclusives that left. Too bad they haven't had much to say. I'm thinking of stacey newman and aeonf.
Yes, I'd particularly like to hear from aeonf. He was always extremely cokka about iStock, didn't believe in the 'ceiling', but left extremely quickly when his figures started to go downhill and IIRC only posted once since. I would be interested to hear from him, even if he was the 'sleeping partner'.
-
Good! Then go and light up the istock forums! Make them a place where people enjoy spending their time and encourage creativity!
How about some real life community building and interaction?? Actually do something truly positive and inspiring for istock on their own site??
Or is that too much real hard work??
So much easier to whine about that msg doesnīt love you...
Did it ever occur to you that the impression a company gives here is the direct result of their actions?
Good work = good reputation
....
They cant because they are anonymous. LOL. They are so positive about Istock that they need to be anonymous. Possibly because then no one can verify their hallelujah claims about Istock and Getty. :)
ok, once we meet up and i supply all the necessary documents to verify and/or confirm my claims, and you finish your forensic audit, what will you be doing with this information? Will you be spreading the new found facts among your peers on msg or will this be kept in total confidentiality? i would prefer that you sign a confidentiality agreement as i do choose to remain anonymous. are you willing to sign a disclaimer and/or a waiver of liability in protecting me from your possible misuse of this verified information? how many years of proof will you need to verify your suspicions of my claims? 1-3-5 years worth of royalties, will this suffice? how about signing a conflict of interest agreement for an embargo period of 5 years?
-
Ron, you are wasting your time. They just donīt get this "online community thing" or why in international business networks people build trust by knowing each other in real life. Which is why SS and the other agencies are having such an easy time picking up artists. Much too easy in my opinion. They could use more competition.
It is obvious they have absolutely no plans to rebuild the istock community spirit, because you would see progress on the istock forums themselves by now. After all that place is supposed to be the preferred habitat of the "positive thinking, happy istock exclusive".
Nothing anyone writes or says on msg can improve the istock exclusive experience. All of that happens on istock only.
Anyway, Yuri and his huge team can now replace them all and supply whatever content they will ever need in the next 100 years.
-
;
-
The other sites donīt have to do anything. istock is doing it all for them.
istock used to have a really fantastic community spirit. Very creative, excellent teamwork, open and welcoming. Those were also the times the company was flourishing and sales were growing.
I really donīt understand what it is you are looking for on msg. You enjoy being exclusive to istock, which is fine. Nothing wrong with that.
But msg hasnīt really changed much in all the years Iīve been here. So again, I donīt understand what is upsetting you so much about it now that you joined beginning of the year and seem to be so active here in all things istock.
It is your time of course, if you feel you are doing something you enjoy, your call.
But msg used to have many exclusives here who enjoyed presenting the company. And they were not anonymous.
So where did they all go?
-
;
-
The other forums are not worse than istock. Where did you get that impression???
And if you believe forums have no influence on sales or attracting content providers - what are you doing here?
-
;
-
Which forum is better than istock? Bigstock, 123rf, crestock, veer, fotolia, dreamstime? I can see you like shutterstock's forum, it must have changed a lot because it used to be people posting pictures of their * dog in every thread or someone trying to get you to pay for a stock photo lesson.
I'm here to get updates from all the sites, hear informed opinions, see what the widrr trends are ect... I'm not here to attract contribors nor was I brought here to become one. You're kidding yourself if you think you get more sales from the forum. Unless you take Dan up on his limited time offer.
if it was another person saying that I would have given a heart ;D 8)
-
;
-
Which forum is better than istock? Bigstock, 123rf, crestock, veer, fotolia, dreamstime? I can see you like shutterstock's forum, it must have changed a lot because it used to be people posting pictures of their * dog in every thread or someone trying to get you to pay for a stock photo lesson.
I'm here to get updates from all the sites, hear informed opinions, see what the widrr trends are ect... I'm not here to attract contribors nor was I brought here to become one. You're kidding yourself if you think you get more sales from the forum. Unless you take Dan up on his limited time offer.
if it was another person saying that I would have given a heart ;D 8)
I knew you were here giving me all those negatives. It's all good! check out my dog and gorilla suit.
no no no, still haven't minus you today, for real!
-
;
-
Well tickstock then all is fine. I probably misread your posts, I had the impression you didnīt really find msg informative or useful and yet seem to spend a lot of time here.
