MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: shank_ali on February 08, 2009, 17:01
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Sucks !
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and you opinion is based upon??? ???
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my sales have increased by a lot since the last week of Jan best ive had yet so apart from the site running a bit slow and not updating stats then I think the new best match is great
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It is a big improvement, my sales are much better than at the end of 2008. I still can't get a new BME there but it is nice to see I am getting closer.
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But... Does anyone know how it work?? Newer, download/month, views, sales, vodoo. Keyword it seem, well how that's work. The files with less keywords wins?
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That's an easy one to answer, in order to prosper under the new best match you have to make sure you're whistling (not humming) the theme tune to MASH when you upload a file.
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shank - I think you like to stir the pot. why not focus on your own work and stop opening redundant threads....
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I think that before Christmas the best match strongly favoured exclusives. Now the playing field is a bit more level, so I guess some exclusives are taking a bit of a hit (relatively).
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January sales were 4 times better for me than my December sales. My sales were steadily declining for the last six months then over night, boom best in more than a year, no new uploads.
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January sales were 4 times better for me than my December sales. My sales were steadily declining for the last six months then over night, boom best in more than a year, no new uploads.
I think many have benefited from the best match change, which is great and I certainly don't begrudge anyone sales. We all work really hard, or at least many of us, lol. I am not one of those getting sales, though I do think we cannot yet judge the best match as I doubt it has been fully implemented, if at all yet.
but, you made one very important comment -- overnight things changed. this is the kind of change/upheaval I have come to know as the iStock way. things shouldn't have such profound overnight effects on any one group of contributors. I'm not for a moment suggesting that best match/search algorithms are an easy thing, nor am I pretending to understand the processes they use to determine best match. I simply question the wisdom and for lack of a better word -- fairness-- of severely impacting sales for prolonged periods of time, whether positively or negatively for such a large number of us.
there must be a way to change things more frequently, or less radically in order to ensure that so many contributors are not left dwindling indefinitely.
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shank - I think you like to stir the pot. why not focus on your own work and stop opening redundant threads....
Thread after thread I keep on reading this guy shank posts and they are usually all the same crap, as yecatsdoherty said "trying to stir up the pot", well, I agree, you should stick to focusing on your own work instead of brown nosing iStock and bothering other members on this forum, just because you're not allowed in theirs, probably for the same reason, being an A..!, as far as I'm concern you should also be banned out of this forum as well, so other members don't have to read anymore your redundant and annoying threads anymore...by the way, doing (or thinking you are) iStock's work or kissing A.. to them, is not going to get you any closer to being accepted back...you are what you are pal!!! >:(
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^ well, in fairness to shank, I doubt the iStock powers that be like me much either. though I have not been 'banned', I am quite vocal about the changes, and the treatment of contributors. I'm pretty sure my name is mud around IS HQ these days. But I didn't join IS to make friends, I joined what I felt to be the best run company through which to sell my photographs. I'll remain exclusive only until I feel that has changed, which it may have. I'll reserve judgment until after 2.0 is fully rolled out. but I'm not impressed over the last few months.
again, GREAT company making some not so great decisions over the last year. but then again, IS is not just IS anymore, it is Getty.
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^ well, in fairness to shank, I doubt the iStock powers that be like me much either. though I have not been 'banned', I am quite vocal about the changes, and the treatment of contributors. I'm pretty sure my name is mud around IS HQ these days.
Do we even need to speculate on how they feel about me? :D
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^ ;D....you gotta laugh, right? funny thing is, I really care and am really dedicated, or at least was....I used to be one of the loudest wooyayers....man I hate that word
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My sales are down 50% since the last few days of January :(
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I shoot and upload every week.
The first two weeks of january were poor in regards of sales.
Then the 3rd monday in the month sales........... it lasted two whole days.Then best match CHANGED and my sales are poor.
@Mam PRESS IGNORE tyvm
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Ive only been on this site a couple of weeks and yet all ive witnessed so far is constant arguing in all the forums I dont get it
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My sales are down 50% since the last few days of January :(
Same for me!
Before that sales were excellent!
