Yeah, I wonder why they don't just kill it off and be done with it, whatever the problems were.

I'm told they planned to launch with 10,000 logo's and they don't even have half that. I'm amazed anyone is actually bothering to upload still as it's about 15 months behind schedule on the launch date.
   

I had 25 logos accepted from Nov 2009 (yes that's 2009) through Jan 2010. Sadly I think the $5 bonus is the only money I will make from my efforts. I am very disappointed that the program is stalled. Yet IS still continues with the "coming soon, working on it" BS. Nobody even cares anymore. The logo forum is deserted and the same 5 people post logos in the challenges. It makes me sad, but I have given up the ghost and resign myself to the fact that it is dead, it's just that no one has informed the corpse.

Oh dear. The big party in London that they announced a few days ago ... has sort of been 'un-announced' and the thread locked;

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=302622&page=4

Apparently something might be happening sometime and somewhere but they don't want to commit to anything just yet.

Not really an epic fail here or anything, more of an annoyance, but I don't want to start a new thread on it. Pink Cotton Candy has started a thread on revamping PTOTW and, I know she means well and it's essentially her idea, but it always sticks in my craw when multi-million dollar companies ask for free design work. The relevant part:

In an effort to get the buying public involved: what about asking them to design the headers for each week? I can totally provide a credit + a link to their website. I would set specific guidelines (size, etc.). I realize it might take a while for it to catch on and I will create the headers in the meantime. Buyers, what do you think of this? Is this work for free? yes, of course it is...but maybe it's fun if you know the parameters?

They should at least offer people some free credits for it or something. "Credit and a link to their website"? I'll get right on it. LOL

Stuff it, iStock.

Quote from: ShadySue on February 13, 2011, 09:38

To be fair, I don't think 'they' announced it.
If you look at the link which someone - NOT an admin - found and posted, it seems to be, for some reason, some event which is open to the general public, but following on from the OP, people were jumping onto it as if it was going to be a standard 'lypse, which it clearly isn't. Note the OP didn't announce it as a 'lypse. So JJRD locked the thread to avoid expections from spiralling.
I don't think this belongs in the 'epic fail' thread: there's more than enough really in that category.

If it wasn't 'announced' how did it get to appear on the WPO website? No less than 12 admins and inspectors joined in the wooyay chorus <feigned surprise> and it has taken them 2 days to decide to lock the thread without providing any further info.

I meant that it wasn't officially announced on the forums by an admin. Someone found it on the WPO site, and others, without reading the WPO site carefully, thought it was a 'lypse so got excited about it.
I have no idea of what the purpose of having free tutorials about using lights and models for the general public is. Trying to flush out some naturally talented contributors? Gosh, even I got excited for a few moments, as I've never really used lights or had models, until I noticed first of all the bit about the general public, and secondly thought about the cost of accommodation in London at that time.

I think we should add PTOTW epic fail...
In the forums they ask to brainstorm along about a new way of doing it; the massive consensus is 'leave it as it is; istock controls too much already as it is", the opinions didnt matter, they're going to do how they feel it should be done anyways.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=304702&page=1

Yes,  I think it's an epic fail too. I also like how they were initially asking buyers to design something for free. Eff that. They aren't happy with how much they are already taking form buyers? And the designer gets credit and a link to their website. Oooo. Sign me up. Not. Offering free credits in the form of payment would have been at least a little more appealing.

I don't know why they bother to ask anyone for ideas  though, if they were just going to implement something regardless of the consensus. :/

Quote from: Artemis on February 17, 2011, 13:32

I think we should add PTOTW epic fail...
In the forums they ask to brainstorm along about a new way of doing it; the massive consensus is 'leave it as it is; istock controls too much already as it is", the opinions didnt matter, they're going to do how they feel it should be done anyways.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=304702&page=1

Who cares? The PTOTW is only for hobbists with too much time on their hands anyway. I can't imagine why anyone would even bother to click on such a thread, much less actually participate. Life is simply too short for such nonsense.

I'm with you.  the PTOTW is for photographers to pimp their work.  do buyers really go in there?  I mean buyers other than the contributors who like to join in on the PTOTW?  I have gone in there a few times in the past but never got any sales from it.  it's a fun place to socialize and show off your work to other contributors but I am not so sure how advantageous it is for sales.

Quote from: jamirae on February 17, 2011, 14:32

I'm with you.  the PTOTW is for photographers to pimp their work.  do buyers really go in there?  I mean buyers other than the contributors who like to join in on the PTOTW?  I have gone in there a few times in the past but never got any sales from it.  it's a fun place to socialize and show off your work to other contributors but I am not so sure how advantageous it is for sales.

I've never looked at the pimping threads.

I find the new rules difficult follow? Has it turned into a once a month thing? How can it be weekly if the themes are posted on the first Friday of the month and the pimping thread is on the last Friday of the month?

too many rules. it has been killed. 

Quote from: vlad_the_imp on February 10, 2011, 02:20

Quote

Yeah, I wonder why they don't just kill it off and be done with it, whatever the problems were.

I'm told they planned to launch with 10,000 logo's and they don't even have half that. I'm amazed anyone is actually bothering to upload still as it's about 15 months behind schedule on the launch date.

This is interesting since today they said they planned to launch editorial with 5k files.  Why so many for logos?

logos are a different monster as they are a one time sale and then they are gone.  with the editorial it's like the rest of the images - they are for sale over and over again. 

Maybe if they actually launched it and it was a success, more people would bother contributing!

too true! 

OMG, it is surely long thread to read.

I've been in microstock since early 2008, 3 year for me to be in this.
Istock was a promising stock sites that time. for the last 2 years, i can even predict my growth, like ebb and flow keep repeating, but suddenly this last 2 month things get worst.
It's not only the commission goes down even the download goes down like cut in half, while on other sites I got rapid growth in income, it is like buyers moving on from istock to other stock sites.

Plus the whole bugs like that, i can't even imagine they keep doing business with the whole mess up on their sites
Wow, I thought after iStock being under Getty, their website gonna be better. But it really like a sites full of trouble and problem. I don't know how about their credibility in the eyes of buyers.

pppffff, I just want to say that I am really disappointing with iStock ( it crossed on my mind half year ago to jump in their exclusivity, that makes me relieve that I didn't do it that time )

Can't change your Paypal account or they refuse to pay you fail.

I changed my paypal account info and tried to request a payment last week. They form gave me an error that my paypal account wasn't "confirmed". I can't send it to the old address as Paypal has the new one. Sent a message to support asking how to fix it but all I got was the auto "Thanks for emailing us".