The stocksy community is great. It has a lot of the creative spirit that used to make istock such a fun combination of work and inspiration.
I wouldnīt mind if they had a public forum area as well, but you can join their facebook page or the google networks I think these are open to anyone. It is still a very small place, and yet I have made more money there with 37 images than with over 400 on other sites. I look forward to see it develop and grow.
It is good there are so many agencies to choose from. If you like warm fuzzy community networks, stocksy is definitely a great place to be. If intense networking is not what you like there are enough other agencies to work with.
And if you are indie you can work with them all ;)
-
my bad then. I always count on one from you and one from ron. Maybe times they are a changin. I really couldn't care less about the negatives. I think the hearts and negs make the site less professional and if you disagree say why. I even got one for saying I had a bme in the July earnings thread.
we judge very fast in this forum, unfortunately in life too , an opinion/disagreement at a topic doesn't show what we are and it shouldn't go along other topics bringing negatives or hearts due to "friendships"
wasn't me on the July earnings as well
-
And congrats on the 1160 posts you have worked up since joining end of January 2013. It really is an amazing achievement. I have been posting here since 2007 and only have 1005.
Your attention to msg is really very impressive.
-
;
-
If that is the way you feel about it, keep informing people of what you think is right. Like I said, i donīt quite understand your level of activity if your focus is istock and and you are happy with your exclusivity. But it is your time.
I just really donīt see any changes on msg. Neither more nor less information than before. And the quality hasnīt gone up or down either.
-
;
-
I really donīt know what time you are referring too. Honestly, the only people I miss are the non anonymous istock exclusives. Their participation here has died down parallel to the lack of activity on istock. Many have gone underground into various facebook networks. And for obvious reasons...
Everyone else seems to still be here,no?
msg has always had a large number of newbies, it is the biggest point of focus on the net if you are starting out.
But all the groups are interlinked and news spreads pretty fast. Googlenetworks has a huge group of full time stock artists as well.
And the Berlin expo is supposed to be well booked already and I would think anyone who is really interested in the industry and has the time to come will probably be there. The last event was fantastic.
And most of the people there do stock full time.
-
;
-
It's changed a lot. There used to be much more full time professionals on here. The attitude towards them was very negative and now you see many more people that are just starting.
"There's a lot of misinformation here. Seriously I'm working a lot and this is one of my break time sites."
i too usually come here to get up to date on a few items mostly is of which is the microstock industry, so forums have their place. but i would not consider this forum the place to be for the stock industry as a whole.
i too find their is a lot of misinformation, speculation, and complaining posted here.
i think the main reason there are fewer and fewer real professionals here is that for the most part this is not the forum to be.
also, anytime a seasoned pro does come in here and comments, more often then not they are kicked in the nuts for anything they say.
if a seasoned pro even suggests that they making a successful living as a full time photographer with IS and GI, they once again get kicked in the nuts for doing so, and always need to verify they do indeed make a good living or else they are lying.
if a season pro does come in here and venture to share their knowledge, they will soon realize they will be drawn a quartered by a bunch of micro groupies who are upset they could not make it in the real world, and they more often than not leave without a trace.
there is an overwhelming amount of complaining and speculation going on here.
the last thing i do however is come here for a community feeling, or to get warm and fuzzy feeling by being part of a community. i don't come here to get little heart.
-
Shudderstock,between the bizarre name choice and overemotional style of writing you just donīt come across as a seasoned professional,as you claim to be. You only have yourself to blame if you think people here are not taking you seriously.
If you really want to inform people of the advantages of being an istock exclusive, then you could ask JJRD to review your posts and he will explain to you why what you call "giving" information" is making both istock and Getty look bad. You are really not making Getty look like a professional, trustworthy business partner.
Jonathan Ross gets his share of flack, but nobody doubts he is a pro and many welcome his balanced and informed postings. He also very respectful in the way he deals with people online. Which is the way professionals work, anyone you meet could be part of your next business deal, so why let go of emotions and negativity if you can control yourself and be balanced?
Both you and tickstock sprang out of nowhere in the beginning of the year at a time of crisis for the Getty company. The volume of posts makes it look like you are doing it for a reason that is way beyond spending your break time between shootings.
