|
MicrostockGroup Sponsors
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - ShadySue
13501
« on: June 26, 2011, 17:05 »
Seems like iStock still don't realise the implications of being a 24x7 company.
Buyer:
I came back today to see if this bug has been fixed before I make my purchase with one of your competitors. I cannot wait any longer to complete my current projects.
I thought that you guys were a bigger operation than this. The type of operation that would calculate how much revenue you are losing and realize that it is cheaper to call in one of your tech and pay them overtime to get this problem fixed immediately (Couldn't one of your techs even fix this from the comfort of their own home?)
Lobo (in polite mode)
Sorry, they can't. It will be a Monday fix.
I guess paying weekend rates would eat into profitability.
The real question is, how come, yet again, did something that was working well get broken?
13502
« on: June 26, 2011, 15:19 »
I was in India in March for about a week, luckily when it was Holi festival, which I have never seen before. I did mostly editorial shots. Very good acceptance rate on the sites for the shots and they are selling reasonably well too, especially on Shutterstock. I didn't encounter any problems taking photos of people. Here are some photos from the trip.
http://www.dreamstime.com/india-colldet15760
Not sure why anyone would throw purple paint over each other but....
You have a lot of research to do before your trip, then. 
13503
« on: June 26, 2011, 03:06 »
Sean definitely gave you the best answer.
Imagine if I went onto a pro tennis forum and, arriving completely out of thin air, I posted, "I want to be a pro tennis player, which raquet and shoes should I get?"
Wilson and Nike, respectively of course:)
Serena, start quaking!
13504
« on: June 25, 2011, 17:56 »
Hmmm, I just upgraded Firefox and lost the Google search by image, so went back to download it again and got a message that the extension is 'not compatable with Firefox 5. Anyone got a workaround?
TIA, but I'm going to bed RSN, so you won't get a proper thanks until tomorrow!
13505
« on: June 25, 2011, 17:22 »
Nobody has questioned why the company has had to introduce such a measure?.
...
Because it's been discussed on here for months.
13506
« on: June 25, 2011, 17:21 »
Sean definitely gave you the best answer.
Imagine if I went onto a pro tennis forum and, arriving completely out of thin air, I posted, "I want to be a pro tennis player, which raquet and shoes should I get?"
13507
« on: June 25, 2011, 17:15 »
I was wondering if the symbol/words could be used in an editorial photo, but iStock at least doesn't have it yet.
And there's a big wiki job needed for the keyword phrase 'red cross'.
13508
« on: June 24, 2011, 18:31 »
I'm now enjoying my 6th holiday from the forum.
back Welcome ^ to the Happy Land. 
13509
« on: June 24, 2011, 14:27 »
13510
« on: June 24, 2011, 13:32 »
I totally didn't realize that the bottom slider could move up. i wonder how many buyers will miss that?
I must be an odd bird. I found the bottom slider and was moving it up, but didn't realize there was a top slider that moved down... Is it a left brain right brain thing?
It's a "too much money, not enough sense" thing. ( only joking, truly!)
13511
« on: June 24, 2011, 05:48 »
Ofcourse! since you only shoot for one agency, no doubt you have all the answers? give me a break will ya.
Don't speak of that which you are ignorant. I've remembered why I had you on ignore. Please feel free to reciprocate.
13512
« on: June 24, 2011, 05:18 »
blimey, who in their wildest dreams would think the average buyer have got the time or will ever bother to find out.
You seem to have as little respect for buyers as you do for your fellow contributors. I guess they'll be able to learn how to use it very easily, if they want to. If they don't care, they won't use it. That simple. Yesterday I was researching two possible trips I'll be making. Guess what? I was on several different sites, but have bookmarks only the two that gave me the most filtering options. Otherwise I was just having to look through far too many irrelevant results (too vague/wide). And totally offthread and offtopic, one of the two offered an option I've often wished for. Want to get away next week and don't care where? I've wished for this for years. Type in from one to three nearest airports and your dates and it tells you what's available. How good is that? Most sites only let you input one 'from' airport, and I'm equidistant from two, so that immediately halves my searching time, and I don't have to guess possible destinations and do many searches to see if there 'happens' to be last minute possibilities for each destination in turn. Give the buyers as many options as possible, so long as it works. Those who don't need the options don't have to use them; those who want them will be very grateful.
13513
« on: June 24, 2011, 04:32 »
Exclusive files are in every search at every price point...
Yes, but that's semantics. I'd expect when JJRD (IIRC) promised that exclusive files wouldn't be filtered out, most people would have 'assumed' that mean 'no exclusive files would be filtered out'. Essentially, by moving the slider up a notch, a buyer won't see over 90% of my 'exclusive' files. I guess that's what comes of making a wide promise: people read into it what wasn't intended.
13514
« on: June 24, 2011, 04:18 »
I didn't realize you can move the bottom slider as well. This will be very useul for the buyer who wants to look at the more exclusive material.
Unfortunately, that means that exclusive files can be filtered out - something we were promised (by JJRD) would 'never' happen. But what is an iStock promise worth? 
