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Messages - Jo Ann Snover
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602
« on: June 29, 2022, 19:14 »
I feel compelled to add one more example of suggested keywords. I cannot imagine how this mundane image got so misinterpreted.
I know I don't have to choose wrong/spam keywords, but it just seems that there's something fundamental amiss when a photo of pallets of paving stones in a driveway gets suggestions of sea, beach, boat, sky, and pollution (among others). I included a full list of my keywords to show they can't have been behind any of the off-base suggestions.
I think a few suggestions were closer to reasonable, even though I didn't use them - such as tree, concrete, waste - but I hope somehow those working on this feature will look at how utterly wrong the AI's guess at the image's objects was, not just note that I ignored the suggestions.
603
« on: June 26, 2022, 22:40 »
Uh oh Jo Ann, what happened to your shower!
Either an alien invasion, or spontaneous disintegration of tempered glass  Fortunately I wasn't in it at the time - it sounded like a gunshot had gone off in the house. As with all house-related things, never miss an opportunity to find a stock image or two as a result!
604
« on: June 24, 2022, 09:51 »
...RPD alone tells you nothing - it's the actual income that matters - it can come from either high RPD & few DL or low RPD and many DL - therefore RPD is irrelevant as a measure
There is one way in which RPD is a very useful metric for contributors. Is it increasing or decreasing over time? If an agency is increasing downloads by cutting prices and slashing royalty payments, overall income for contributors can go up, for a while, especially for good portfolios with very saleable work. The problem is that you can't keep that up for the long term - at some point you can't grow the volume more and the price cuts/discounts have lost any effectiveness they once had. Growing monthly income totals with a falling RPD can be a sign of an unsustainable situation.
605
« on: June 21, 2022, 22:26 »
I thought I'd upload a second file with very different content to see how the suggestion tool managed compared to the earlier example. Better, but still had problems with suggesting things that weren't in the image.
Description: "Merrymeeting Lake with early morning sun peeking through the trees"
There were minor details such as suggesting summer (lower case s) when I had Summer (initial capital) already included. I had trees plural and it suggested tree as well. I'd quibble about park (because it isn't; and there's a property release as it's a home, so that should be a clue); mountain (I had hills and I'd have put mountains if they were higher).
Bigger issues were suggesting beach, bench, chair and table which aren't anywhere in the image. And suggesting sea and river for a picture of a lake is just spam, as is suggesting spring and autumn for an image keyworded summer.
Getting good keywords is hard, but having bad keywords on images will just frustrate the heck out of buyers. If I'm looking for a New Hampshire lake in Autumn and this picture shows up, it isn't helpful.
What about adding to the interface to let the contributor mark bad suggestions, at least for a while, to help train the tool to do a better job?
606
« on: June 21, 2022, 21:25 »
I uploaded a file this afternoon - fully keyworded - and looked at the suggestions, wondering if there was anything I might have missed.
All of the suggestions (except for the word red which was already in my list) were completely wrong - not marginal, just wrong. You can see the screenshot of that part of the UI along with a thumbnail of what I uploaded.
Description: "Shattered glass covers the shower floor after the door exploded, leaving the bathmat in a pile of glass pieces"
Will the people who implemented this be looking at uploads over the next few weeks to assess the usefulness of the tool's suggestions? If keywords are uploaded (and you can see some of mine), does the tool consult those to assess whether its guess about the image content is on the right track or off in the weeds?
607
« on: June 21, 2022, 10:23 »
If you read what they're advising, it's to use Google image search to locate an instance of the image in use on someone else's (presumably paid use) web site. Short of telling every web site not to use any stock images or to remove Google's image search, I'm not sure what you think anyone can do...
If you look further down (I don't blame you if you didn't read the whole thing, it's pretty poorly written) they also link to pirating sites that let you search all the image libraries and automatically download watermark free work.