The "information" and data you often cite is not congruent with what the istock exclusives themselves, those that do it full time, are reporting on the internet and in their networks. Full time exclusives are reporting a general loss of income and especially a lack of sales on new productions, which is why many have either stopped uploading or are doing more assignment work and just process leftovers from old shootings. Those with other revenue streams can go independent and explore other agencies. Those overreliant on Getty need to build new sources of income first. But the confidence to trust all your familyīs income on istock only - I think that is long gone.
And the first place people look for what istock and getty can be like financially if you want to work with them full time are the public istock forums. Getty could easily decide to make those forums more attractive than msg for both full timers and independents if they wanted to and draw the internet traffic there. But they donīt. Entirely their own choice.
Nobody here doubts that there are people making a full time income from being exclusive at istock or getty.
But it is just as possible to make a full time living as an independent. It is also a lot safer,because whenever the landscape changes you are flexible and can move your content around. You can supply high price agencies, you can supply low price agencies, you can sell direct...and most of all no matter which agency rises and falls,you will always be present everywhere.
And personally, although there are small improvements to the istock site, I am not seeing anything that would convince me that istock is turning the ship around and will bring more competition to SS and the other agencies.
Obviously your impression is different, so best of luck with whatever you do.
I usually have you on ignore, so you will probably not be seeing anymore posts from me directed at you anyway.
-
cobalt...
i think it safe to say that each and every photographer will have different results from their work they produce, regardless of where they choose to submit their work to.
some people will have amazing success, others not so, this is life.
one fellow comes to mind on this forum (no names) he is constantly angry on this forum, and on the IS forums. he produces very lovely work, at least i think so. he is what i would deem to be very good at what he shoots, but alas, it is not really what stock photo buyers are looking for, the result is he is not selling. add to this that the locations he shoots are all covered from the same angle by hundreds of other photographers, albeit not quit as refined, on multiple sites. for me, i see this particular individuals work as standing out from the crowd, it truly is great stuff, but his work is lost in the hundreds of other very similar images taken from the same angle. i am also sure his results are diminishing on every site he contributes to for exactly the same reasons, but for some reason the rage is full on with IS.
i have been shooting stock for far too long and seen the business change a lot, not all of it for the better.
i don't like GI as a company at all. i have been with several agencies over the years, big name agencies, and they have all eventually been bought out by GI. i have witnessed the devaluation of images drastically over the last 25 years.
for the most part i think it safe to assume that most (at least an overwhelming majority) photographers - including myself have seen their incomes drop drastically in the last few years, regardless of where they choose to place their images. there are several factors that come into play on this, namely the cannibalization of the valuation of images by microstock agencies, and further so by the agencies that are subscription sites. this is an industry wide problem and it won't go away any time soon. there is much more at play here than perhaps you are willing to accept or even acknowledge.
i am sure there are advantages to being non-exclusive, as there is being exclusive. we all have choices, you make yours, i make mine. for me it suits my needs best to keep a successful ball rolling with GI and IS, even if the income is slowly declining. it's a system i understand and it works very well for me. i am so deep in with GI and sort of IS that i'd be a fool to leave them to try and make up my losses. the mere thought of all that additional work, and an immediate reduction is my income, only to start out again with numerous agencies and get royalties of 0.30c to start would be foolish. i'd rather keep feeding the machine that is well greased.
i too wish you the best of success in whichever route you take in selling your work. but mark my words, very few of us will be making 50% of what we make today within the next 5-7 years, regardless of where you place your work. the writing is on the wall, and perhaps you'd just have to be around long enough and a seasoned professional to notice it.
in my professional opinion, the decline of the industry is not in GI or IS, or even microstock sites in general, rather the decline is totally at the mercy of subscription sites. subscription sites are killing the industry as it once was and what it currently is. buyers could care less about our well being, just as GI, IS, or SS, could care less. also another factor is the fact that almost every microstock agency accepts almost every image submitted due to a complete lack of editing, thus this creates a situation of over supply of images, the result being less and less sales for individual contributors, but alas, an ever increasing income for the agencies.
now to conclude, if i make a good living shooting for GI and IS there is nothing wrong with this at all. if anything many would like to be in the same situation. it took a lot of work and still does. i can only say that i am glad i am not starting my career in today's climate. yes all of my eggs are in one basket, but i firmly believe when and if that basket breaks, it is game over for the whole industry. i don't know why there is such a hate on for people who have made a successful go of GI and IS, it's actually kind of annoying and childish. in particular this whole concept of needing to verify ones success to people they don't know over a forum.
as for your comments regarding meeting people on forums and this being the possibility of being my next deal, i am not a fan of social media and don't gain my clients in this manner. i still prefer the old fashioned way of picking up the phone and meeting people in person.
any way, peace out, and good luck with your sales wherever you choose to place your images.
and fyi, shudderstock is exactly how i feel about SS, i shudder that stock could be sold for so low and payouts so low, and that people actually contribute there work there wanting to sell in volume to make a go of it. it makes no sense to me at all. but to each his/her own.
