MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: vlad_the_imp on February 08, 2009, 05:43
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iStock is down completely at the moment, has been from about 10am GMT. There were big speed issues last week, now a complete halt. It is back up again now, 45 mins later, but these things are worrying
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yeah I agree 100% - their approach is incomprehensible to me from a business perspective .. why is tech time being spent on a cosmetic facelift they really don't need while they allow the constant probelms with the fucntionality of the site to remain? Someone please exlain this to me cause I am struggling to see their logic?
Anyway, the site just came back up for me in Asia ... hopefully it is back up for you as well ...
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It's up and running again - and running very fast.. Guess it has been down for maintenance - and if so, they have chosen the right time - very early sunday morming - US time.. Not many buyers active sunday morning.. ;D
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It works well and fast for me.
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It's up and running again - and running very fast.. Guess it has been down for maintenance - and if so, they have chosen the right time - very early sunday morming - US time.. Not many buyers active sunday morning.. ;D
One would expect more professional approach to planned downtime with notice, sorry page and such. So either unplanned or unprofessional...
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That's pretty strange. It's running and it's blazing fast. Usually it's slow to painfully slow. Hope this new speed isn't accidentally temporary.
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Site is running fine for me but my stats havnt been updated for the last 2 days
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I think the improvements are great but what baffles me is I still can't get my IPTC data to show in the fields when uploading unless I first click on a forum. To me that is just too ridiculous.
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yeah I agree 100% - their approach is incomprehensible to me from a business perspective .. why is tech time being spent on a cosmetic facelift they really don't need while they allow the constant probelms with the fucntionality of the site to remain? Someone please exlain this to me cause I am struggling to see their logic?
Anyway, the site just came back up for me in Asia ... hopefully it is back up for you as well ...
I agree with this completely. I am so perplexed at how IS is being run these days. Though many veterans have contacted me to say that change has always been the IS achille's heel. Obviously they do so much right, but conversely they do so much bloody wrong. and don't look to the forums for any answers, any serious requests are met with flat out wrist slapping/warnings from TPTB or sarcasm and jokes. just check out the stats thread. apparently sarcasm is allowed as long as you are an admin.
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I have been able to get on but the speed is inconsistent (which is normal) fast/slow fast/slow slow/fast
As far as the site changes go...I am sure they are part of a bigger picture and will not end with just the "cosmetic facelift". This is just a first step of a huge upgrade so the intitial changes may seem frivolous but hopefully it will all tie together smoothly in the end. I am confident there is a method to the IS madness! :D
My stats are still not updated though....I think I'll go start a new thread ;)
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If you can't comprehend how going from 100s of stylesheets to 3 is an improvement my or anyone else explaining won't help ...
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If you can't comprehend how going from 100s of stylesheets to 3 is an improvement my or anyone else explaining won't help ...
it is an improvement, especially in terms of speed etc., however, the timing is not the greatest. the economy being very down, the big best match change and data mining blah blah, the perceived instability is bad for business, or in the least very bad for morale -- which is a hugely underestimated aspect of running a business. just because you have a technical understanding of the decisions, many buyers might not. the piled up changes last summer added to angst already being felt by the usual summer slowdown...and now more and more changes piled up is pretty unsettling. change in a business paradigm should not be upheaval everytime.
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yeah I agree 100% - their approach is incomprehensible to me from a business perspective .. why is tech time being spent on a cosmetic facelift they really don't need while they allow the constant probelms with the fucntionality of the site to remain...
Absolutely. With all the bugs the site has (which have been discussed forever in the forums), why they waste time on these silly little upgrades is beyond me.
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If you can't comprehend how going from 100s of stylesheets to 3 is an improvement my or anyone else explaining won't help ...
I think this is part of the problem with istock to be honest ... if you don't like what the buyer (your customers) are saying then you blame them ... contributors may be obsessed with improvements on the site ... but buyers just want to go there and buy images ... if the site does not function well you will lose the buyer ... they do not care what is happening behind the scenes ... and if you have no warning or explanation on the site for what is going on, the buyer may never come back.
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I think this is part of the problem with istock to be honest ... if you don't like what the buyer (your customers) are saying then you blame them
Nail on the head.
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^ well, for the record, I'm a contributor and I am not happy with the changes. I imagine buyers are pretty frustrated at times too. change and transition in business should not leave the impression on buyers/employees (which effectively contributors are) that things are poorly run or decisions made ad hoc. I don't believe the decisions are ad hoc, and I don't believe IS is making arbitrary changes. but I DO believe and see that this is the impression they are giving.