Oops! Sorry about that. I did read a long way, but not to the end. I don't expect agencies to act, but that's who to complain to. The agencies' business is what's being targeted; we're just the collateral damage. In the past, when the full-of-image-bundles gigs at Fiverr openly offered bundles of iStock and Shutterstock images - in some cases even offering to get specific image numbers for the gig customer - one or both agencies worked with Fiverr to get those gigs taken down. The agencies didn't work all that hard though as explicit mentions of agency names went away for a while, but the image bundles didn't. And now you can see agency names explicitly used (except for that one gig touting "Gutty image" - I guess he's afraid of Getty legal eagles) https://www.fiverr.com/partho214/provide-you-royalty-free-stock-photos-for-any-businesshttps://www.fiverr.com/bethi26/provide-high-quality-stock-image-stock-photohttps://www.fiverr.com/aarshawon/find-any-type-of-premium-quality-stock-photoshttps://www.fiverr.com/guru17328/give-you-any-stock-photoshttps://www.fiverr.com/joy892/provide-your-stock-imageMy point with the above is that although the agencies should tackle sites promising a way to let you steal versus license stock images, it's unlikely they will take any/much action.
608
« on: June 20, 2022, 18:08 »
If you read what they're advising, it's to use Google image search to locate an instance of the image in use on someone else's (presumably paid use) web site. Short of telling every web site not to use any stock images or to remove Google's image search, I'm not sure what you think anyone can do.
If anyone uses an image without a license - and with so many free images now available, it's not clear why that isn't a better option as it's safe and legal - they're at risk. Established companies are unlikely to put themselves at risk this way, and that's where the bulk of our business comes from
609
« on: June 19, 2022, 18:14 »
Apparently Crestock (as part of Masterfile) was acquired in 2020 by Design Pics, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada https://www.designpics.com/who-we-are"Since its inception in 2001, the company has focused on innovation to provide international exposure, fair compensation, and technology-driven opportunities for our artists and photographers. By acquiring other agencies in recent years, our goal is to maintain the brand equity and authenticity of each collection, bringing added value to our clients through greater access to our growing library of "Distinctively Different Imagery." We currently represent over 2,00 contributors with over 2,000,000 world class images. These works are available across our various websites and through our international partners, providing significant exposure for image buyers worldwide. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the Design Pics family of brands includes: Design Pics, Printscapes, The Irish Image Collection, First Light, Axiom Photographic, Pacific Stock, Alaska Stock, AgStock Images, Disability Images and most recently, Masterfile."
http://www.crestock.com/about.aspx"Crestock is a visual content provider, offering quality royalty-free stock images at a great price
Founded in 2005, Crestock focused on providing a great experience to both buyers and sellers.
Crestock was purchased on July 1, 2010 by Toronto-based Masterfile Corporation, a premium stock photography agency with over 30 years experience in commercial licensing. On April 24th, 2020, the assets of Crestock were acquired by Edmonton based Design Pics Inc.
Crestock Today
Crestock is a unique player in micropayment royalty-free stock photography, helping clients with small budgets to find creative images for their projects. With a fast and reliable image upload system, Crestock also gives photographers and illustrators a great platform for licensing their creative work.
Crestock is a global business, with artists, editors and clients in over 100 countries."
Design Pics has Getty Images pricing ($49 to $499 CAD) and a bizarre search - I did a couple of test searches and the results appeared to be completely unrelated to my search terms. They have a portfolio on Offset (SS) https://www.offset.com/agency/Design+PicsCrestock has per image prices from $1 to $20 (XS to XXL) or a subscription for $199/month (20 per day). Slightly saner search. All the images you see everywhere - I think I'd probably go with Shutterstock's 350 images/month (no contract) for $199 as I'd get more choice. Not clear how Crestock can do more than limp along in the current market, given their prices and competitors, but it is at least owned now by an active business
610
« on: June 14, 2022, 11:50 »
I left 123rf a long time ago, but what I recall about their old free program was that it only included the smallest size - if you wanted a larger size you had to pay for it. So this revival is a very different program - I wouldn't view it as a revival at all.
FWIW, for anyone considering participation, my take on this is that 123rf is circling the drain and the idea of any contributor benefit coming about from them belatedly joining the giveaway trend is pure fantasy. YMMV.
611
« on: June 08, 2022, 12:18 »
...I have images up for selection to the free gallery with just one or even 0 sales and not just a few, but actually several hundreds.