13515
« on: June 23, 2011, 20:11 »
@ShadySue. There is a persistent setting for file type - the UI sucks, but it is there. If you choose Photos or Illustrations or whatever from the list on the right of the top search box, the setting is saved
Ah, thanks!
13516
« on: June 23, 2011, 19:23 »
The reset is an excellent feature IMO. I'd be very concerned if the price filter selection defaulted to anything other than best match
I think it's the notion that you have to keep resetting over and over to what you want if you're doing multiple searches to try and find something - or a set of pictures. And if you just don't have the budget for Vetta/Agency and need, let's say, 4 images, you can't just make the setting stick.
I could live with a reset every 24 hours, or on logout, or .... anything other than every single search. It's really maddening to have to keep dragging that slider down two notches.
It's the way the system works. If you are searching e.g. photos only and then do a new search, you have to rechoose 'photos only' for your new search.
13517
« on: June 23, 2011, 18:28 »
A lot of community activity has moved to facebook. I have daily contact with istockers from all over the globe. we share shooting tips, images, ask for help with props or locations or recommend models. Plus all the chitchat and kid pictures. Why cant we have all that activity on istock??
Since last September, I do think the negative mood and all the drastic changes on istock has made members look for other outlets to share the creative spirit.
The biggest disadvantage is that you meet fewer people and watching several forums, facebook and the blogoshpere isnt so efficient. I would very much prefer to have a bustling, hustling forum full of enthusiastic people.
45 woo-yay comments is pitiful and depressing. I mean, what about all the new incoming fresh talent?? Where are they?
I'm sure it's because of the bell chart. In the old days, you could help someone else and it wouldn't really affect you, particularly if they shot different things to you. Nowadays, you could help someone else, and they (or a lurker who read your hint) could overtake you in the RCs. That could affect you very badly. The shame, the shame. 
13518
« on: June 23, 2011, 18:21 »
http://www.istockphoto.com/browse/dollarbin/
nothing?
I never had much attention on this dollar bin, both for exclusives and independents right? IS picks those files? they stopped?
Every now and then, the put old non-selling files in there. For a while, they tried a system whereby exclusives (only) could nominate files to go there directly, but for some reason they stopped it.
13519
« on: June 23, 2011, 17:13 »
Seems to work pretty well so far. I only tried a couple of searches.
13520
« on: June 23, 2011, 15:29 »
I just looked, I'm not seeing it yet. Or did I miss it? Maybe they meant tomorrow, Friday, after 5...isn't that typically when new "features" get added?
I'm guessing Joyze used 'are' releasing as in 're going to be'. As in "I am going to X tomorrow". She didn't say, "we have released". Great so long as it works, and more options than most expected.
13521
« on: June 23, 2011, 06:21 »
Information on the APA site about how American textbook publishers have been reusing images willy-nilly without paying for reuse: http://searchapa.us/wordpress/wordpress/?p=2938(Not sure if this was the correct forum. Please move if appropriate.)
13522
« on: June 22, 2011, 04:15 »
I think it is a really admirable idea. I certainly hope it catches on and is successful. Yes, it's like buying from local producers to help jobs in your area and reduce transportation costs and emissions. It's a matter of attitude.
Yup, the attitude of accepting (almost) only turnips, cabbage, potatoes and sprouts as veg and accepting that you can only eat fruit, of very limited variety, for about eight weeks of the year, and even then, it's local to the country, not the area. This analogy I'm sure is transferable to this issue too, but I had a long lie and am still hazy ...
13523
« on: June 21, 2011, 19:44 »
It has NOTHING to do with waiting for the agency to intervene. In most cases, there is no intervening.
This is actually amazing to me. They don't bother at all! I have reported watermarked images to several sites, they always reply something like "we will send this to our legal department" or something of that sort, but I'm sure they do nothing, because the watermarked images remain! Last time Dreamstime said I could contact the infractor directly.
Maybe if it is the case of an EL issue they do something, but they don't bother waste 30s of their time with a website or blog using the images, just because it isn't worth the time, regardless of the moral, ethical or legal aspects of copyright infringement.
That's the problem with the tiny prices: nothing in the budget for chasing up infractions.
13524
« on: June 21, 2011, 14:11 »
He's far too busy honing his stand up skills, orgininated by all the tough love he dished out on the critique forum.
13525
« on: June 21, 2011, 11:02 »
I think that there a ton of problems with how agencies currently operate, but any type of "fair trade" seal of approval won't work unless it's marketed to buyers. In other words, if you could get to the point that buyers just wouldn't consider buying from an agency that didn't have the fair trade organization's seal of approval, you'd have something with legs.
There are a number of examples of entities trying to change buyer behavior - fair trade coffee, the Seafood Watch, remember the "Look for the Union Label" song? It's really tough to get people to change their behavior.
Fair Trade is at last catching on here and has fairly high visibility in the general public now. What helped was the media getting onboard, and showing really hard-hitting films about sweat shops, child labour and the living conditions for many people who produce the commodities which we buy. Our situation is different, in that we could, by embracing microstock, easily be portrayed as being the very ones who undercut fairly paid photography work, and now we're realising the money we're getting is unfair and unsustainable. So we have been the authors of our own downfall.
|
Sponsors
Microstock Poll Results
Sponsors
|
Show Posts