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You know what else boggles the mind with iStock? That they STILL don't have 24/7 customer service/support. What international business doesn't have round the clock support in this day and age? It just ties in with this whole "makeover". It just seem so amateurish over there sometimes. And you'd think with the resources they have at their disposal...
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You know what else boggles the mind with iStock? That they STILL don't have 24/7 customer service/support. What international business doesn't have round the clock support in this day and age?
Plenty of them. Have you really been so lucky as to never have encountered any others?
Off the top of my head, a few that I know of...
Getty Images
Veer
Jupiter Images
ImageZoo
PayPal
Apple online store
Dreamstime
Shutterstock
Fotolia
It would probably be more efficient to just ask who you have in mind that you are comparing them to?
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You know what else boggles the mind with iStock? That they STILL don't have 24/7 customer service/support. What international business doesn't have round the clock support in this day and age? It just ties in with this whole "makeover". It just seem so amateurish over there sometimes. And you'd think with the resources they have at their disposal...
Running 24/7 call centres is expensive and it makes business sense not to chase customers who need hand holding, particular for low ticket low margin goods
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You know what else boggles the mind with iStock? That they STILL don't have 24/7 customer service/support. What international business doesn't have round the clock support in this day and age? It just ties in with this whole "makeover". It just seem so amateurish over there sometimes. And you'd think with the resources they have at their disposal...
Running 24/7 call centres is expensive and it makes business sense not to chase customers who need hand holding, particular for low ticket low margin goods
Yeah, low ticket margin goods that have apparently resulted in millions of sales. :D ONE call center with a few employees hardly seems like it would be that much of a drain on iStock's resoures. Especially since they seem to have a lot of money to throw around for unnecessary face-lifts. And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
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Yeah, low ticket margin goods that have apparently resulted in millions of sales. :D ONE call center with a few employees hardly seems like it would be that much of a drain on iStock's resoures. Especially since they seem to have a lot of money to throw around for unnecessary face-lifts. And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
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Egads, NO! Don't even suggest that. I worked for a compnay that outsourced a huge programming contract to India. What an unmitigated disaster. Being in the US, just the time zone difference made timely communication almost impossible. Then trying to decipher technogeek babble spoken at 150 mph with a heavy Indian accent made it all the MORE difficult to communicate effectively.
In the end, a project that was supposed to take six months to implementation, ran over two years and even at that point... the application still did not work correctly. >:(
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Yeah, low ticket margin goods that have apparently resulted in millions of sales. :D ONE call center with a few employees hardly seems like it would be that much of a drain on iStock's resoures. Especially since they seem to have a lot of money to throw around for unnecessary face-lifts. And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
I am not disputing the sales levels. What am I saying is that additional costs lead to lower margins which isn't good business.
And currently buyers can call either Calgary or Berlin which covers about 16 hours a day -- and probably covers the bulk of the sales volume.
And you saying that the facelift is unnecessary doesn't make it so.
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I think this is part of the problem with istock to be honest ... if you don't like what the buyer (your customers) are saying then you blame them
Nail on the head.
hoi ha...caspixel, based on what we read here, nothing that is said to IS is being heard, not even what we ( the contributors ) say :D
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Running 24/7 call centres is expensive and it makes business sense not to chase customers who need hand holding, particular for low ticket low margin goods
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Indeed - why would we really care about those hand holding needing customers ... customers - who the heck needs them ...
Personally we buyers get told all the time - when it talkes weeks for our emails to support to be answered - to call support because they are terrific - well they might be but I live in asia and I am sleeping when support is working ... and emails from support I gave up on long ago as I find them snarky - like they are doing us a favour by even deigning to email us back.
But even if we accept that a 24 hours call centre does not make sense from a cost point of view ... why not something as simple as a prominent notice on the site warning of upgrades or other things kight impact performance? That is what I cannot figure out ...
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And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
Try the Philippines instead. The accent is quite OK (or maybe I got used to it) and they are always happy ;D
(http://www.dreamstime.com/merry-asian-callcenter-thumb7616184.jpg)
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Indeed - why would we really care about those hand holding needing customers ... customers - who the heck needs them ...
We are a necessary evil, aren't we? Life would be so much easier without buyers, wouldn't it? :D
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And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
Try the Philippines instead. The accent is quite OK (or maybe I got used to it) and they are always happy ;D
@FD, I have been to both places, India & the Philippines.
Many Indians are quite cheerful.... but if push came to shove I would much rather spend my time and money in the PI ;D
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And if they outsource to say...India...like everyone else... :D
Try the Philippines instead. The accent is quite OK (or maybe I got used to it) and they are always happy ;D
@FD, I have been to both places, India & the Philippines.
Many Indians are quite cheerful.... but if push came to shove I would much rather spend my time and money in the PI ;D
... and as much as I love India ... I would rather the PI too :D
Right - it's all settled then ... istock launches its new call centre in Manila ...spread the word.
