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Messages - SNP
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701
« on: April 13, 2011, 15:52 »
It's a shame we haven't heard from Sean yet, but maybe he's had to start shooting Vetta and is busy on an artistic series showing an exclusive photographer with his head in a gas oven.
Sean Locke Plath? lol....
Wow! That was erudite!
ooo, and you're being ironic. aren't we high brow around here today 
702
« on: April 13, 2011, 14:54 »
It's a shame we haven't heard from Sean yet, but maybe he's had to start shooting Vetta and is busy on an artistic series showing an exclusive photographer with his head in a gas oven.
Sean Locke Plath? lol....
703
« on: April 13, 2011, 13:21 »
I think the suggestion about a price-oriented client-specific search result is interesting. but it would actually be the reverse of what we want. the search, AFAIK, is meant to produce regional results. I think that's a good move and provides a value-added service to customers. but to take that and apply it regarding price (based on previous spending associated with that account), doesn't really make sense. the purpose of marketing is to turn customers into the type of buyers we need them to be, hence the buckshot approach to filling every industry hole. "don't like things here (iStock), well too bad, but why don't you shop here instead (TS)?" it's destabilizing and you don't have to be a brilliant economist to see that the longterm effect is the erosion of iStock's brand and business (which I think is well underway).
I hope that iStock isn't aiming for a long term effect that is the erosion of iStock's brand and business. If they truly wanted to force self-destruct, that would be very achievable, but I don't believe that's the aim.
A (possibly dubious) analogy for a price-sensitive best match search could be a well run jewellery shop that pays attention to what its customers buy. A person walks into the shop looking for a new watch, and the owner knows that person has bought four Swatches and two Timex watches in the past. So the owner leads that customer towards the budget end of the shop, but also points out some medium-priced brands which the customer may appreciate. What the owner doesn't do is lead the customer through a lengthy presentation of Rolex watches, then move on to Longines and dozens of other premium brands.
And conversely, when a high rolling customer who's only ever bought jewellery with the finest quality gems and precious metals walks in, he/she would be shown the best and most expensive stuff that the shop has to offer.
I'm sure I'm teaching my gran how to suck eggs here, but imho that would be a better way to convert buyer visits into purchases than a one-size-fits-all, highest-priced-products-for-everybody policy.
I don't think it's what they are intentionally aiming for. I think they probably very legitimately believe the buckshot approach will work and bring us all lots of money. and frankly I hope it does turn out that way. but without having any insider knowledge of the goings ons, and with only what we are told to work with....it's hard to quell the anxiety about our future in this industry. in any case, I'm in it for the long haul as many of us are, and adapt or die seems to be the order of the day. the question is, how to adapt. how to manage my work to best exist in this industry as it changes. I guess the obvious decision that can affect some change at least individually is whether or not to remain exclusive. but I'm so tired of thinking about that.
704
« on: April 13, 2011, 13:15 »
I would like to see his istockportfolio as well. There are loads of 1 image trolls with opinions...
ain't that the truth!!!
705
« on: April 13, 2011, 10:56 »
I think the suggestion about a price-oriented client-specific search result is interesting. but it would actually be the reverse of what we want. the search, AFAIK, is meant to produce regional results. I think that's a good move and provides a value-added service to customers. but to take that and apply it regarding price (based on previous spending associated with that account), doesn't really make sense. the purpose of marketing is to turn customers into the type of buyers we need them to be, hence the buckshot approach to filling every industry hole. "don't like things here (iStock), well too bad, but why don't you shop here instead (TS)?" it's destabilizing and you don't have to be a brilliant economist to see that the longterm effect is the erosion of iStock's brand and business (which I think is well underway).
706
« on: April 13, 2011, 01:33 »
^ I don't think 'fashion' is a good example. it is a search I would expect a high number of Vetta files from. but rather than breaking it down in examples....I think it's important to simply say that if V/A are pushed to the front of every search as a rule....customers will feel alienated. if this is an attempt to change buying patterns or attract different demographics, I think it will act only as a deterrent and PERHAPS attract bigger buyers entirely at at the expense of current customers.
customers need to have the option to omit V/A from results. originally I was against any type of price-based sorting, and I am still against price-based sorting generally....but I think sorts allowing the omission of collections are entirely reasonable.
is it possible there's a plan to allow buyers to omit V/A from the sort? which is why they're getting better initial placement in the best match?
707
« on: April 13, 2011, 00:59 »
I think your theory/point about the business search versus the fish search is very plausible.
