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Messages - Indigo

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1
Site Related / Re: what do you think of the new layout
« on: December 12, 2006, 12:20 »
I think it looks great!  The whole site has a more professional feel now. :)

2
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Istock troubled waters my opinion
« on: December 11, 2006, 21:50 »
I am an exclusive contributor to iStock and make enough there to safely cover my monthly mortgage and bills, so I suppose you could say I am a full time iStocker.  I joined in January of 2003 so I'm coming up on my fourth year next month.  When I first started my acceptance rate was about 45%, it has gradualy improved (as has my work,) since then and it now sits at about 95% Acceptance.  Also when I first started there were no other microstock sites and in fact the microstock industry was only a very tiny blip, barley on the radar in the general stock industry.  I made $3.00 my first month and I was hooked! :)  Last year (November) my earnings were solid to the point that I quit my day job to focus on uploading.

I can't honestly say that I tried out any of the other agencies as a contributor, (sometimes as a buyer) though I did always try to research them thouroghly as they came along and consider myself still open minded to my exclusive status should it appear that I have a better opportunity through spreading my portfolio around.  At this time the three largest factors that keep me exclusive are the legal protection (I can easily prove that anyone in violation of a license on my images went through iStock, therefore they fight my legal battles for me,) I save a lot of time by only having to upload images to one site and have more time and energy to learn their standards, and three I genuinley feel that this company is still at the top of the microstock heap, not to say they don't have some solid competition, but I feel I'm betting on the winning horse.

It's a very personal business decision and one that has very real limitations as well as incentives.

As far as my uploading habits, I spend a lot of time researching what is marketable checking out the competiton. I try hard to make sure every image I upload has a good mix of originality and solid stock worth.  I think being an active designer helps alot in this respect as I am always looking for or activley creating imagery for client projects which gives me a wealth of ideas based on actual industry usage. 

With the rise of competing microstock sites, there will emerge diferences in business theory with each agency.  I think iStock's position is becoming more quality over quantity which may be influenced by their new parent company.  We now have stockholders to please so there is a lot more on the line all of a sudden.

I can also tell you that as far as acceptance goes at iStock, I think they have different expectations of different people.  I have discovered that the range of images they will accept from me now is judged by higher standards than 4 years ago.  However I see some of the same type of images being accepted by newer artists.

I honestly feel that they take the teacher/mentor role in trying to help mold a really good stock artist and I have found that if one really wants to succeed there, there are a lot of people who are very willing to help.  While you won't get a great reaction to a thread about a rejected image in the main forum, you will find people more than willing to help you out in the critique forum.  Sure rejections are always irritating (more so as an exclusive with no where else to put them,) but they are a fact of life.

In the end it all comes down to your business theory in microstock.  If you want to have the widest market coverage and learn at your own pace that's certainly a plausible business theory, as it could mean more sales overall in a shorter start up time, but it might mean less success at a more selective agency like iStock.  You definitley have to put a lot of time and effort in there to make a steady income, but it can be done.

3
Off Topic / Re: Little souls
« on: December 07, 2006, 12:57 »
The two post rule is so true.  I don't envy your position as moderator! All right I volunteer to be thick skinned and honest and give my exclusive opinions whether you like it or not without attacking or flaming anyone here.  How's that?  Maybe Susan S. will unlurk more often and we can all party together regardless of exclusivity? Or at least keep it semi-civil and classy. ;)

4
Off Topic / Re: Little souls
« on: December 07, 2006, 12:30 »
welcome here susan.  i hope you don't find it too anti-istock here.  It is good to have some exclusives opinions on things around here, so i hope you stick around.

Let's be honest shall we? This forum is not only anti iStock it's increadibly anit iStock exclusive.  In interest of full disclosure I've been here before and was told the same thing about it being nice to have the opinions of an iStock exclusive.  That was pure BS.  Maybe Tyler really meant it but the rest of the posters were like a pack of wolves.  Any time I had something positive to say about IS or attempted to explain anything that was missepresented here I got jumped on.

The amount of animosity and namecalling directed at iStock exclusives here is beyond juvenile.  If this forum is to be taken seriously or be a truly valuable source of information about the microstock industry all facets should be represented.  I can garuntee you with the attitudes displayed here you will not have iStock exclusives hanging around very often. 

The worst example was yesterday's utterly classless attempt at ripping on an image by a person you don't even know. (Who did see the thread by the way.) Say what you want about it being directed at the reviewers, if so than why all the giggling and pointing about the actual image? 

That's BS.  Some of you need to stop acting like you're on a middle school playground.  I was very pleased that the thread was taken down, it shows that Leaf actually acknowledged that a line has finally been crossed.  Now if the overall tone could be raised here perhaps there would be room for actual mature opinions from both exclusive and non-exclusive members of iStock.  Wouldn't that be nice?

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