designers, big publishers, ad agencies and 3rd party sites that can bring in a new type of buyer.  im hoping for some good annoncements on the last front coming up.  i've got some interesting ideas and some interested parties in terms of bringing in new buyers so we will see.  not promising anything other than I will work my butt off.

yeah we rebooted a server but turns out that the network that we use was at a standstill.  its up and moving along quickly now.

We received your payoff a day late but ended up using it for Thanksgiving.  hahahah.  Next time.

just sent me an email at john @ cutcaster DOT com and I will help you change them all in one go.

replaced.  just wondered how many had worked with them. 

@takestock  you said,
"With all due respect John, if you are saying your overheads are very low, is that not a reflection of how hard you are pushing the site at present.

Just to say "we could hum along for at least a few years" doesn't sound really convincing and a bit casual I would think in this very competitive market.
Contributors have every reason to be doubtful, this arises from their previous experiences with other new sites."

Great question and I am glad you asked. Just because I keep my overhead low in one of the worst economic downturns in the history of the US doesn't mean that I don't work 24/7 to market and grow the site.  I spend on important things like reaching out to buyers and being in places where they will be.  I have put in 3 years of my life, from morning to night (everyday), to make sure I will be left standing when the rest of the industry consolidates. DRR had 15mm that they spent and they are done. Gone. Not coming back.  I have a tiny fraction of that and Cutcaster will live to see a lot more days.  Who is the smart one then?  I'm going no where but forward.  "Overhead" in a down economy is a killer and the first piece of advice any investor would tell a business is to cut overhead and make sure you have cash to take you at least a year out.  Cutcaster DEFINITELY DOES.

I completely agree with you that contributors have to be wary and the times make it really hard for Cutcaster to get contributors bc they are afraid from their experiences with sites like PS and DRR (two sites you have to pay to upload and join).  I have asked people to trust Cutcaster that we can be a viable option and that we want to create a different union between our contributors and the site. 

From takestock again, "The problem is, as we have seen in other posts above, when sales are not forthcoming  people stop uploading and that is not good for CC.

All that said I do wish you success - good luck!

Best wishes John!

Who knows what the stocks are, then he knows what can expect in business like microstock.... ;-)
No doubt for Cutcaster!"

Cutcaster is barely 6 months old and just opened to buyers in the middle of Sept.  Picturehouse, last month, was our first image buyers conference and we have set up in office meetings with over 35 publishers, advertisers and graphic designers.  The conference was a great experience for us as we met over 220 image buyers in the NYC area that really were enthusiastic about the Cutcaster business model and a new challenger. 

I am asking for a chance.  Give me a year to host your content for free and show you results.  That is all I can ask for.  If I don't come through on my end of the bargain you can leave immediately.  I left my job trading stocks on Wall st in January to do this full time and eat, breathe and sleep Cutcaster.  I put my cell phone on the site so you can call me if you have any concerns or questions.  I don't hide in the slightest and make fixes immediately when they are asked for.  I'm not giving up until I am at the top of that list and you can save this post and look back on it when that happens.   I appreciate your support and hope you are with me.

I can tell you that Cutcaster is going nowhere but up.  We are very happy with our progress and have strong financial backing.  Plus I am way more open about the inner workings of our company than most others.  My burn rate and overhead is extremely low and we could hum along for at least a few years.  I just spend on marketing and tech projects. But I love the few doubters and the challenge.  Brings out the competitiveness in me when I get bet against. 

What shocks me is that companies like DRR can burn through 15mm and have nothing to show for it. 

I thought I would open this up for discussion after all the conversations I have had with graphic designers, advertisers and publishers who explained how they like to search when using keywords only. Seeing how you guys think about this could help us as well bc we are relying on your user generated keywords so we need to make them work for our search algo and fit for what we are learning from how buyers/people are searching on Cutcaster and how they like to search using keywords.

Do people use Boolean operators like AND, OR, NOT?

Do people ever put in " " ?  "Use quotes for compound word" to get an exact match.

Should typing in hard drive be the same as typing in "hard drive" or hard AND drive

The more results appear the more words you put down?

The need for Smart Inflectors example: Keyword "people" will actually search the database using this phrase "people OR person"?

What are other ways that people will search using keywords?

cool microbius.  just wanted to help but looks like you are doing ok for yourself.  i hope we can increase that for you.  if you wanted to email me privately to protect your identity on the forum you are more than welcome to do that.

Yeah we haven't introduced the extended licensing or the terms yet but after being at Picturehouse yesterday and talking to a bunch of publishers we are going to be moving forward quickly on it. The terms will be similar to what other sites are doing but I want to get your feedback on the best way to offer it that is fair to everyone.

I have some questions that maybe you guys can help me with.

What is a fair price for an extended license?

Which sites have the best contracts for an extended license that you think is fair for both the seller and buyer?

What are the drawbacks of ELs?

Thanks for any help and answers.  I am all ears.

@tsmarkley ha

@traveler1116  Welcome aboard.  Let me know if I can help out with any other questions.  I am here to help.

Getting some great vector illustrations already but always looking for more for this contest.  Obviously we want images as well but recently we have been getting more and more requests for vectors and we want to have a good selection for our contest.  Keep on uploading.

Yep. No need to shut anyone out and you guys own the content so you have the option but not the requirement to submit it on an exclusive basis but it won't help the chances of winning.  Just make you extra money ;-). 

really interesting stuff.  who do you think has a fair contract i could use as a template for a photo competition?

is a month a long enough deadline?  what are some themes that you think are good for the contests?

i like the idea of giving money and then let the winners decide what they want to buy.  Just don't go out wasting your money in the stock market. hahah.  that is my advice for the day, coming from a former stock trader ;-)