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Author Topic: New post from iStockHQ  (Read 20298 times)

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ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything


« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2012, 17:03 »
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Here's the text for anyone who gets nauseated just going over to their forum:

Quote
Posting from member iStock HQ:

First of all we wanted to acknowledge that weve heard your comments on the use of the iStock HQ member name, and we understand that not everyone is crazy about it and why. The reality is that there isnt just one captain of this ship, so rather than giving the impression there is we decided to use this voice in some situations where many of us are contributing or where there is a need to have an official statement from iStock. We will continue to do this as we feel its appropriate, but in response to your comments were also going to write an updated whos who article introducing (or re-introducing) many of the people who manage the iStock and Getty Images businesses, help with these posts and are likely to show up in the forums and in other communications in the future covering various topics that we know are important to you.


Information sharing in a competitive environment:

There are many very good and very specific questions this thread about company strategy that we simply cannot answer for competitive reasons. Well do our best to answer questions and to supply you with the information you need to plan for your businesses and to be successful contributors here, but its a competitive environment we work in and there is some information we are not able to share in a public forum.


Ok, on to some questions

(These first couple questions fall into the category described above, so apologies if they are fairly vague, were providing as much information as we can.)


How is the company doing?

iStock is a very healthy business that continues to grow. Maintaining growth is our #1 objective.


What steps are being taken to retain current buyers and attract new ones?

There are many programs in the works utilizing the brainpower and reach of our newly combined Getty Images and iStock teams to achieve this goal exactly. We agree its key to ongoing future success as a business and we are focused on it.


Several questions around exclusivity & royalties so here are a few comments on that subject:

There are currently no plans to alter royalty rates at iStock.

We highly value exclusive artists and their content and will continue to increase support for these contributors through information sharing on the Getty Images contributor site, working together at iStockalypse events, and through other methods yet to be introduced.


How will inspection change? Are Getty Images editors going to be involved directly with iStockphoto submissions?

The basic structure and processes for iStock inspection are not changing. We want to increase dialog between the iStock inspection team and Getty Images creative staff to share knowledge and information more openly in both directions. Whether this might eventually include any cross-pollination between teams is yet to be determined, but any activity of this kind would be collaborative in nature.


Are we going to see an influx of Getty content added to the iStock collection? Will wholly owned Getty Images content swamp search results in the near future? How is iStock going to balance things?

As has been seen with Agency, Vetta, vectors, editorial, video and other collections, we are increasingly distributing certain types of content across multiple Getty Images sites (including iStockphoto) when it helps to meet customer needs. Distribution has gone in both directions between iStock and Getty Images and will continue to do so. Some of the content moving from Getty Images to iStock is and will be wholly owned (particularly Edstock and Hulton Archive due to how this type of niche content is generated/acquired), but much of it is also not.

Our core objective with search is to present customers the content they are looking for, and thats why youll see Best Match continue to change over time. Were continually working towards getting the most relevant mix of content in front of customers, if we lose sight of this objective well also lose our customers.


Video questions:

Several of you asked about editorial video, this is something that is still under consideration but there are no current plans or timelines to announce.

There were also questions about payments for iStock video content that is being distributed through GettyImages.com. Since this program was one of the first distribution programs between iStock and Getty Images there were some workarounds required to make it happen that were still in the process of cleaning up. This is underway and youll see communications with more specifics about it in the near future.

Video inspection times are longer than they should be and the submission and review processes have had many technical issues. The Video team are talking in more detail about whats being done to remedy these things on the video forum here.


Site bugs & outages:

We fully acknowledge there have been and continue to be many unresolved bugs that impact contributors and customers in both big and small ways. We dont like it either and we are working to do a better job managing this work. The integration happening now between Getty Images and iStock includes our technology teams, and some of the processes being introduced will help us towards this goal. The same applies for site outages, we know we can do better on this as well and it is one of our primary focuses right now.


We hope this helps alleviate some of the concerns raised in this thread and through the changes rolled out last week. We appreciate and value your partnership and will continue to provide as much information as possible to help you run your business and make valuable content. You may not always like the answers that we give you but our goal is to make sure that you have the information you need to make informed decisions about your business. Well be following up with the whos who article in the next few weeks as mentioned earlier, as well as other communications weve discussed. For now wed like to ask that you take whats been shared here, and give us some time to do the work weve talked about in these posts.

Signing off for now,

The team at HQ

« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2012, 17:06 »
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Well I hope that answers a lot of the burning questions.  ::)

« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2012, 17:17 »
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At least the dialogue is on-going. That is positive.

« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2012, 17:23 »
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It's completely vague and has no clear answers as usual.

« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2012, 17:24 »
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Indeed, no real info here.
But sales are good at least :)

« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2012, 17:27 »
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"How is the company doing?

iStock is a very healthy business that continues to grow. Maintaining growth is our #1 objective."