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Seems to be that way in general at the moment. i've never known the SS forums to be so bad. I don't know if the weather and financial situation is causing people to be more bad
mooded than usual
Ive only been on this site a couple of weeks and yet all ive witnessed so far is constant arguing in all the forums I dont get it
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Ive only been on this site a couple of weeks and yet all ive witnessed so far is constant arguing in all the forums I dont get it
Yep, when users get banned or close on IS they head over here to cause trouble ...
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With the new best match I find most of what sells is my older stuff. Newer stuff is not moving.
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Ive only been on this site a couple of weeks and yet all ive witnessed so far is constant arguing in all the forums I dont get it
Yep, when users get banned or close on IS they head over here to cause trouble ...
Seems to me it's more of a case of not being able to criticize anything about iStock.
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Seems to me it's more of a case of not being able to criticize anything about iStock.
Yes, that's probably it. I wondered why I never see anything negative about them on the forums there. Thank goodness Leaf has no problem with people joining here with the sole purpose of contributing absolutely nothing but criticism about iStock.
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I have a lot to say about iStock that is really good. if I didn't, I wouldn't be investing so much time, energy and professional ambition in creating and managing my IS images. I also believe that if I'm going to criticize, it should be constructive and while offering ideas for positive change. that too however is unwelcome in the IS forums if said too frequently.
Which is fine. I absolutely agree with protecting the business. But as one fellow contributor recently pointed out to me, there is a group of core people who have been there since the beginning and who are part of the IS inner circle. and the rest of us are somewhat on the outside. and that's fine too, again, not there to make friends. but why have the illusion of an open community.
I've been on this site for close to a year, if not more. and spent much time providing advice, comments and positive views on IS. in the last few months, because of how I have been treated in response to concern about my plummeting income, I feel quite negatively. despite this, I have been uploading and working just as hard and staying out of the IS forums, unless it is to reply on some stupid fluffy thread that is of no consequence.
but those who say people do nothing but complain on here, well you're simply complaining about the complaints. sometimes people have good reason to complain. there is no outlet for our concerns and there are few answers. that kind of culture breeds discontent, and it has.
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I think many have benefited from the best match change, which is great and I certainly don't begrudge anyone sales. We all work really hard, or at least many of us, lol. I am not one of those getting sales, though I do think we cannot yet judge the best match as I doubt it has been fully implemented, if at all yet.
but, you made one very important comment -- overnight things changed. this is the kind of change/upheaval I have come to know as the iStock way. things shouldn't have such profound overnight effects on any one group of contributors. I'm not for a moment suggesting that best match/search algorithms are an easy thing, nor am I pretending to understand the processes they use to determine best match. I simply question the wisdom and for lack of a better word -- fairness-- of severely impacting sales for prolonged periods of time, whether positively or negatively for such a large number of us.
there must be a way to change things more frequently, or less radically in order to ensure that so many contributors are not left dwindling indefinitely.
I'd agree with most of that, especially the abrupt way that sales (i.e. exposure of images) have been turned on and off for so many.
Most of the folk who have lost out from this latest change are relatively new contributors (say less than 2-3 years) basically because their new-ish images had been artificially enhanced by the best match's favouring of new images. What is happening now is that many older but good images are actually being seen again, from being buried before, and it is simply a much more competitive environment in which to sell.
Personally I like the new best match and I'm delighted to see most of my best-sellers working for me again __ like they do on every other site. I hated seeing perfectly good images being virtually killed off in 4-6 months.
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That's an easy one to answer, in order to prosper under the new best match you have to make sure you're whistling (not humming) the theme tune to MASH when you upload a file.
Easy traduction please ?
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why have the illusion of an open community.
Why even have the illusion of a community period? Like I've said before, once Getty bought the site, things began to change. That's fine. Business is business, but I just wish iStock (to clarify: the business entity, NOT the contributors) would stop acting like it cared about the buyers and contributors, when really, all they care about is milking everyone for as much money as they can. I just think it's disingenuous. I know Yahoo doesn't care about me. I know Visa doesn't care about me. I know my mortgage company doesn't care about me. And I'm fine with that. That's one of my biggest gripes about iStock. I wish they'd just be honest with us (and maybe with themselves) and just drop the pretense.
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I feel as an exclusive contributor on istockphoto my images should be placed alot higher in the best match than an independant contributor.
Free Moo cards ,quicker review times,higher % on sales and the ability to upload more files per 72 hours are ok perks but i want best match to showcase my work ALL THE TIME.