-
Good grief! There are posts in this thread that are longer than the newsletter! Who would have thought a simple missive would have caused such a furore? The fact is there is a great deal of antipathy towards IS and has been for a couple of years - and it wasn't created on MSG.
I remain convinced IS are trying to turn the business around in some shape or form but can't help feeling they've overcooked the pudding and introduced far too much complexity. Also they have been severely outmanoeuvred by other agencies, especially SS and perhaps even 123rf and DP.
They have a future but whatever that future is remains difficult to fathom when they seem unable to communicate it in a coherent manner and even trample all over their contributor base by not not communicating some stuff at all, or saying they will and then failing to do so. I would dearly like to see something from the very top level to engender confidence in this future.
-
Iīve read it all. Thank you for a really solid reply.
I agree that the oversupply of files will make it harder and harder to get reliable sales, but I believe the pros will just adapt and shoot things that are not so easy to do. Supply and demand works both ways. If it is not profitable to sell stock and invest in production a certain kind of stock will simply not be provided. So customers have to either commission photographers to do it or look at the agencies that have more advanced content at higher prices.
The days of "easy money" are certainly over.
But I do believe in high volume sites, for me SS is just like the app store for mobile phones. Software is incredibly cheap there and yet people make money because of the extremly high volume of sales. So having a steady stream of income from ultracheap stock sales is an attractive revenue stream for me.
But I donīt believe every file is right for subscription. All files are not created equal.
Of course after 4 months of independence I havenīt yet recovered my income from istock/getty. But I am uploading very slowly and the results are good. In video also much better than expected. Without the Getty/Googe Deal etc...I would probably still be photo exclusive.
I am not recommending that other people should do what I do. But I know that many are following my journey to see if it would also be an option for them.
What I keep pointing out is that if you are new to istock and go exclusive and are building a portfolio there, it also takes two years to reach a "livable" income. I have seen (and encouraged) enough people who went exclusive. Even in 2010/2011 artists with excellent content had to wait a long, long time to see daily sales and reliable returns.
So wether you want to go indie or be exclusive,if you are starting out now it will take at least two years with a normal production rhythm to get good results.
Anyway, happy shooting.
-
cobalt...
for what it's worth, i zapped you with a heart on both of your replies as i feel there was some thought put into them as opposed to just plain GI/IS bashing without any thought put into it apart from the usual 'i am mad' and 'i hate IS' because its their fault nonsense.
true what you say, not all files are treated equal, however there is nothing that will convince me a file is worth 0.30c, ever. not sure about you, but i have thousands upon thousands of dollars in equipment, thousands upon thousands of hours in learning new programs, and to get a royalty that makes less than the price of parking my car at a parking meter just does not add up for me.
for what it's worth, in the good old days it took a lot longer than a one or two years to make any money at all let alone a living. back then there was a brutal editing process, which actually still takes place at GI if you submit directly.
in my opinion, the new generation of microstock shooters had it really easy, buy a cheap camera and get everything accepted and start making money immediately.
we do agree however - imagine that :), the days of 'easy money' are over, and that is part of what i see as being the problem for so many of today's photographers, most notably the microstock photographer. i see it more as having a false sense of entitlement, and now they are dealing with the cold realities of the real world.
one thing i think we can all agree on however, is we love what we do, and we are lucky to be able to do so, and even in this sinking ship called the stock industry, i have no plans to quit any time soon.
i also pointed out in an earlier post that it is ultimately the buyer who makes or breaks our success, not any particular agency. shoot good work consistently, shoot stock quality photos that buyers need, and work with diligence, you should do fine.
-
for me SS is just like the app store for mobile phones. Software is incredibly cheap there and yet people make money because of the extremly high volume of sales
It is apparently becoming increasingly difficult for independents to recoup development costs at the App Store as the market expands. As with microstock, a significant issue is copying. And you are at the mercy of the search. Or else you effectively have to pay for social media promotion - in which case sales will typically receive a short boost and then tail off very quickly.
