Makes me wonder why they were in such a hurry to shut down SX if they weren't ready with the migration.  How much is the delay costing them in lost sales and lost customers?

FD-amateur, calling luissantos84 a moron is not going to help anything.

Quote from: Digital66 on March 02, 2010, 23:47

1. They are microstock cheerleaders telling everyone how great this business is.
2. They still earn $0.25  at Shutterstock
3. They support Thinkstock.  And of course, they think $0.25 is ok! 
4. They do not yet qualify to be IS exclusive.  Even though it's only 250 images required.
5. They celebrate every single sale they make.
6. They make statistics with small numbers.

What else? Mmm... Ah!

7. They run a very expert blog about the microstock business.
8. They pimp their contributor referral links in all message bodies, as well as their very expert blog article links.
9. When you block them as time wasters on the MSG, they start scorning you in private in the Dreamstime comments.
10. You will find them as commenters on all successful blogs like Lee's and Ellen's. They spend more time babbling, blogging, foruming and commenting than shooting.

Quote from: sjlocke on March 03, 2010, 09:47

Aside from silly referral pimping, how are contributors taking advantage of new contributors? 

I think they were referring to the vultures that hang around places like the SS forum to prey on new submitters and then try to sell them their books and/or courses.

Quote from: Digital66 on March 02, 2010, 23:47

I think someone in this thread asked for a definition of "newbie".

Here are some characteristic to recognize a "newbie":

1. They are microstock cheerleaders telling everyone how great this business is.
2. They still earn $0.25  at Shutterstock
3. They support Thinkstock.  And of course, they think $0.25 is ok! 
4. They do not yet qualify to be IS exclusive.  Even though it's only 250 images required.
5. They celebrate every single sale they make.
6. They make statistics with small numbers.

What else? Mmm... Ah!

7. They get angry when they read something they don't like.

 

Pretty true, but for "They celebrate every single sale they make".  Like any drug you do need more and more. I mean, I need at least 3-4 a day to get me off!

And you my friend, no link to portflio . . . .?

I think someone in this thread asked for a definition of "newbie".

Here are some characteristic to recognize a "newbie":

1. They are microstock cheerleaders telling everyone how great this business is.
2. They still earn $0.25  at Shutterstock
3. They support Thinkstock.  And of course, they think $0.25 is ok! 
4. They do not yet qualify to be IS exclusive.  Even though it's only 250 images required.
5. They celebrate every single sale they make.
6. They make statistics with small numbers.

What else? Mmm... Ah!

7. They get angry when they read something they don't like.

 

I just want to add that Macs are better than PCs... wait what was this thread about?

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 02, 2010, 18:20

Quote from: macrosaur on March 02, 2010, 18:05

yes, lots of newcomers in micros but where are they heading with their 50 images collections ?
and how much are they gonna earn from this ?

will it be enough to keep uploading in the long term ?

because actually i think it's getting really tough for newcomers to make money with micros.

can I say that you are 50% agree?.. it maybe be tough (not that much I guess), but is it possible of course a lot of work, but IT IS!

of course anything is possible, but than even applying for Getty straight away instead of wasting time with IS and SS.

i mean, considering the effort needed and the falling sales in micros is there really a good reason to join a micro nowadays
if you're a newbie with a small portfolio ?

in my opinion newbies should be banned from IS and SS, and left to the third rate agencies.

Quote from: Brandon Seidel on March 02, 2010, 16:54

Well, everyone has their opinion.  My point is that we can all find someone to blame, but never point the finger back to ourselves even if we are the cause of the problem.  I guess what I have learned from this thread (well, maybe not learned but reminded) is that we are now realizing the negative affect we had on stock photography.  The people with the most to lose need to also be the people fighting the hardest to fix it.

How many people in this thread came into microstock starting off with a large portfolio of stock images?  How many of us where already full time photographers?  How many of us here were searching through Google to get started?

With every one of your photos sold, you are hurting someone sales.  Who is going to be the first to delete all of their images to help their neighbor's sales?  No one?  Really?  But the newbies need to stop.  I see.

With every post to this forum, you are advertising the referral links you despise.  I would guess this forum pulls in much more than even some of the larger microstock portfolios.  Hmmm.  The newbies have been feeling threatened lately.  Maybe there is now a market for a "newbie" microstock forum.  I send everyone here, but maybe this is not the place.

Five years ago macro shooters were the victims and the people who are "making a living" now shooting microstock was the problem.  Now microstockers "making a living" are the victims and newbies or referral links are the problem.  Five years from now free images will be the problem because there will not be anyone (or much less) "making a living" from microstock.  And why, because everyone else is the problem.

Here is a metaphor I have heard, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."

For what it's worth Brandon...I agree with you 100%
And I truly respect you for speaking out even if other don't.
Thank You

Quote from: donding on February 28, 2010, 18:20

Exactly.....that .65 would not possible without photoshop and the digital camera and vacation time..

My most recent EL on SS (last friday) was a shot of a house I took from my kitchen window. I figure the cost of that shoot is slightly less than what Yuri Arcurs spends. 
Of course, I only have one kitchen window, but you can shoot very salable stock just on the way. My favorites are airports and airplanes. They just cost the clicks of the cam.