... I meant that I have several hundred images up for selection that only had one download or no download at all. And last year no imges with zero downloads were nominated, but are nominated now, so something has changed in the nomination process, at least for me.
I have a few 0 download images that are eligible for nomination and I can't guess why they would be included - not uploaded in the past year. Most 0 download images are not included. I have two recently uploaded images, each with 2 downloads. The one uploaded Feb 15th is eligible but the one uploaded March 7th is not. This has no bearing on my decision - I do not wish to offer my images for free - but I think there are some very odd choices the system has made.
612
« on: June 07, 2022, 13:56 »
This may have been asked already, but do the download numbers in the assets that have been free for the last year reflect all downloads or only payed downloads?
If you look at Adobe's FAQ they say that you can't see how many downloads an asset in the free section has, so I have to assume that any numbers you see are paid downloads.
613
« on: June 07, 2022, 13:00 »
I did a quick check on what was eligible for nomination in my portfolio and I don't understand why items that have been downloaded within the last month and have lots of downloads are eligible.
Last time around, I thought it was only things that hadn't been downloaded in a certain amount of time that were eligible.
I'm not assuming; I checked several against my recent downloads list (by hand I would add; there are no ways to see downloads by date for a given image).
Have the rules for what assets can be included changed this time?
614
« on: June 06, 2022, 11:28 »
Stan Pavlovsky has a new CEO gig. Luckily for us, it's not with a company in the stock licensing business https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ecoatmgazelle-names-stan-pavlovsky-as-ceo-301561927.htmlCommentary from a news aggregation site - a Wall St Journal reporter is credited with the content: "1210 ET Stan Pavlovsky, who abruptly resigned last month after more than two years as Shutterstocks CEO, re-emerged as Chief Executive of e-Waste Recycling ecoATM/Gazelle, which buys used mobile devices for resale or recycling. EcoATM says Pavlovsky, who will focus on continuing to expand its reach and meet its ESG commitments, will replace Dave Macera, who is retiring. Apollo Global Management acquired EcoATM in 2016 as part of a $1.6 billion purchase of Outerwall and remains its majority owner. EcoATM/Gazelle says that over 33M devices have been bought, resold, refurbished and recycled through its platform. ([email protected])"https://businesshala.com/esg-roundup-market-talk/I notice that the above doesn't use the super-awkward term "recommerce", as in the press release "...the global leader in mobile device recommerce..."
615
« on: May 31, 2022, 11:51 »
616
« on: May 24, 2022, 11:38 »
Remove logos. I've gotten much faster the more I've done work like that Some shots might slip by, but if I'm going to bother to edit a shot, I want it to be accepted anywhere, not just the agencies with bad AI reviews or a bleary-eyed human trying to meet their quotas...
617
« on: May 18, 2022, 22:21 »
It sounds as if the content behind these NFTs will be old archival images Getty owns, not images where royalties would be paid, but I'm guessing they're looking for growth somewhere and have been convinced that NFTs might provide that. If any of the images used in NFTs are royalty-bearing, I wonder how Getty will compensate the copyright-holder. https://decrypt.co/100681/getty-images-to-launch-first-nfts-on-palm-through-candy-digitalAs far as Shutterstock "watching out", I don't expect this effort to go anywhere, and neither does the author of the above article: "The NFT community at large, however, appears less interested in photography and more interested in trading the metaverse or profile picture project of the week. Notably, the top 100 collections on OpenSeawhose marketplace still makes up the vast majority of all NFT salesdoes not include a single photography collection. "Some more coverage of this announcement: https://bitcoinist.com/getty-images-forays-into-nfts/https://www.builtinseattle.com/2022/05/18/getty-images-sell-nft-candy-digitalhttps://blockchain.news/news/getty-images-to-start-nft-marketplace-with-candy-digitalhttps://www.coinspeaker.com/getty-images-candy-digital-nfts/I've been looking for more information on the announced (Dec 2021) SPAC deal to take Getty public again. Lots of other SPAC deals have fallen apart this Spring: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-sachs-and-other-big-banks-hit-spac-pause-button-as-market-shifts-and-new-regulations-loom-11652189888
618
« on: May 11, 2022, 09:30 »