708
« on: April 13, 2011, 00:19 »
I think the answer is in the question. is blame even the word? every time they shift the best match significantly, some contributors get hurt.
This just seems like way more than some and way worse then has ever been experienced before. I don't think I've ever seen that many diamond contributors on one thread reporting bad sales with such significant drops. Bizarre. I guess time will tell.
it may be true that is your impression, but there have been a number of threads around best match shifts and search changes that included complaints from diamonds--low level and high level diamonds--who have been negatively hit by shifts. in fact the 'diamond' argument was one of the big arguments in the best match shift that I was hit in. I spent a lot of time in the forums during that shift and it was largely populated by very angry diamonds. regardless, forum posts aren't exactly any sort of gauge for gathering relevant data.
709
« on: April 12, 2011, 23:31 »
I took out my third support ticket on this very issue in early Feb and am waiting for a reply. The previous two said they were having problems getting them to me (that my email address was wrong). BUT their replies found my inbox, as do auto replies, payment notifications etc. After my second email, I did get some; three of everything for a couple of months then nada.
I looked at the site map and 'couldn't look for seeing' (probably) where the newsletters are, as I remember you can view them online. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? Tx
They are searchable under Participate > Articles and select Newsletter, but that's only any use if you know what the latest newsletter is about !
yes, their search for articles is pretty frustrating. I've often tried to go back and search on articles and spent tons of time just trying to find them. I don't know why they can't just give us an index with all article titles.
710
« on: April 12, 2011, 23:29 »
'hotel room' is a fairly damning example for sure. in sny case, I'm certainly not happy if there is a V/A bias in all best match returns, but FWIW I've spent the better part of tonight performing search after search on terms and phrases, and still very few produce results like 'fish', 'horse', and 'hotel room'.
overall I get a mix of results from all collections. Incidentally I noticed that editorial files seem pushed back right now in a lot of best match results. my guess is there are still many adjustments to be made.
That actually makes it even worse that the searches are showing such mixed results and so many people are reporting such drastic drops in downloads. If you can't blame it on the overwhelming presence of V&A, what can it be blamed on?
I think the answer is in the question. is blame even the word? every time they shift the best match significantly, some contributors get hurt. it has always been like that. my major hit took place in 2008 when I lost 70% of my income literally from one day to the next in a major best match shift. it almost completely discouraged me from continuing in microstock. this best match shift is no different, though it probably seems more malicious and devastating given the current climate.
711
« on: April 12, 2011, 23:27 »
It makes me wonder if the status quo will continue for best match....i.e. Files found their way to the top of searches because they were a relevant to the search AND clicked on by the customer.
Will Vetta and Agency be always at the top of the searches, or will they filter down through the mass to the bottom, simply because they are more expensive and not due to irrelevancy.
Can somebody find a grossly irrelevant Vetta or Agency image ? If so then Vetta and Agency images have a "bubble" around them so as they will always be at the top.
Time will tell....meanwhile my downloads are non-existent......is the Crown worth its exclusivity....
One interesting fact is that iStock has not grown in membership since January 36,892, Today 36,895. (I keep a spreadsheet on the numbers from http://istockcharts.multimedia.de/ ) When I look at the numbers, only the Base Level is decreasing, all other levels are increasing. Which says there has not been a new member this year.
The exclusive numbers have risen back up from Decembers Peak with December 5872, January 5399, Today 5479....Dec/Jan had a huge bailout due to the best match, I wonder what will happen in the next week or two.
Has the dust settled, no, its just the eye in the storm................
the chart you've used to calculate the number of contributors since January is fairly irrelevant. that chart is great for measuring your performance against contributors near you, or for sorting data like number of files, dls etc. but it is useless in terms of counting contributors. in reality there's estimated to be close to 80K contributors. many of whom are barely active or completely inactive. the only contributors represented in the multimedia.de chart are those whose names have been added.
712
« on: April 12, 2011, 22:13 »
'hotel room' is a fairly damning example for sure. in any case, I'm certainly not happy if there is a V/A bias in all best match returns, but FWIW I've spent the better part of tonight performing search after search on terms and phrases, and still very few produce results like 'fish', 'horse', and 'hotel room'.
overall I get a mix of results from all collections. Incidentally I noticed that editorial files seem pushed back right now in a lot of best match results. my guess is there are still many adjustments to be made.
