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Messages - michaeldb
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476
« on: October 14, 2011, 20:08 »
Yesterday I submitted some vectors to iRockStock and today I was accepted  I for one think that the idea of a site which looks something like IS but which behaves differently (i.e. apparently does not intend to scr*w us in every way possible). I also like that the owner is supporting MSG, and has tried here to address some of our concerns. And who seems to have good idea of what he is doing and has fair commissions. What's not to like? If other sites seek retribution against him for competing with them, I don't think that's fair, but it's his problem.
477
« on: October 14, 2011, 13:59 »
I stopped uploading for almost a year, removed any link I could find to the site, stopped managing my public light boxes and drastically cut down the number of times I visit the site. I'm sure individuals doing that makes no difference but I really hope that when a significant proportion of us change the way we use a site, it does make a difference.
I have done exactly the same thing, and it has made a great difference, to me. My sales are way up year over year, and my outlook on life is much improved by not having to deal with iStock, the Soviet Union of Microstock.
478
« on: October 12, 2011, 17:35 »
I have never found a way to avoid the banding in raster images exported from AI.
However, I have never had such a raster rejected by any site for banding when the image was submitted in association with an eps. Even at DT, where you are supposed to submit rasters independently of the eps files (they actually have rejected rasters with the keyword 'vector' even if the image is obviously a vector and I obviously intend to submit an eps file). So I wouldn't worry about it.
I think all raster effects in AI, such as drop shadows, look terrible on the raster exports.
479
« on: October 12, 2011, 17:24 »
"...The terms interestingly also state they can keep any accrued royalties, which I had about $500 worth. Well, now I will owe taxes on money that shuttesrtock will keep..."
I don't see how you can owe taxes on money which was not paid to you. I can't tell from your profile where you live, and I am not a tax attorney, but I think I can pretty much assure you that if you live in the US you do not have to pay taxes on microstock earnings which you never received.
480
« on: October 11, 2011, 20:41 »
So I guess you have CS3, this is why you posted %%Creator: Adobe Illustrator(R) 13.0. I analyzed an EPS coming from CS5, there is %%Creator: Adobe Illustrator(R) 15.0. This EPS is supposed to be V10-compatible.
You are right, I do have CS3. You know more about this than I do. It is an interesting subject. As you said, agencies have software to read the files and determine what version the file is compatible with. I wonder what that software is and where they get it. If you find out, please let me know.
481
« on: October 10, 2011, 19:10 »
Interesting question. I don't know how the agencies do it, but here is one way.
-Open Notepad (or other plain text editor)
-Drag the .eps file into it.
-If it is an eps 8 file, you will see a line like this in the top few lines of the file (probably the second line):
%%Creator: Adobe Illustrator(R) 8.0
-If it is an eps 10 file you will see a line something like this (maybe the third line):
%%Creator: Adobe Illustrator(R) 13.0
AI files are more complicated.
Maybe other people know of better ways to do this.
482
« on: October 10, 2011, 17:16 »
Credit packages were iStock's solution to the problem of 'micropayments' or 'microtransactions'. The problem is how to securely accept large numbers of small payments, payments smaller than what credit card companies want to accept. Amazon, Paypal, and many credit card companies and banks are still constantly trying various new micropayment systems.
The 'micro' 'micropayment' is, I believe, the source of the 'micro' in 'microstock'.
483
« on: October 10, 2011, 17:05 »
Had an amazing run in the last few weeks of Sept and even the first several days of October, thanks in large part to the crazy run of ELs at SS. (To anyone else who was experiencing these, did they also dry up for you a few days ago? To me, it suggests there was some kind of campaign that ran from roughly Sept 22 - Oct 7.)
Yup. The EL blizzard stopped for me on Oct 5, after getting two ELs on Oct 4. I did get one today though. Sure hope the ELs are starting up again. I'm amazed that no one has yet figured out exactly what caused this to happen to some of us. Maybe if we knew the cause, we could make it happen again?
484
« on: October 10, 2011, 12:53 »
October is usually one of my best months but this year I am down on nearly all sites.
Same here. I was surprised; I expected October to start strong.
485
« on: October 05, 2011, 13:52 »
Do these services have a standard license for RF images or are you creating your own?
You can set the licensing details to whatever you want (RF, RM or something you make up yourself  , they also have a default license that you can just click and apply.
Maybe I too need more coffee, but I am not understanding this. I can't find where you click to see the default license. Also, it looks like this image did not upload properly: African American Woman Photo ID: 2009-10-20_180044 All in all the site looks and works great. Makes me think that I would consider using Photodeck.
486
« on: October 04, 2011, 13:01 »
How can you say that? Glennfidich, Lagavulin, McAllens and the Irish ones like, Bushmills, surely they rank among the best. 
Well everybody has different taste buds. I once read that only people with a certain gene like scotch, to people without that gene it tastes like turpentine and cr*p. Jack Daniels is the same thing, you have to have the taste for it, bourbon is a whole different ball game from scotch. Southerners seem to love their bourbon. Personally I find the sweetness cloying. Back to scotch: I don't think anyone has yet mentioned Knockando. It might just be the very best single malt scotch.
487
« on: October 03, 2011, 19:52 »
Indeed a raise and at the same time they could introduce image exclusivity or even better, a high priced collection like Vetta. That would surely hurt their competition ...
Don't you understand? It is precisely because they haven't "introduced image exclusivity or a high priced collection like Vetta" that SS are doing so well. It is becoming apparent that an ever-increasing number of customers like to shop where they can afford to download any image they want without having to check the price and worry about budgets. The KISS principle in action.