https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/shutterstock-appoints-paul-hennessy-chief-executive-officerExperience with a used car marketplace and Priceline don't suggest any sort of return to the roots of a platform for the creative professional Vroom announced its new CEO today as they "realign" their business https://www.autoremarketing.com/retail/vroom-names-new-ceoHe is still listed as Vroom CEO on his LinkedIn page - I guess this was all very last minute https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhennessy1/And Vroom needs a turnaround plan after Hennessy's turn as CEO? https://www.barrons.com/articles/vroom-vrm-stock-earnings-ceo-turnaround-plan-51652197593From the Barron's article: "For fiscal 2022, Vroom is expecting e-commerce unit sales of 45,000 to 55,000, with an adjusted Ebitda loss, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, of between $375 million to $325 million. . . . Over the last 12 months, Vroom has lost 96% of its value, losing 88% this year alone. . . . Vroom said on Tuesday it would begin to implement a business realignment plan to turn things around. The plan prioritizes unit economics, reducing operating expenses, and maximizing liquidity. Jobs cuts are included. Management expects to achieve approximately $135 million to $165 million of cost reductions and operating improvements throughout 2022.. . . The company still needs to navigate a host of risks, including its limited operating history and lack of profitability"So far (early in the trading day) investors aren't over the moon about the combination of the new CEO and Pond5 acquisition. Stock is slightly down from Tuesday's closing price (which was $64.23)The Nasdaq was down today, but even so, investors didn't greet the new CEO and Pond5 acquisition with enthusiasm. SSTK closed at $62.15, down $2.08The acquisition of Pond5 is for $210 in cash (press release). In the Q1 reports on Shutterstock's earnings, they said they had $163 million of free cash flow (charts on the investor micro site) and their "Ending Cash" for the quarter was $258 million. I don't know enough about this type of accounting to be sure, but it looks as if the bulk of their cash hoard is getting spent on Pond5. Mr. Hennessy will have many plates to keep spinning in his new job...
619
« on: May 10, 2022, 20:16 »
It sounds as though you haven't entered your metadata - keywords, title and description - in the images themselves. If that's the case, stop uploading and get the metadata into the images. It greatly simplifies the upload process and puts the critical content where it belongs - stock images, however excellent, are nothing without the metadata by which they can be searched and thus licensed.
620
« on: May 10, 2022, 09:38 »
FYI, Alamy replied saying that these photos have been used for internal testing only.
Alamy's always good about replying. For as long as they've been in business, and given they allow downloads for customers without triggering a sale (that waits until the customer "reports" it as used), why would multiple, test, no-cost sales show up in a contributor account? You have test accounts or systems for such things - something that doesn't interrupt the business while you work out new software or products. And doesn't waste support people's time answering questions about what this is.
621
« on: May 09, 2022, 10:21 »
For the sake of completeness, I thought I should post that my Alamy account access closed some time last week. My portfolio became invisible to buyers earlier, but several sales appeared afterwards. I was paid almost all I was owed on May 1st but one small sale (where my take was $2.08) hadn't cleared yet.
I wrote to support to ask if they could turn account access back on until the sale cleared, but this morning received email that it wasn't possible, but that they did see the $2.08 owed and that I'd receive it once it was cleared.
624
« on: April 27, 2022, 10:21 »
Shutterstock Unlimited is an API deal with about 100 million images and 4 million videos included in the program https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/5-reasons-to-go-unlimited-with-shutterstock-apihttps://www.shutterstock.com/business/shutterstock-unlimitedIn trying to find old posts here from when this was started, I found one of my own where I had linked to the SS forums where Kate had answered contributor questions about how things worked. As that link no longer goes anywhere useful (  I searched a folder where I keep screenshots & text files of things that might go away and found the text of Kate's post from 21 Feb 2021: "Hi folks!
We knew you'd have questions, and had planned to share this with you before the announcement. Thanks for your patience.
K
What is Shutterstock Unlimited?