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I feel as an exclusive contributor on istockphoto my images should be placed alot higher in the best match than an independant contributor.
Free Moo cards ,quicker review times,higher % on sales and the ability to upload more files per 72 hours are ok perks but i want best match to showcase my work ALL THE TIME.
As a non exclusive contributor I think they shouldn't , you have been given quantity , you should compete other contributors with quality not by being prefered by best match.
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It would just be bad business for Istock to beat down non-exclusives. They make millions extra from our sales. Exclusives will never overtake best match fully, unless IS becomes an EXCLUSIVE site and kicks us all out.
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............but i want best match to showcase my work ALL THE TIME.
Take better photos than everyone else, then it will.
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............but i want best match to showcase my work ALL THE TIME.
Take better photos than everyone else, then it will.
Richard i am happy with my progress as a photographer and i take alot better photos than i did 6 months ago.
I will not spend my hard earned cash on upgrading my kit,hiring models or expensive lighting.
What i earn from my portfolio on istock will be reinvested when the time is right.
Thankfully the best match will never reflect the fact a file was uploaded to the library from a pro/happy snapper(myself) or indeed a camera costing £400 or £5000.
Do you also realise who actuallY decides what works as a good composition on our photos....The Buyer !
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whistling (not humming) the theme tune to MASH
I love it...the theme tune to MASH is titled "Suicide is Painless" :)
I'm liking the best match...my sales have increased substantially.
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............but i want best match to showcase my work ALL THE TIME.
Take better photos than everyone else, then it will.
Richard i am happy with my progress as a photographer and i take alot better photos than i did 6 months ago.
I will not spend my hard earned cash on upgrading my kit,hiring models or expensive lighting.
What i earn from my portfolio on istock will be reinvested when the time is right.
Thankfully the best match will never reflect the fact a file was uploaded to the library from a pro/happy snapper(myself) or indeed a camera costing £400 or £5000.
Do you also realise who actuallY decides what works as a good composition on our photos....The Buyer !
Shank read what he said. "Take better photographs" he did not say upgrade equipment.
Buyers do decide so why not think like a buyer and try to deliver images that are useful.
I understand that you were banned from IS and I can see why, please try to understand the debate and listen to the wise folks here and contribute in a constructive manner. Also before you form an opinion count to 10. >:(
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Do you also realise who actuallY decides what works as a good composition on our photos....The Buyer !
Which is exactly the point I was trying to make, the best match search results should showcase the best work irrelevant of whether that is from an exclusive or not, iStock are a business not a charity.
iStock give exclusives enough perks to get their work shown ahead of the rest, if it still ain't selling there's only one person to blame!
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I'm exclusive, but I have never felt that exclusives should be favoured in best match. I think that best match should use many criteria, and the criteria should change frequently in order to lessen the prolonged impact on any one group. good images should rise to the top, and newer images should also have a fair shot. these criteria should be true for both non-exclusives and exclusives. the end goal for all of us---contributors and iStock--is sales. best foot forward and all that, but our best foot is dynamic, always changing. best match should reflect the dynamic nature of the current db at any given moment in time.
look, nothing has been fully implemented. the best match is supposedly, from my understanding, supposed to go through this ONE more major upheaval, followed by a continuously changing best match algorithm. let''s hope it works. I know that we cannot judge based on the last month. but if things don't get better for me once this thing is implemented fully, I'm not sure what to do. go non-exclusive, which I am researching the heck out of so that I ready if I have to.
I have less than 25% of my normal sales, for almost two months now. this level of 'representation' as an exclusive is unacceptable to me. especially when I have less sales than I did a year and a half ago, when the quality of my portfolio was far less than what it is now. and the powers that be have left me pretty much feeling like sh*t....and they have made it clear that they really aren't too worried that I feel that way.
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Last year I thought I was doing well with 200 images I was earning around $500 per month, then the best match changed and devastated my earnings. It went through several changes through the Autumn (Fall) and now it is back to the good old days.
I know past performance is no guarantee but I have learnt to take the ruff with the smooth. Also remember the kids at istock are driving a hot rod and have never been here before but there are a few sages around to keep them on the road. Stacey you will be okay stop being inpatient :)
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Stacey you will be okay stop being inpatient :)
LOL - I think you mean "impatient". Unless Stacey has gone off the deep end and admitted herself to a hospital. ;)
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We have all been on the down side of the best match. It really sucks when it happens and it is hard to keep quiet if you are the one watching your sales circle the toilet bowl...