We have an impression that the App Store is doing very well for people partly because we inevitably hear about the apps which trend.
The App Store is a fantastic model from the consumer perspective but it is by no means clear that it will be long term viable for small independent developers.
-
Look what happened, Iīve put you on unignore and added a heart...;)
Maybe the microstockers had it too easy in the years 2003-2010. But this is what happens when you ride a "wave" in business.
So when you see the wave dying you need to make the right jump to the next wave at the right time....
I have very expensive and specialized gear,studio etc...but I am not paying employees. But I am still optimistic to be making a full time living again from stock in about two years.
There are so many things to be shot that are useful and in demand. And like you say, the job is fun too.
@bhr, yes I have been reading that as well. The easy gold mine days are over. But there will be those who persevere and survive. Now is the time that will seperate those who really understand how to run a business from those who got lucky.
But there are many other online waves coming and going.
-
'i hate IS' because its their fault nonsense.
...
i also pointed out in an earlier post that it is ultimately the buyer who makes or breaks our success, not any particular agency.
Hmmm. The buyers seemed OK with certain of my photos at E/S prices but not at S+ prices. I didn't nominate them for S+. Whose fault is that?
And two of the volume buyers where I used to find 'in-uses' now use TS. Who chose to start TS and to direct their volume buyers there, contrary to the line they spun us that TS was for 'new buyers'?
-
my bad then. I always count on one from you and one from ron. Maybe times they are a changin. I really couldn't care less about the negatives. I think the hearts and negs make the site less professional and if you disagree say why. I even got one for saying I had a bme in the July earnings thread.
I dont minus all your comments, and I certainly didnt minus your earnings comment. Maybe other people also disagree with your comments. Dont feel speshul or anything, I havent singled you out.
-
'i hate IS' because its their fault nonsense.
...
i also pointed out in an earlier post that it is ultimately the buyer who makes or breaks our success, not any particular agency.
Hmmm. The buyers seemed OK with certain of my photos at E/S prices but not at S+ prices. I didn't nominate them for S+. Whose fault is that?
in a situation like this, then yes it is a consequence of the decision of upper management of Gi which is motivated by sheer greed and profit, i too have been affected in a similar fashion with some images, some of which were my best sellers which have more or less tanked since. that said, their executive decision also put 350+ of my images into the S+ collection (images i would have never put into S+) and they are selling very well to my surprise, and by that decision alone it also put 350+ of my images onto GI which in turn have also added $$$ to my account, which again is a surprise.
to speculate a bit here, the new collection thing is all about slowly but surely reducing RC levels ultimately reducing royalties.
i don't profess to know what makes GI tick apart from sheer greed and unilateral profit, but they have also been around for a while and know how the market works, what buyers want, what buyers are willing to pay, and of course to line their own pockets to the detriment of its suppliers - which be us, the lowly contributor. whether i agree with it or not, or any of us agree with it or not is a whole other conversation for another day.
as i keep saying, and have done so for a long time now, it's a slow and steady sinking ship, the whole industry in terms of being a supplier, regardless of where you submit to. one could of course deem this view to be negative and/or pessimistic, but i'd rather be negative and pessimistic over rose tinted glasses when it comes to my livelihood and not really being able to control the outcome as i am/we are always at the mercy of corporate greed.
just wait till SS has to pay out dividends to its shareholders in the next AGM, it will turn ugly. that is when GI got ugly, when years ago they were a publicly listed company the first thing they did was cut expenses, or should i say their liabilities, ahem - contributors royalties.
-
Hmmm. The buyers seemed OK with certain of my photos at E/S prices but not at S+ prices. I didn't nominate them for S+. Whose fault is that?
It's not about "fault". Those images may well average you more money ultimately. It's much too early to say. Look at them again 2 or 3 years from now. I doubt they have all even been migrated to GI yet.
-
... reading these last posts I have a feeling that MSG influence is far greater than someone would think ...
- not to mention Symbiostock ...
-
...Of course after 4 months of independence I havenīt yet recovered my income from istock/getty. But I am uploading very slowly...
Not to derail the discussion...but is there a strategic reason why you are uploading "very slowly"?
Thanks.