Shutterstock Unlimited is a new subscription plan offered by the Platform Solutions team. It represents the next evolution of our API strategy, which expands the reach of Shutterstock content to users who are not currently Shutterstock customers and offers new revenue streams for contributors.
What does Unlimited mean? How Unlimited is this content, really?
Unlimited applies only to the total number of asset licenses, but the content and license terms are both significantly limited. The content comprises a collection of carefully selected, underutilized images and videos. Content can only be used within partner platforms, and cannot be downloaded for other use. The Unlimited model is currently only available on digital platforms and does not apply to print and merchandise partners (e.g., Zazzle, Art.com, etc.).
Why are we offering this plan?
We are launching this plan in response to market and partner demand. The API partner model is fundamentally different from our other enterprise partnerships. It does not replace, compete with, or cannibalize sales of content through other channels, including our main eCommerce site.
This offering is aligned with best-practice subscription models that provide unlimited access to a content library (think Netflix and Spotify). It helps platform partners better predict and manage their content needs, and it enables Shutterstock to grow our platform partnerships with companies like Wix, Wave, and Lumen5 and continue to offer new, more stable revenue streams for contributors.
How is the content in the Unlimited plan selected?
The images and videos are curated from a collection of quality content that has historically underperformed in both revenue generation and contributor payouts. All of the content is at least 2 years old and has never been previously licensed. The Unlimited plan expands distribution of this underutilized content.
What is the value for contributors?
Through Platform Solutions connections to over 7500 platform partners, this new plan further extends our reach to new customers that do not currently work with Shutterstock.
For many of our contributors, Shutterstock Unlimited will provide a new revenue stream for underperforming content, as well as more stability in payout volume over time. All of the content in the Unlimited collection will continue to be available for purchase on the main Shutterstock.com eCommerce site.
How many assets are included in the Unlimited Plan?
100M images and 4M videos are currently included in the Unlimited plan, and music tracks will be added later in 2021.
How much do I get paid?
The pricing has not changed from our existing API payout model, which is similar to the payout model on eCommerce subscription plans. Contributors receive a percentage of the licensing price paid by platform partners and end users.
How is my content used?
Content in the Unlimited Model can only be used within specific platform partnerships, and cannot be downloaded or used off platform. This is a very limited license, granted to one user on one platform for platform use only.
Can I opt out?
No, participation in our partnership deals is part of the Shutterstock Contributor agreement (TOS). However, Shutterstock Unlimited does not currently apply to contributors at our highest earnings levels.
Wilm Ihlenfeld
Posted Friday at 12:40 PM
Hello Kate,
is there a guarantee that "Unlimited" will remain limited to the content of our portfolios that are at least 2 years old and have never been licensed? Or should we expect Shutterstock to include other files in the "Unlimited" model if the business model is successful from Shutterstock's point of view?
How are the highest earning levels (those not involved in "Unlimited") defined? Which levels are not affected?
If the pricing will not change from the previous API payout model, does that mean specifically that contributors can expect to earn $0.10?
I - and probably countless other contributors - would be grateful for an honest answer.
Yours sincerely,
Wilm
Posted Friday at 01:49 PM
Hi Wilm,
Thanks for your thoughtful questions.
While I cant offer a guarantee about what content might be eligible for which products in the future, I can say that we are committed to maintaining the value of your content in the marketplace. It doesnt make sense to make every asset available at the lowest prices - when some content can and should command more.
For our initial launch, images from contributors who reached Level 6 for images in 2020 were not included. Im not sure how often the set of available images will be updated or when or why that rule might change. I do know that we are in a real learning mindset here, and that, depending on how customers interact with this content, we may want to change up how items get selected for inclusion.
Theres been no change to the 10 cent minimum earning threshold.
Have a great weekend.