Absolutely. The microstock buyer is an off-the-shelf shopper looking for something he or she needs at a reasonable price - with no surprises. Microstock is not an art gallery or a fashion show. It is not a social club or group of middle school cliques. Provide a decent constistent search engine, keep pricing simple, and accept quality work no matter who is submitting it. That business model works.
488
« on: October 03, 2011, 19:45 »
Agreed. Lagavulin is one of the best, as is Laphroaig, IMHO. For blends, I'd go for Glen Talloch
I agree 100%, and I suggest also Aberlour. Not only is it a truly great single malt, it has the advantage of being at the top of Scotch list on a menu, in case you had a few too many to read the rest of the names And, with all due respect to Glenfiddich supporters, IMHO it is the most overpriced Scotch you can buy. Not representative of quality single malts. Not even as good as, say, Johnnie Walker Red, not better than a decent every-day blend such as Scoresby.
489
« on: September 29, 2011, 20:31 »
I am experiencing this as well, 7 in the last couple days, which is very unusual. I also got my first "single download" sale today, a nice 5.70 commission, shos up in the far right column next to total. BME already at ShutterStock. Clearly, they are making the right moves!!!!
Maybe Stockmarketer was right then: "SS recently started promoting (or maybe just testing) its single-download option. Maybe that's attracting quite a few people who aren't really sure what licensing this option covers, and then they find out that they actually need an extended license and go that route instead?" (As for me, yet another EL today, but no Single DL sales yet.)
490
« on: September 27, 2011, 16:29 »
I got 2 more since I posted three hours ago! Like I said above, that's as many as I normally get in month.
Something is going on, but it only seems to be affecting some people. It can't just be just affecting photographers, I do vectors. And my ELs show no discernable pattern; the images are old and new, illustrations of various concepts.
491
« on: September 27, 2011, 13:00 »
I normally get two ELs at SS a month... So do I. Starting on Sept 22, I got 6 ELs in 5 days. It surprised me too, made me wonder what is going on.
492
« on: September 19, 2011, 13:25 »
I don't get where Yuri is going with this. istock is great, then istock stinks, then it's the economy...
iStock was great, now iStock does stink. Re the economy:
Bloomberg Business Week 9-18-11
Forecasts: The US Economy is Flashing Recession
The US Economy may again be on the cusp of recession. Stagnant payrolls in August added to recent data showing that manufacturing is slowing, consumer confidence is sliding, home values are falling..."
When the economy first turned down, I think it helped microstock, as image buyers who had been using RM began to look for ways to cut costs. Now the pool of new customers may be a lot smaller.
493
« on: September 18, 2011, 14:45 »
Well, I deactivated half of my portfolio.
Good for you! You have some very stocky concept images and isolations in your port - I am sure that buyers will find them on other sites (that has been my experience since I stopped submitting to IS many months ago).
494
« on: September 07, 2011, 14:56 »
...Cutcaster has increased its royalty payments to one of the highest rates in the industry. Our rate are going from 50% to 55%...
This is good news, and just in time as my sales at CC have been growing. BME last month and reached another payout. BTW I notice that an image of mine is one of the 3 in the rotation on you home page. Thanks!
495
« on: September 04, 2011, 20:09 »
I stopped submitting to IS long ago, but my old images still make a few hundred bucks per month there (and so over $1K for IS). If iStock does put exclusive imgs into PP, and so poses more of a threat to SS, I for one pledge on my sacred honor that I will remove my port from IS, no matter how big a PITA it is to do so. They can't spin this one perfectly for everyone, so they'll just keep telling exclusives that opting out is a perk while telling independents that their forced inclusion is a benefit, all the while hoping we're too dumb to realize that the stories don't fit alongside each other.
IMO they probably won't have to dance around this contradiction for long. I am sure sometime within the next few months they will be able to tout the benefits of forced inclusion to everyone 
I'm sure you're right, Lisa. It's really just a matter of time before this "perk" of exclusivity goes away. And I'm sure they find a way to make it sound like it's still a good thing for everyone.
496
« on: September 01, 2011, 14:45 »
Graphic leftovers gives you over 50% and you can price your vectors yourself.
+1 Still lots to love about microstock, I think. Most sites are fair and easy to deal with. This month I'm starting my 7th year of micrstocking and as I look back at all the changes, most have been for the better IMO. And I think there will be lots of good things ahead. @madelaide: DON'T GO!!! We need more nice people not fewer.
497
« on: August 23, 2011, 17:58 »
Compete?
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com+shutterstock.com+dreamstime.com/
Amazin chart, for IS. People always criticize the validity of these traffic charts, but if I tilt the chart a few degrees counterclockwise, the DT and SS lines match very well with my sales stats at those sites. Probably not a coincidence. Are the IS exclusives trapped on the deck of a sinking ship?
498
« on: August 22, 2011, 11:51 »
...And let me know when you guys all get a check in the mail for your consulting time on telling them how they should run their business and what they need to do to fix it. Exactly why I didn't fill out the survey. I'd be happy to consult on what they're doing wrong and what they can improve on. They can contact me to discuss terms if they're interested.
+1 except that I wouldn't want them to contact me. I've wasted enough of my time with them.
499
« on: August 18, 2011, 21:08 »
I'm sorry. Apology accepted.
500
« on: August 18, 2011, 20:29 »
The three most negative posts in this thread were all written by iStock exclusives. I'm puzzled; what business of theirs is the subject of this thread anyway? If they want to comment on things which do not concern them, maybe they should do so when they have something positive to contribute? 
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