-
Hmmm. The buyers seemed OK with certain of my photos at E/S prices but not at S+ prices. I didn't nominate them for S+. Whose fault is that?
It's not about "fault". Those images may well average you more money ultimately. It's much too early to say. Look at them again 2 or 3 years from now. I doubt they have all even been migrated to GI yet.
A reasonable percentage of my old E+ images from over a year ago haven't been migrated yet.
But the files I didn't plus because of the better, newer rivals will still be competing against them at Getty, so even if they manage eventually to get over there, it's unlikely to do me any good.
But even if these newly promoted images do sell (I doubt it, I deliberately didn't plus them because there are now better rivals than there were when I uploaded them, which is why they had good early sales. I'd have minused them, given a chance.), I'd have to balance that with the low-demand, low-supply images which are now selling in Main, but not (now, and I wouldn't expect ever) in increased volume.
-
...Of course after 4 months of independence I havenīt yet recovered my income from istock/getty. But I am uploading very slowly...
Not to derail the discussion...but is there a strategic reason why you are uploading "very slowly"?
Thanks.
To spread files over various best match systems in the different agencies. I have followed the success and frustration of other artists who went indie. And my observation was that as soon as they are indie they try to bring their portfolios to the agencies as soon as possible. So 4000,6000,or over 8000 files go online within a few months,sometimes weeks.
But they donīt seem to reach a level of income that is enough to keep them working and sometimes after only a few months, they give up and go back to being exclusive.
But if you look at people who have always been indie and have similar size/quality portfolios, their income seems to be fine. Certainly earning a lot more than those who brought everything to the market immediately.
Obviously I am analyzing comments and numbers from friends,things I read online etc...I donīt have a controlled scientific study on the subject.
But from my own experience as a business manager, I know that introducing a new product to a market and attracting reliable repeat customers usually needs at least 2-3 seasons, which usually means 2-3 years, or 2-3 trade shows, 2-3 demonstrations of the product or meeting with different levels of managers until you get the first deal, they get to know your quality, they decide to come back etc...
When I upload files to a new agency I am entering a new market place. Like opening another stall selling eggs in the village next to my usual marketplace.
Some people might already know me and are happy to find them at this new agency as well, but for many regular customers I will be someone new offering products. So I need time to get them used to what I can offer, to let them download my files and they will see that the quality is really good, they come back to my portfolio looking for new stuff, my files get lightboxed, layouted, and the end customer makes decisions.
This process takes a lot of time.
Now all agencies have a best match that among other things also includes a date stamp when the files are uploaded or accepted. Again, if you upload everything in the first few months, they all get the same time stamp. If best match decides to present files from another date, your whole portfolio might be out of luck.
And finally I am trying to see if there are any differences in what sells at the different agencies. Are some places better for selling food or people shots? Better at selling things from Germany? Better at selling things at high prices? Or are they really good at selling in high volume?
etc...
I donīt know if what I am doing is the best way to have a reliable income longterm. I hope so.
This is why I am uploading a mix of new and old files and not more than 30 - 100 files a week.
-
With all my personal caveats about the validity of the poll on the right, that's a huge drop for exclusives on iS reported so far.
-
;
-
Just quickly adding up the numbers it looks to be down a lot for all sites. Also it seems like for a lot of exclusives, they couldn't answer the poll yet because they don't know what the pp and GI sales are going to be for a few more weeks, unless you've already hit the upper limit of the poll. For me I have no idea what GI will be this month but it wouldn't surprise me to anywhere from $400 to $1500.
I mentioned the GI thing a while back, and the suggestion was to just put in the month that you got the money, so if you got the GI money for July in August, count that as your August earnings, and that would apply to TS also for those who opted in.
-
Just quickly adding up the numbers it looks to be down a lot for all sites. Also it seems like for a lot of exclusives they couldn't answer the poll yet because they don't know what the pp and GI sales are going to be for a few more weeks, unless you've already hit the upper limit of the poll.
