Quote from: Ktools_Jeff on October 29, 2012, 15:03

Sorry for another post right away, but here is something I should ask you guys.

Jon is working on a relevance system for the search this will prioritize the results to where "men" would show top of the list, and things like "women" will show later in the list. Unless you do an exact search then it would have to be a 100% match (men = men, nothing else).

That sounds reasonable. Would you get results for "men" and "man" first or just "men"?

reasonable yes, but cars should come before carpenter in a search for car

AFAIK, MS tried to break into the touch screen market and needed a new OS for that - so here we are with Windows 8.

If you don't already own a touch screen laptop or all-in-one touch screen PC than I don't see any need to upgrade.

You also would have to install an add-on to make the desktop look like in Windows 7 - otherwise your stuck with those "beautiful" tiles, that apparently is the only thing in the world the masses can now operate a device.

windows 8 allows you to close the 'metro' interface and then it looks more like the windows 7 everyone is used to.  Do a search for windows 8 desktop

.. for referance..

here's the istock info page on digital releases
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=1418

'Model Release' app isn't mentioned as one of the accepted programs, perhaps it's not accepted?  Maybe that was your original question Luis?

One disadvantage of a digital release is that if you have several models at a shoot and have them all filling out releases at the same time - they will all have to wait for their turn on the iPad to read the release, then sign.  If you have papers, you can get 6 people filling out releases at the same time.

It looks like (according to the video) that you can set the witness option to on or off.  I would be very surprised if any agency accepted a release without a witness.

I'm a big fan of getting things out of paper and onto a device but I'm still very nervous about not having a hard copy of a release.  I can see how where banks, post office, credit card machines etc. all use a digitally signed signature as legal tender that this should be good too, but when push comes to shove in a legal court - having a hard paper copy with real pen ink on it would make me feel better.... whether one is more 'legal' or 'binding' than another .. I don't know.

That said, having the app in case you run out of releases, or forget them at home or something dumb, isn't a terrible idea.  It is nice to see that iStock accepts the release as well.

I am very impressed by one big site and have gone exclusive. Has any one else a comment?

I'm hope you are referring to exclusivly posting on MicrostockGroup.  Glad you are impressed with the site.

I'm editing a batch of images that have lots of warning symbols on the machinery.  Does anyone have experience of whether these symbols have to be removed?  I've always removed them in the past to be on the safe side but wonder if they could actually stay.

John Lund just put out a short blog post with a nice little list for reaching success in stock.

I won't quote it all in respect for content rights, but here's the first two

1. Get your head out of the clouds and understand what images the market needs.

2. Forget waiting for inspiration and get to work making inspiring images.

http://blog.johnlund.com/2012/10/five-rules-for-success-in-stock.html

If you're not following him already, he's a good blog to read for stock photographers.

See I knew I wasn't alone

Would really be nice though to do that and ignore certain boards on the main forum like for sites I don't submit to as well.  But I shall just keep skipping by the ones I don't want to read.

ignoring boards and ignoring threads are two different things.  Ignoring boards is set up and you can control it here
http://www.microstockgroup.com/profile/?area=ignoreboards
Or go to Profile then Modify Profile > Ignore Boards options

Ignoring threads is an add-on to the forum that only works so-so and really slows down the forum so I chose not to have it.

Yes I agree, about Photoshelter. I've contacted them and they aren't interested in providing such service as of now. I'd love someone to make an agency for Artist by Artist so we can retain all of our hard earned money. There's got to be a way to have all of our individual sites linked together via search engine, under one website.

what sort of service?  They provide a service where you can join X number of photographer portfolios into one collective 'agency' and each artist can still sell privately.  Isn't that what you are thinking?

Quote from: gostwyck on October 17, 2012, 18:27

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on October 17, 2012, 17:12

Actually I think this is already evident at the poll on the right where SS is at 93% compared to whenever the benchmark was for 100% - I assume it will go over 100% if everyone's collective earnings increase.  If I'm correct then it probably will be at 80% in another year or two.  This is one of those times where I hope I'm wrong.

No. You don't understand how Leaf has reconstructed the poll to more accurately reflect relative earnings between agencies. Read up on the recent threads about it.

SS is doing just fine. I'm on target for a truly massive BME there this month and no, I haven't done much uploading lately or indeed for a couple of years. IMHO buyers are simply exiting places like IS (where my sales this month are in the toilet) in favour of SS.

Your maths isn't wrong regarding the amount of new uploads but, in my experience, the actual effect on existing portfolios isn't necessarily directly proportional. There is a huge amount of utter rubbish and/or similars being accepted which are inevitably heading for oblivion in the sort order. Try a few searches on 'Newest' to see what's coming through.

That's always possible but I don't think so.  According to this thread (http://www.microstockgroup.com/site-related/why-is-the-shutterstock-ranking-not-100-anymore/) he is using a benchmark of $500 for SS which will stay the same so that the percent for SS will vary over time.  Therefore, if earnings drop it will decrease and could go to 80% or lower.  Where I may have erred was in assuming it started at 100.  If it was 93% or so when he switched over then it hasn't changed, and I don't remember where it was when he made the switch.  Thanks for pointing that out.

As far as much new material being junk with no traction, that could help to explain why earnings at SS seem to be growing over the drops at other sites.  I certainly hope you're right.  I don't think it will change the final outcome but it would flatten the trajectory of any drop.  Fingers crossed.

Yeah, all the sites are rated out of 500.  You can see the history on the graphs page as well. 
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?page=PollResults
Both iStock and Shutterstock did very well last month, Shutterstock reaching an avg of over 500!

hmm testing testing

this wasn't there a second ago

Quote from: RT on October 17, 2012, 03:51

Quote from: ClaridgeJ on October 17, 2012, 02:54

The Getty strategy of slowly trying to bring things back to Trad/normal, isnt working either and mainly because the majority of their old style photographers are ofcourse joining the rf, micro industry. They really havent got much option.

Actually one of the reasons I think their strategy isn't working because of the very reason Bruce started iStockphoto in the first place, and the other is because Shutterstock opened a few years later and started the subscription model, which ruined the industry for ever. As you know many of the 'trads' blame iS for the demise, I don't deny it was a major factor but IMO it was Jon and SS that killed the industry for contributors with no attempt to get it back, you can't say that about iS.

yes there is little doubt the real industry was killed and especially by the subs model. Now we are stuck with it for better or worse.

How do you recon the old industry would look today, without RF and micro? better or worse? or the same as before? whats your thoughts.

if RF and Micro didn't exist there would be RM and free.  I think we can thank micro for monetizing the blogging, educational, small business and 'home use' of our photos.