I feel for those badly hit. I've been there
713
« on: April 12, 2011, 19:10 »
have any of you actually performed test searches? it doesn't sound like it. I've searched on all my test search terms. each search has returned a solid MIX of files. in fact 'business' under best match sort order has only three Agency files and one Vetta file on the whole first page with 200 results.
I've done the same type of search on a number of random terms, some big, some drilled down and I'm not seeing anything flooded with V or A with the excpetion of the 'fish' search....which was given as an earlier example. that returns a large number of Vetta and Agency....who knows why. some of the terms I searched on that returned 'normal' results so that you can try them yourselves are:
business
woman
man
family
child
urban
teamwork
team work
house
for sale
I'm not commenting on the validity of the new best match, but it doesn't seem as V/A heavy as is being 'reported'.
714
« on: April 12, 2011, 15:28 »
I am finding the same. old files dominating my sales today. dls average.
715
« on: April 12, 2011, 10:45 »
Actually its picking up! yesterday and today, so far, its brillant! hope it stays this way.
anybody else?
After months of downward trend - starting mid-2010 - sales for me are now slightly better since a few weeks, but still way below what they used to be
I am not sure if it's the best match or just a general economic trend in conjunction with traditionally good months of the year (March-April)
Out of curiousity, are you exclusive and if so, are the files that are selling for you vetta or agency files?
I know you weren't asking me, but FWIW I have almost NO Vetta or Agency and I'm doing okay in this best match shake--average to good dls this week and last. and unfortunately two good friends of mine who are quite Vetta/Agency heavy have seen significant drops near 30%. so I don't think it has much to do with V/A presence.
716
« on: April 12, 2011, 10:32 »
Oh, and what still annoys me?? Seems no matter what I do, I cannot get an email or newsletter from iStock, on any topic other than payouts. The simplest things . . .
I'm always grateful when someone posts about a new Contributor newsletter; if you didn't, I'd never know there was one.
that's bizarre. are you certain the newsletters aren't going to junk mail/spam folder or something? crumby.
I took out my third support ticket on this very issue in early Feb and am waiting for a reply. The previous two said they were having problems getting them to me (that my email address was wrong). BUT their replies found my inbox, as do auto replies, payment notifications etc. After my second email, I did get some; three of everything for a couple of months then nada.
I looked at the site map and 'couldn't look for seeing' (probably) where the newsletters are, as I remember you can view them online. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? Tx
clearly not on your end if you're getting their replies and follow ups. weird. for the longest time I wasn't getting newsletters. then I started getting the Contact Sheet but not the Hot Shots. Now I get both but I did nothing to fix it, so who knows what happens between their server and my email app. hope you get it resolved.
717
« on: April 12, 2011, 10:29 »
if you perform a best match search on any major keyword like 'business', 'family', 'Christmas', 'summer' etc., the best match returns are a mix of images with the first images predominantly from diamonds. also on the first page, early on in the results are plenty of images from black diamonds. so far I have not performed any search that corroborates a theory in which lower canisters seem to be favoured in best match to increase profits.
Perhaps tomorrow we'll all get e-mail saying that they were unfortunately not reporting sales correctly and we've all actually had successive best weeks ever 
wouldn't that be nice! although I've been fortunate during this best match shake. not always the case but I'm riding this one out fairly well.
718
« on: April 12, 2011, 00:51 »
if you perform a best match search on any major keyword like 'business', 'family', 'Christmas', 'summer' etc., the best match returns are a mix of images with the first images predominantly from diamonds. also on the first page, early on in the results are plenty of images from black diamonds. so far I have not performed any search that corroborates a theory in which lower canisters seem to be favoured in best match to increase profits.
719
« on: April 11, 2011, 23:12 »
They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.
Its a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.
Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.
I have to add something about the lightbox. it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes. for months and months I have made comments in threads about the same contributors being added to all of the showcase lightboxes. I have opened support tickets and I have sitemailed the admins administering the specific lightboxes.
in the case of this EDITORIAL collection LB....there are many of us, NOT just me, who are heavy contributors to editorial who are NOT showcased at all in that LB. and some of the files in the LB do not belong in there as showcase images (one example is two nearly identical shots by an admin, both of which are in the LB).
if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes.
in this particular case I have no problem admitting that I want at least some of my editorial files in that lightbox. editorial is very exciting to me. it was the photography I did well before I did stock. so far no response from admin after more than a week. sigh.