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Right - it's all settled then ... istock launches its new call centre in Manila ...spread the word.
Manila is wasted. I'm deep south in what the airheads of Maynila call "the province" as if they weren't a province too. Cebu is the best place for call centers for the connections, but it's not a place to live. The best ROI you can get in Mindanao, especially in Davao where there is a lot of government support and a tax-exempt zone. The Koreans found that out some years ago and the Chinese lately. Whatever I'm on the fantastic island of Mindanao, and if anybody passes there, I have a guest room. Don't mind the war and the refugees. Just avoid the bullets. A long queue of willing models, cigs at 0.5$, gin 1$ per litre, and taxi rides cheaper than buses in Europe make up for it.
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Gin $1 a litre! I'm THERE!!!
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Gin $1 a litre! I'm THERE!!!
Hahaha, but milk and wine (anything imported) are more expensive than in the West. Gin makes me too dizzy but the beer is fabulous, also 1$ for a litre. Actually, producing gin is very simple and cheap. It's the taxes that make it expensive.
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Gin $1 a litre! I'm THERE!!!
Hahaha, but milk and wine (anything imported) are more expensive than in the West. Gin makes me too dizzy but the beer is fabulous, also 1$ for a litre. Actually, producing gin is very simple and cheap. It's the taxes that make it expensive.
San Miguel? the stuff brewed in PI of course (the crap they brew in hong kong tastes like phermaldahide)
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Saturday 10pm CST -- anyone else not able to get in to iS?
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I can't log on either. I hope this is resolved soon.
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Down for me, too, since early this evening. I guess they're always working to improve...
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Yeap, down for me too; have not been able to log on as of 9pm PST
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It is up and running now! Thanks IS!
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It is up and running now! Thanks IS!
Thanks IS? What?
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Thanks IS? What?
I start to understand why Middle Age serfs expressed their gratitude to the lord for not beating them up too hard on a Sunday. That's the material die hard slaves are made of. ;D :D
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I guess they're always working to improve...
;D Sure!
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Down again, I was having a good week too, hope it's a short downtime, it does seem to have been more reliable recently (famous last words)
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yep, I've been trying to get on the site for the past half an hour with no luck :'(
I'm guessing everyone in Canada is (unfortunately) fast asleep right now ;D
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After all the technical problems in the past they're supposed to have 24hr maintenance but I have my doubts.
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Some of the Admins pager or cellphone should beep now.. so they can get up and restart things... :D
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Down also here...
May the 13th, 10:53 @ GMT+1
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Some of the Admins pager or cellphone should beep now.. so they can get up and restart things... :D
The beeps worked, people in Calgary are on it for an hour now. Don't know any details but hopefully problems can be fixed quickly.
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Some of the Admins pager or cellphone should beep now.. so they can get up and restart things... :D
The beeps worked, people in Calgary are on it for an hour now. Don't know any details but hopefully problems can be fixed quickly.
Perfect! Then it is as it should then.. (apart from something is down) what time is it over there now... must be realy yearly to get up now..
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Perfect! Then it is as it should then.. (apart from something is down) what time is it over there now... must be realy yearly to get up now..
Something like 3:45am now? Worst time for a server downtime - too late to be still up and too early to wake up. :-)
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Almost 3 a.m. and they're still down. I need some photos but, oh well, guess I'll buy them elsewhere.
I also contribute and rather like the changes at IS. It's caused my sales on the other sites to go waaaay up. They pay better, so it's all good. ;D
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It is 10:56 am in the UK now and the site has been down since I looked about 3 hours ago. This is one of the longest times I have not been able to access the site. Hope the buyers are late to work today :)
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Well to be honest I last went on just before 9am, so I reckon its been down about 2 hours now and it's better down now than in the evening when most US sales take place for UK buyers, but it's still very frustrating.
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It is 10:56 am in the UK now and the site has been down since I looked about 3 hours ago. This is one of the longest times I have not been able to access the site. Hope the buyers are late to work today :)
And it would have to be on a Wednesday of course, which is usually my best day of the week for sales - why on earth couldn't it have happened on a Saturday morning instead ;)
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Hooray-back to life!
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Servers are back alive as it seems.
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I runs again but I can log in :( Deleted the cookie but it doesn't help. I hate this.
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Deleting cookies worked for me just now...
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Did someone notice acceptance ratio of 0,00% ? :)
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Did someone notice acceptance ratio of 0,00% ? :)
Yes, everyboyd. Apparently the hardware broke down during a script run... Those numbers should correct themselves automatically with the next script run (most likely tomorrow morning)