They could hardly have been less specific about 'growth'. Growth in what? Images? Registered customers? Sales? Revenue? Staff (I guess not)?

lisafx

« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2012, 17:29 »
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The one bit of real info I could see in that post was that "There are currently no plans to alter royalty rates at iStock."

That is comforting as far as it goes.  It would be much more comforting if the same "currently no plans" language had not been used so many times before regarding things that were later implemented.  

« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2012, 17:30 »
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Well I hope that answers a lot of the burning questions.  ::)

It certainly answered all my questions... Oh wait, I didn't have any.  ;D

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2012, 17:33 »
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That is comforting as far as it goes.  It would be much more comforting if the same "currently no plans" language had not been used so many times before regarding things that were later implemented.  
Quite.

« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2012, 17:36 »
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At least the dialogue is on-going. That is positive.

I don't see any dialog, or request for dialog. This is written responses, mostly very general, to some of the written questions submitted in the earlier thread.

The other key element of dialog is that something might change as a result of the discussion - I don't count another Q&A sheet as a change. Once upon a time there were actual discussions between iStock management and contributors and things could change as a result. That's clearly gone and we apparently have some sort of committee in charge.

mlwinphoto

« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2012, 17:43 »
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The one bit of real info I could see in that post was that "There are currently no plans to alter royalty rates at iStock."

That is comforting as far as it goes.  It would be much more comforting if the same "currently no plans" language had not been used so many times before regarding things that were later implemented.  

I'm sitting at 15% and don't find it so comforting....although I suppose they could have dropped it down to 10%.    :(

« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2012, 18:15 »
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The one bit of real info I could see in that post was that "There are currently no plans to alter royalty rates at iStock."

That is comforting as far as it goes.  It would be much more comforting if the same "currently no plans" language had not been used so many times before regarding things that were later implemented.  
Amen.
Wheww, i certainly feel a lot wiser and more "heard" after this post. They had to work for 2 days on a post that doesnt say anything, apart from  'nothing will change' (outside collections invading/dominating istock), or possibly might or might not change (review process)?
 A bunch of non-answers, as i expected.  At least good to know istock is very healthy and continues to grow, as we all see reflected in our numbers  ::)

rubyroo

« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2012, 18:31 »
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Two parts stood out for me.

Firstly the 'currently' no plans (as Lisa noted), and also:

"We highly value exclusive artists and their content and will continue to increase support for these contributors..."

Did I miss the part where they said they valued indies?

« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2012, 18:33 »
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There's a reasonable amount of info in that statement, assuming it's all true:

1) iStock is apparently not plummeting into the abyss after all. It's a "very healthy business that continues to grow. Maintaining growth is our #1 objective." I'd guess the kind of growth they're talking about is growth in revenue.

2) No change to inspection system except some chats with Getty people.

3) "Currently" no plans to change royalties.

4) They plan to nurture exclusives in various ways.

5) They will continue to shovel Getty material on to iStock.

6) They'll continue to fiddle with Best Match.

7) They offer a mea culpa, almost an apology, for the bugs and site outages. Good move.

All in all, it seems things could be worse. (And may well be next January, but let's not get pessimistic too soon.)

« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2012, 18:43 »
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Quit being so level-headed, RapidEye.

helix7

« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2012, 18:48 »
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I don't see any reason to believe anything in that post. They've pulled that "currently" line before and then gone back on it. The company cannot possibly be healthy and growing. The general consensus is that earnings are down, almost across the board (except for a few rare exceptions). That's not healthy, certainly not growing. This company has lied to us many times before, and I'm not about to suddenly trust a word they say based on a forum post. Actions will prove their worth, and for now, istock is worth very little to me. I upload maybe 10% of my work there now, and that may drop to 0% very soon as there are no signs of things picking up at all.

That post means nothing and it just looks like business as usual at istock, which includes lots of questionable statements, empty promises, and possibly some more less than honest assessments of things.  

« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2012, 18:50 »
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Out of all the questions being addressed (or "answers" given), I would have loved to see a specific list of bugs that actually have been fixed in the last 6 months.

I wonder what their IT team is actually working on...

If they gave us a list of achieved bug fixes we could appreciate better their work instead of just seeing newer and more bugs...
« Last Edit: January 24, 2012, 19:04 by click_click »

helix7

« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2012, 18:59 »
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...They plan to nurture exclusives in various ways...

Keep in mind how they've nurtured everyone in the past. When they cut royalties Kelly announced it as a way of "building upon the success of F5 ... with the goal of expanding our industry leadership in fresh, creative, quality, exclusive content." It was supposed to give most contributors the same or more money while making the company "sustainable" into the future. Kelly said that the changes "would not change most contributors' total compensation (except for the better)." Anyone feel better off since then? Are you exclusives doing better since the cuts?