It kind of bums me out too. I have a couple in the "Gems" lightbox but I have a ton of editorial files and it sort of feels like not being invited to sit with the cool kids in high school.
hmmm, I think I know which your files are and I really like one in particular! good for you getting a few in, but you're right, you could have way more in.
720
« on: April 11, 2011, 22:36 »
Of course contributor confidence and community spirit is not still of concern around iStock! Silly Rabbit, light boxes are for the admins & special ones.
OhGoAway said it best.
When are you going to get it, Stacey? It's all about the badges and perks for the chosen ones. No matter how hard you work, you're not one of the cool kids in their book. The club is closed to you. And to me. And to the vast majority. Though, seems if you start going to 'lypses the tide *may* turn in your favor. But then, you already stated publicly that you wouldn't take an inspector's badge if they offered you one. (Which I still find truly mind-bending to believe.) So, sans badge, good luck getting anywhere with them.
Maybe report them to the BBB Canada? Take your pick on what to write them up for. So many hot, questionable topics to choose from. But maybe that will make some headway for you. Reminds me I need to resubmit my complaint. I think it failed to go through - site issues. Try, try again!
I'm not interested in being a cool kid Marisa, and I'm not the product, my work is. as someone who spent a lot of your time cultivating a cool-kid persona in the forums, you're being hypocritical to say the least. not that it deserves a response, but I wouldn't accept an inspector badge because frankly I am not even close to knowledgeable enough regarding photography to qualify as an inspector. and no badge of any sort has ever been offered to me, and I'm not upset about that. I want only what is fair, and I believe fair means equal representation for all contributors whose work is of the quality prescribed for the showcase lightboxes. in the editorial lightbox instance, I feel my work definitely qualifies. as for the rest of your baiting and diatribes aimed at me specifically, I'm running my business the way I feel works best for me. that includes the relationship I have with iStock, which I value the way I would any long-term business relationship I have built. it includes giving people who I work with the respect they have earned, or conversely, honest but reasonable criticism when it applies. what you think of that is of absolutely no interest to me. good luck to you in your own work and try not to worry about mine.
721
« on: April 11, 2011, 20:48 »
Oh, and what still annoys me?? Seems no matter what I do, I cannot get an email or newsletter from iStock, on any topic other than payouts. The simplest things . . .
I'm always grateful when someone posts about a new Contributor newsletter; if you didn't, I'd never know there was one.
that's bizarre. are you certain the newsletters aren't going to junk mail/spam folder or something? crumby.
722
« on: April 11, 2011, 20:18 »
They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.
Its a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.
Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.
I have to add something about the lightbox. it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes. for months and months I have made comments in threads about the same contributors being added to all of the showcase lightboxes. I have opened support tickets and I have sitemailed the admins administering the specific lightboxes. in the case of this EDITORIAL collection LB....there are many of us, NOT just me, who are heavy contributors to editorial who are NOT showcased at all in that LB. and some of the files in the LB do not belong in there as showcase images (one example is two nearly identical shots by an admin, both of which are in the LB). if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes. in this particular case I have no problem admitting that I want at least some of my editorial files in that lightbox. editorial is very exciting to me. it was the photography I did well before I did stock. so far no response from admin after more than a week. sigh.
723
« on: April 11, 2011, 00:14 »
Life of Brian and The Holy Grail are both great, but the Monty Python movie we always watched growing up was The Meaning of Life. I grew up thinking "just one thin wafer" was my father's original joke. I know "every sperm is sacred" by heart...lol. Monty Python has a big presence and following in Canada, maybe it's a throwback to our imperialist roots 
724
« on: April 10, 2011, 21:15 »
" Or, to put it another way- Get back to work you peasant!"
Help, help, I'm being repressed!
Shut up you!
Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.
"if I went 'round sayin' I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!"
725
« on: April 10, 2011, 00:27 »
PS: I still shoot JPEG - shame on me! - because I never installed Canon software! 
I was shooting in sand dunes and rocks under a slightly hazy sky yesterday. The guy I was with hasn't got anything decent because he shot on his "green square" jpg setting (he's new to photography). The shots I got needed tone-curve and WB adjustment to escape the super-flat contrast and yellow-brown cast, after which the results are excellent. There are some conditions where the standard camera functions just can't cope, even if the WB is adjusted, and you need to process in Canon's RAW processor (which, BTW, can also entirely remove CA from RAW files but not from jpgs, something that nobody seems to mention but which is increasingly important as iS becomes ever more fascist about CA rejections).
great point about CA and other image corrections best done in RAW...
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