I was figuring I'm doing about the same this August vs. last August, but this thread made me actually go back and check.

Turns out I'm having a fantastic August... up 25% over Aug 2012.

So if there was a best match change, it does seem to be affecting people in different ways.

So what? I've spent less on more foolish things.

I doubt it.  What could be more foolish?  If you buy an overpriced Starbucks coffee, at least you got some enjoyment out of it (real, tangible enjoyment... not delusional enjoyment.)

See, the real problem I have with lottos or lottery tickets is that the people who spend the most on them tend to be the people who can afford them the least.  They're regressive taxes.  The capitalist in me is all for letting people do whatever they want with their money, but the liberal in me sees states praying on their most underprivileged and uneducated citizens.  Foolish, yes.  Harmless, no.

This explains it better than I can:  http://www.businessinsider.com/lottery-is-a-tax-on-the-poor-2012-4?op=1

Not to rain on everyone's parade, but...

You're several thousand times more likely to snuff it in a car accident on the way home from buying your lottery ticket than you are likely to win the lottery.  If you believe a long-shot is possible, then you have to believe you will almost certainly die on your car trip.  Better off just staying home.  Or changing your view of what is or isn't going to happen.

If someone asks me to pool money with them I say I'll do it, only if they choose my numbers... 1,2,3,4,5,6... they will object, "Those numbers would NEVER come up!  It's impossible!"  Then I point out that those numbers are just as likely (impossible) to come up as the six numbers they are planning to choose, or the ones they get on an easy pick.  Or I'll say, "Only if you play the six numbers that won last week."  Then I'm told "There's NO WAY the same numbers will come up again."  Again, the odds are just as good that those six numbers will come up again as the six numbers you're going to pick.  Mind-bogglingly unlikely?  Yes.  It's statistically impossible that 123456 will come up, or that last week's winning numbers will be picked again, or that you will win with any combination of numbers you choose.

More simply put... lotteries are taxes on people who don't understand math.

I'll be a bit more specific... for the first 6 days days of Aug 2012, I had just over 900 downloads at SS.  For the same period in 2013, I have just over 1000.  (In my 6th year of doing microstock)

RPI is your best measurement of how well you are doing, at least compared to yourself (unless you know an accurate industry average... which I don't.  Numbers you see in a forum like this will be all over the map.)

I track daily and monthly RPI.  In case it helps, my average daily RPI in the summer is usually around $.08 and in the better selling seasons, it's more like $.10. 

Others here will say that the only number that matters is your earnings.  True enough... you can't pay your mortgage with RPI.  But that kind of attitude is sticking one's head in the sand.  If you want to know the direction you're going, you need a number that is independent of the size of your port.  How are you doing in year 5 vs how you did in year 1?  RPI is a significant key to understanding your performance.

Overall for me July 2013 was...

up 10% from June 2013

up 1% from July 2012

After 5 years in microstock, it's looking like 2013 is on track to tie 2012 for total dollars earned.  On the one hand, it's great because 2012 was fantastic.  On the other hand, I've added a LOT of new pictures just to stay flat.

The way I see it, Scoopshot is Yuri's hedge on his bet of putting all his eggs in the Getty basket.

Maybe he believes the hype he is drumming up for Scoop.  Or maybe he is trying to generate buzz for his investment, getting it lots of links and SEO juice.  Maybe a little of both.

I can't imagine mobile photography, at least in a model like this one, displacing my downloads.  The content I create simply can't be done with a mobile phone, on demand and on a few hours' notice.

And I can't imagine the typical micro buyer wanting to wait up to a day for the perfect image.  I'm a buyer myself, and I think microstock's biggest benefit (even bigger than price) is its vast supply of instantly available, searchable imagery.  And the content I need isn't something that the average iPhone-wielding amateur could ever hope to create on the fly.  (How many buyers could there possibly be for subjects like "what is your mood today?" or "funny street signs"?)

Is there a viable business model for mobile photography?  Probably, but I'm convinced that it's not on a similar scale as microstock, and Scoopshot may not be the app/agency to make it work.   To me, it's Yuri putting some money on the table and feverishly trying to convince us all (and maybe himself) that it was a wise bet. 

And like I said, he wants us all talking about it to build buzz for it.  And dumb me, I took the bait.

As with everything in life, you get what you put in.

I think this is the theory Symbiostock supporters are embracing, pouring a lot of energies and hopes into making this work.  I'm questioning whether all that hard work is paying off for people.  If the early adopters start seeing a decent ROI, I'll be right behind them.

I'm going to pose this question again, because it's been largely ignored every time I raise it...

Who is actually selling through their Symbiostock sites?

I've seen a bunch of "Got my first sale" posts.  But if this is a valid business model, shouldn't we start seeing evidence of it really working by now?  Not a bunch of single sales, but multiple sales every single day?

Surely someone out of the 55(? Is that the current number) of Symbiostock sites surely must have had more than a handful of sales by now, right? 

I don't want to be seen as a hater, just a realist.  I'd love to see Symbiostock succeed, and I'll gladly eat my words and jump on board, but all evidence so far suggests that people disillusioned by the agencies are jumping on board believing it's their salvation, denying the reality that the sales just aren't there.

Will we still see endless threads about this a year from now if things don't pick up?

Dan, don't give up just yet... just adjust your focus. Change is coming. You are just at the forefront of it. Others will follow, it's just a matter of time. 55 new self hosted sites in 6 months is pretty impressive. I bet that number is 200 by the end of the year. I said it two years ago that "the future is in the little guys". I still believe that but I will amend it to include "self hosted" as well.

Of the 55 self-hosted sites, how many of them are making money?

Change may indeed be coming, but I see no evidence that this is it. 

When people start saying "I sold 20 images today on my site" instead of "I had my first sale" we can proclaim that the tide is turning, but until then, I'll remain doubtful that this is the solution.

Okay, all the SY supporters are insisting how it's not a big deal to set it up.

But my big unanswered question is still this: who is making money at it?

It's great that SEO is working well for some of the sites, but if potential customers see it, does it compel them to buy?  I've always been skeptical of individual sites, just because as a customer, I would see it and think, "Okay, this site has one image I like, but then I'd have to go open another account at a different site to get that other image I need.  Why not just open one account at SS, FT, DT, etc. and get it altogether?"

So far, I think there's little evidence of SY sites getting over this hump.  But I'd like to be proven wrong, to be convinced there's real opportunity here, so please chime in with your reports of great sales, and maybe you'll convince me to join.

Sorry... double post.