Their idea of nurturing exclusives could be very different than yours. This is a company that cuts pay rates and spins it as a good thing. If they drop all exclusives to 20% but tell you it's for the long-term growth of the company and eventually it will pay off for you, will you still feel nurtured?

RacePhoto

« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2012, 18:59 »
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Two parts stood out for me.

Firstly the 'currently' no plans (as Lisa noted), and also:

"We highly value exclusive artists and their content and will continue to increase support for these contributors..."

Did I miss the part where they said they valued indies?


Yes, but so did they.

Made me look. #3 in terms of files on the system. 19,000 nice collection.  http://www.istockphoto.com/search/portfolio/2134884/source/ref?esource=reflinkcon&lcrefid=3001992&lc_rm=Link&lcbanid=56776#ddb5764

The one bit of real info I could see in that post was that "There are currently no plans to alter royalty rates at iStock."

That is comforting as far as it goes.  It would be much more comforting if the same "currently no plans" language had not been used so many times before regarding things that were later implemented.  


Jumped right off the screen didn't it? Of course tomorrow things may change...

The best match just means they will be forcing what they own and sell to the front, followed by whatever makes the most money. This has nothing to do with "best match" for the buyers sake.

Oh no reason to change Indy royalty payment, they can't go any lower, and we know they are never going to be increased.

« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2012, 19:10 »
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...They plan to nurture exclusives in various ways...

Keep in mind how they've nurtured everyone in the past. When they cut royalties Kelly announced it as a way of "building upon the success of F5 ... with the goal of expanding our industry leadership in fresh, creative, quality, exclusive content." It was supposed to give most contributors the same or more money while making the company "sustainable" into the future. Kelly said that the changes "would not change most contributors' total compensation (except for the better)." Anyone feel better off since then? Are you exclusives doing better since the cuts?

Their idea of nurturing exclusives could be very different than yours. This is a company that cuts pay rates and spins it as a good thing. If they drop all exclusives to 20% but tell you it's for the long-term growth of the company and eventually it will pay off for you, will you still feel nurtured?

I know this is not going to be what you want to hear, but to answer your question, yes, exclusives can do better under the RC system. Under the old system, you had to sell a certain number of images to enter the next canister pay level. The new RC is current-performance oriented. If I make a lot of quality sales in A, V and +, even though my DL# is less than the next level, I can get paid at a higher level or two. Some people don't participate in the + programs because they are afraid of lower DLs, I am not sure if it pays off better. Personally I like to be paid at higher rates.

The fact is, they are not dropping all exclusives to 20% so the debate is moot.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #21 on: January 24, 2012, 19:12 »
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The fact is, they are not dropping all exclusives to 20% so the debate is moot.
They "currently have no plans" to do so.

« Reply #22 on: January 24, 2012, 19:15 »
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The company cannot possibly be healthy and growing. The general consensus is that earnings are down, almost across the board (except for a few rare exceptions). That's not healthy, certainly not growing. This company has lied to us many times before, and I'm not about to suddenly trust a word they say based on a forum post.

Agreed __ 'healthy and growing' my arse.

Compare and contrast Shutterstock and Istockphoto. Virtually everyone at SS is reporting surging sales, the website works superbly, the traffic is way up and they're apparently 'recruiting like crazy'. There are at least 34 positions being currently advertised online for employment with SS.

Istock, on the other hand, has the majority of contributors (with mature portfolios) reporting falling sales, the website is falling apart, traffic has fallen off a cliff and they've just had to lay off 30 staff in Calgary (out of 100 or so?).

I've never heard of a 'healthy and growing' company laying off lots of staff before. I wonder how they are going to service all those new customers and deal with the extra demand, etc?

« Reply #23 on: January 24, 2012, 19:15 »
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.

« Reply #24 on: January 24, 2012, 19:20 »
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But you do hear that healthy and growing companies reorganize, don't you? That means to let go of old staff and put in their own people.

The company cannot possibly be healthy and growing. The general consensus is that earnings are down, almost across the board (except for a few rare exceptions). That's not healthy, certainly not growing. This company has lied to us many times before, and I'm not about to suddenly trust a word they say based on a forum post.

Agreed __ 'healthy and growing' my arse.

Compare and contrast Shutterstock and Istockphoto. Virtually everyone at SS is reporting surging sales, the website works superbly, the traffic is way up and they're apparently 'recruiting like crazy'. There are at least 34 positions being currently advertised online for employment with SS.

Istock, on the other hand, has the majority of contributors (with mature portfolios) reporting falling sales, the website is falling apart, traffic has fallen off a cliff and they've just had to lay off 30 staff in Calgary (out of 100 or so?).

I've never heard of a 'healthy and growing' company laying off lots of staff before. I wonder how they are going to service all those new customers and deal with the extra demand, etc?


 

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