I don't see anything wrong with blowing off a bit of steam when that happens, as long as nobody gets nasty, which I haven't seen. More often it is the folks with the good sales berating the folks who are suffering. I can't imagine why except maybe Schadenfreude?
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It would just be bad business for Istock to beat down non-exclusives.
Yes, so they have somebody to bash on and discriminate against exclusives, and give the exclusives that warm feeling they are special :P Imagine IS with all exclusives. ;D
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^ lol, then there would be sibling rivalry between exclusives......for the record, even though this best match has killed my sales, I was also very vocal about this last year when my sales were great, but many other contributors were getting killed by the best match. I thought it was bad communication then, and I think it is bad communication now. I know we're all ultimately out for number one, but I, perhaps too idealistically, took the community thing pretty literally.
eyes wide open now though.....but it just makes me want to work even harder. regardless, I feel like I have been flogging a dead horse lately...venting is good, but it gets boring and no one wants to be boring.
Lisa - wise words, as always. you are a constant voice of reason and a really nice person.
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eyes wide open now though.....but it just makes me want to work even harder. regardless, I feel like I have been flogging a dead horse lately...venting is good, but it gets boring and no one wants to be boring.
Honestly! As much as it is not in my interests to advise anyone to go independent, in your case I think it is probably justified on medical grounds.
Trust me, when your sales are spread around half a dozen sites (4 will probably get you 90%+ of potential earnings) you just don't get so hyper-excited/depressed about one particular site fannying around with sort-order, downtime, etc, etc etc. So much better for your blood pressure as well as your income. It is a complete mystery to me why anyone would voluntarily choose the ball and chain.
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Honestly! As much as it is not in my interests to advise anyone to go independent, in your case I think it is probably justified on medical grounds.
Trust me, when your sales are spread around half a dozen sites (4 will probably get you 90%+ of potential earnings) you just don't get so hyper-excited/depressed about one particular site fannying around with sort-order, downtime, etc, etc etc. So much better for your blood pressure as well as your income. It is a complete mystery to me why anyone would voluntarily choose the ball and chain.
In my case laziness. Just could not stand all the different keywording and upload protocols for the various sites.
Also, I really REALLY hate when my shots sell for $0.25-0.35 ea (subs).
I'd rather sell a lower volume and get a bit more for each shot.... but that's just me. 8)
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^ that's me too.....and despite the current situation, I actually researched all of these companies before signing up and found iStock to be by far the best according to my list of criteria. I still think they are potentially the best, and I am reluctant to spread out the efforts and the time management required to maintain multiple accounts if the return on investment will be minimal.
gostwyck, thanks for the concern....the blood pressure is fine ;-) I'm also a writer, so I have lots of outlet for my frustration...plus there's always wine...lol
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Honestly! As much as it is not in my interests to advise anyone to go independent, in your case I think it is probably justified on medical grounds.
Trust me, when your sales are spread around half a dozen sites (4 will probably get you 90%+ of potential earnings) you just don't get so hyper-excited/depressed about one particular site fannying around with sort-order, downtime, etc, etc etc. So much better for your blood pressure as well as your income. It is a complete mystery to me why anyone would voluntarily choose the ball and chain.
In my case laziness. Just could not stand all the different keywording and upload protocols for the various sites.
Also, I really REALLY hate when my shots sell for $0.25-0.35 ea (subs).
I'd rather sell a lower volume and get a bit more for each shot.... but that's just me. 8)
Istock is the only place I've sold an image for under 20 cents in the last year, had a bunch of .18s and some .10s too.
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Istock is the only place I've sold an image for under 20 cents in the last year, had a bunch of .18s and some .10s too.
That maybe, but for that little all they were able to purchase is a little tiny image that is only usable on a web page.
Contrast that with a full size image selling on SS and getting only $0.25-0.35 for it?
That is what I object to... and the main reason that I went exclusive on IS.
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1,2,3,4,5,6,7,,8,9,10, ;D Ty Jam for enquiring about my mental health problems.The new tablets should take effect at the beginning of March.Until then......
5 sales yesterday = $10 Average.
Seems that i actually have some usefull images if and when they get found.