I risk saying that the poll will become more and more irrelevant, this month I only added results for SS per example (usually I enter over 30/40 agencies), I just don't look at the poll with serious eyes anymore because its very different for everybody, if I have one agency doing very well why should I tell the "all world" about it? as time goes I believe that contributors will give less and less information at least regarding earnings, I have recently found an agency that was rarely talked about here and it looks very exciting
-
Just quickly adding up the numbers it looks to be down a lot for all sites. Also it seems like for a lot of exclusives, they couldn't answer the poll yet because they don't know what the pp and GI sales are going to be for a few more weeks, unless you've already hit the upper limit of the poll. For me I have no idea what GI will be this month but it wouldn't surprise me to be anywhere from $400 to $1500.
i guess i could zap the $2500 + choice today as it already exceeds that by much more, regardless of what GI turns in, i don't do any PP images as i will not support any subscription site in any way. i really wish they would offer choices of $3500+ $4500+ $5500+ etc. it might give a more accurate reading for every site as some people do make that much from all the various sites.
not that it matters of course.
i'd also like to see a few zaps on the stocksy site as my curiosity is activated.
-
Got my DT Newsletter this morning: Very Professional. :P
-
Got my DT Newsletter this morning: Very Professional. :P
I guess I haven't got it but I can tell you what is professional, perhaps a candle glowing severely underexposed? ;D
-
I risk saying that the poll will become more and more irrelevant, this month I only added results for SS per example (usually I enter over 30/40 agencies), I just don't look at the poll with serious eyes anymore because its very different for everybody, if I have one agency doing very well why should I tell the "all world" about it? as time goes I believe that contributors will give less and less information at least regarding earnings, I have recently found an agency that was rarely talked about here and it looks very exciting
Good to know now you keep your cards closer to your chest. I hated how you used to reveal so much information in your blog. ;)
-
I risk saying that the poll will become more and more irrelevant, this month I only added results for SS per example (usually I enter over 30/40 agencies), I just don't look at the poll with serious eyes anymore because its very different for everybody, if I have one agency doing very well why should I tell the "all world" about it? as time goes I believe that contributors will give less and less information at least regarding earnings, I have recently found an agency that was rarely talked about here and it looks very exciting
Good to know now you keep your cards closer to your chest. I hated how you used to reveal so much information in your blog. ;)
that su-cker is sleeping since November 2011 :D
-
...Of course after 4 months of independence I havenīt yet recovered my income from istock/getty. But I am uploading very slowly...
Not to derail the discussion...but is there a strategic reason why you are uploading "very slowly"?
Thanks.
To spread files over various best match systems in the different agencies. I have followed the success and frustration of other artists who went indie. And my observation was that as soon as they are indie they try to bring their portfolios to the agencies as soon as possible. So 4000,6000,or over 8000 files go online within a few months,sometimes weeks....
Now all agencies have a best match that among other things also includes a date stamp when the files are uploaded or accepted. Again, if you upload everything in the first few months, they all get the same time stamp. If best match decides to present files from another date, your whole portfolio might be out of luck. ...
This is why I am uploading a mix of new and old files and not more than 30 - 100 files a week.
Thanks for the detailed response. The "best match argument" seems like the most logical and compelling reason.
-
hi all - just saying hello based on earlier comment. I do still read here regularly. I follow the iStock stuff but not as closely as I once did. Once I made the decision to go non-exclusive, it was after a long time preparing and considering my options....so it wasn't a huge deal when I did it. I was a very big fan of iStock as it once was. I learned so much from peers and from the individuals that worked for iStock/Getty. some of those very good, talented people still work for iStock and Getty and they continue to have my respect. we all gotta decide what is best for us individually. but I haven't looked back with any regrets about dropping the crown.
it wasn't what it once meant to me, the business has changed and the opportunities are simply greater as a non-exclusive in today's industry. that is my point of view anyways. I don't 'miss' it in that I have continued my friendships and visits with friends I made via iStock. but I go weeks not logging in to iStock, so I definitely see the changes when I do log in. The site looks cheaper, more generic and certainly doesn't have the spirit it once did. it is what it is. my download numbers as a non-exclusive on iStock are great, the income from them is sad. lol. but it is what I expected.
if you have any specific questions about life as a non-exclusive, go for it. in the meantime, I keep reading iS threads to kind of stay on top of things.
-
Thanks for checking in Stacy. It's nice to hear how things are going with you. Glad you are doing well and adjusting to non-exclusivity :)
-
Thanks for checking in Stacy. It's nice to hear how things are going with you. Glad you are doing well and adjusting to non-exclusivity :)
Indeed! I was wondering where you had been. Keep up the good work Stacey, you are a true 'creative'.
-
It's only been about 3 months(http://www.bettecets.com/1.jpg)