K
625
« on: April 26, 2022, 18:04 »
Edited May 3 to note that Stan Pavlovsky resigned as CEO April 27th, effective May 3rd. Jon Oringer is interim CEO until they find someone. See more in my post later in this thread: https://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/shutterstock-q1-numbers-and-earnings-call/msg576204/#msg576204There are some links to the details on the numbers, but I think that the headlines for contributors looking at the rest of 2022 and what things will be like are best summed up by one chart, two new hires and talk of another new "product" to come later this year. Oh, and paid download numbers continue downward (3% drop to 44.6 million). The stock market was down today, but SSTK was down more than the market and closed at $77.43, down 3.93%. They presented as many gains as they could, but Income from operations decreased 16% to $31.9 million, net income decreased 10% to $26.6 million and adjusted EBITDA decreased 3% to $54.8 million. The chart: Shareholder Return of Capital (below) says that SS plans to return $132 million for 2022 via share buybacks and quarterly dividends. Compared to $58 million in 2021. That's money not going to building the business or rewarding contributors. Indirectly that rewards employees who get bonuses directly or indirectly via the stock price as well. The new hires: a new Chief Marketing Officer, Jason McClelland. He'd done some short stints (1 year each) at startups and a long one (16 years) at Adobe in web services, product management and head of eCommerce. According to his LinkedIn page he developed the switch to subscriptions. Some of the previous CMOs at Shutterstock (there have been lots) were there for a few months (Dorian Quispe), a year-ish (Jeff Weiser) or long term (2 years, Lou Weiss). We should start a pool on how long this guy lasts. The new VP of Brand Marketing, Skip Wilson, left Peloton in Feburary (so I assume he was part of that layoff of 2,800 people). In the press release he says "The opportunity to create a strong brand that drives a deeper connection to the Shutterstock audience is what excites me" https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/shutterstock-appoints-chief-marketing-officer-and-vice-presidentThe new product: In the earnings call transcript, amongst the typical firehose of buzzwords, Stan Pavlovsky talked about new features that will roll out first to existing subscribers to help them predict which images will work in their campaigns (AI got a mention here). The notion is that as cookies and other tracking devices are doing away, marketers will need ways to know what will succeed and Stan says SS AI can help them do that (based on what exactly, he didn't say). The new product is a cheaper subscription to their Catalog, Plan, Create & Predict apps that includes free content - in other words all the revenue will go directly to them and none to contributors (he didn't point that out; those are my words). There will be an "upsell" to premium content: "In addition, we plan to introduce later this year a creative flow subscription, which will include the Catalog, Plan, Create and Predict apps and will also incorporate our AI-powered search. This new product will target the casual creative segment and will include a free tier of Shutterstock content with an upsell path to Shutterstocks premium content subscriptions. We believe that this standalone creative flow subscription product, which will be available at lower monthly price point, represents an extension to new audiences who previously may not have had a need for stock content." Still going after Canva's business, but Canva has a completely free tier which I don't think SS has. Stan talks about SS being able to broaden its presence beyond the content selection phase of projects. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4503661-shutterstock-inc-sstk-ceo-stan-pavlovsky-on-q1-2022-results-earnings-call-transcriptSome interesting comments from the earnings call: subscription revenue as a percent of total revenue in Q1 43%, which was an all-time high - I assume because the on-demand credit packs and SOD are decreasing given the new FLEX offerings. There'll be a new unlimited music subscription with sound effects in Q2. In the Q1 2022 numbers (for subscribers and subscriber revenue) Turbo Squid is included for the first time (PicMonkey still is not; they apparently wait until they're one year on from the acquisition) so any gains aren't entirely a fair comparison as it's only in the 3 months ending March 31. Stan was asked a question about how the apps had performed in keeping subscribers coming back. I can't explain his answer, but here it is: "As far as retention goes, which is sort of whats most important about these applications, were seeing about 20% for the applications that weve launched, were seeing about a 20% engagement with the applications already. For new customers that are coming and engaging with the apps, they have about twice the engagement of customers who dont engage with the apps."Contributors can't pay the bills with engagement but with royalties - those come from paid downloads. I think there was a genuine question in there from the analyst - are you seeing more subscribers continue their subscriptions if they use the apps - but he let Stan off the hook. There will be a FLEX10 product (to follow the FLEX25) but that's being tested this quarter; no release date https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/shutterstock-reports-first-quarter-2022-financial-resultshttps://content.shutterstock.com/investor-report/index.htmlhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmcclelland/https://www.linkedin.com/in/skipawilson/
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