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Messages - bryan_luckyoliver
26
« on: July 17, 2007, 12:33 »
Leaf, thanks for the thread. I'll try to answer a few questions.
1. The copy feature is a clever little thing that Ryan was able to figure out. It's great if you're posting in our Odditorium a lot.
2. Search relevance. We recently did an upgrade to our search results- I've written about this on the blog a bit. For most searches there has been a huge improvement. Search is an ongoing activity.
Right now we know we have some weakness in the relationship between words. We're aware of some of the problems. Camera is a 'generic' term on a photo site, so it causes some problems. If you do a search for 'camera' it's much better. We'll be working on this over the next year.
3. Spam. It's on the feature list. Direct reporting is useful. We're also collecting some interesting information which will penalize Carnies that spam.
4. Watermarked images. The web is a connection of images and text- if it's public, people are going to link content- we'd prefer to control this more by providing the tools to make it easier. A link back to the photo is much better than a watermarked image taken with no record. It's defense and offense. The vast majority of linked images are used in the Odditorium.
28
« on: July 15, 2007, 23:39 »
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« on: July 09, 2007, 16:09 »
I guess so...I'm just saying that it's hard to come up with something on the spot. I wouldn't have compared "Web 2.0" to a brick thrown in the air- but hey, I guess some people don't like a carnival theme, so I'm not one to talk.  Sometimes reporters are fishing for a line to support an article- you'll say a bunch of stuff and they'll find one line out of 30 minutes of talking that fits their story.
30
« on: July 09, 2007, 14:05 »
This is great...I've been put on the spot for quotes a lot more these days- my brain can go in circles some times if reporter switches topics quickly.
I thought it was funny to read this one at the end of the article...I bet he wished he could have this one back!
"My philosophy is, go aheadthrow a brick in the air and see what happens," Livingstone quipped. "Usually it ends up landing on someone's windshield, but hey, you can repair it. And at least you're throwing something in the air and trying something new. That's Web 2.0."
31
« on: July 05, 2007, 19:46 »
I'm curious- I talk to people everyday about photography and design. There are ebbs and flows to every industry, but as a group we seem to have gotten over the hump of people giving 'microstock' respect. The heated debates between macro and micro still happen, but the conversation seems to have drifted to the two living in harmony. I don't really care.
Lately I've noticed more companies embracing the term 'microstock' to define their service or product. My question is, what does 'microstock' mean now? Are there specific characteristics? Community? Price point?
32
« on: June 29, 2007, 14:22 »
Sharply, you have a good point. Actually I've run the numbers based on our blog and found that buyers sign up significantly more after spending time on our blog. It's one of the compliments we get from buyers on the phone. Buyers make judgments based on the brand, the product, and company. It's just another small piece of the puzzle. In any event, traffic to the page increased 2.5x
33
« on: June 29, 2007, 10:01 »
Theresa- Purpose? I kinda always wondered the purpose until we put it up. Essentially twitter allows anyone on the team to throw up short messages. I guess you could consider it a blog, but the cool thing is that you can send messages from a phone, IM, or the web. The posts aren't really full ideas. The point? It doesn't take too much time for us to jot down a few things during the day...so it gives you guys a sense of LO.
34
« on: June 29, 2007, 00:25 »
It's great to hear the positive feedback. Things are definitely moving up week by week. I'll temper Mr Perkmeup's comments by saying that results vary from portfolio to portfolio, but we have a long term approach to growing the business. We're going to continue to work hard.
Some Carnies have had the equivalent of 3 payouts a month, so I know we have the potential to really scale. We're still learning about the metrics.
Thanks for your efforts!
Bryan
35
« on: June 27, 2007, 19:34 »
Howdy Gang. We've just made communication an even bigger priority...ehemm...especially after some of the latest industry releases...we decided to put up a twitter feed on our blog. You'll now have real time feedback from us. Pretty cool! http://www.luckyoliver.com/blogNot sure it's a first for the industry, but we're interested in leading the charge to make communication with artists a top priority.
36
« on: June 27, 2007, 09:54 »
Fortunefame-
How's this. We give $5 for a referral, but I'll give you $50 for each if they both buy $500.
Bryan
37
« on: June 25, 2007, 10:50 »
So I'll put this out there. Well, since they finally put up their about page...is Snap Village a microstock or midstock?
"SnapVillage is a major step forward for microstock with fresh, thoughtfully designed innovations that simplify and improve the experience of licensing low-cost, user-generated, royalty-free photography via the Internet."
" SnapVillage is a fresh approach to microstock with a clean, intuitive website, straightforward pricing and purchasing as well as innovative interactivity features that generate its proprietary "Snappyness" picture ratings. SnapVillage features the revolutionary 'Pick Your Own Price' model that gives photographers control and flexibility so they can maximize their income."
38
« on: June 25, 2007, 00:39 »
I like the about page the best: https://www.snapvillage.com/AboutSnapVillage.aspxAt this point maybe they launched before they were ready? It's blank- maybe they didn't have anything to say I'm actually surprised they didn't do a content drive first.
40
« on: June 22, 2007, 14:39 »
Leaf- I still included modest in the title Were still trying to figure out buying habits. Some artist are getting an average of 3-5 downloads a day right now (at $2.00). This trend is turning upward for more people. Performance will vary for each Carny. We stopped marketing to artists last year, but we continue to get large amounts of people trying to become part of the site based on word of mouth referrals. Were in a race now to surpass the rate of image acquisition. Eventually the inflection point will make this problem irrelevant, but if youre seeing consistent sales it means were actually beating the trend. Sideshow will eventually make up sales by providing higher margins. This is the hard part for any new site to create momentum. Im pretty sure weve passed a couple critical milestones, but the pressure is now on building sales. Its our number one priority now and were excited about the challenge.
41
« on: June 21, 2007, 21:04 »
Haha. Ok, so we can make fun of ourselves a bit. That old thread just kept coming up- I thought it was time to start something fresh with an upgrade to the subject. Again we appreciate everyone's effort- it's been a hard grind, but things are definitely picking up steam. We still have lots of work to do, but we're going to continue to earn your trust day by day. With a growing image collection we have to work extra hard for artists to see the progress. When you get Ron hogging all the 'downloads' it makes even tougher. If anyone is in the Bay Area, we'd love to see you at our first birthday gig. http://www.luckyoliver.com/birthday
42
« on: June 20, 2007, 17:48 »
Interesting feedback. It might be neat to see the differences across different types of images. These images had a lot of red.
43
« on: June 20, 2007, 17:46 »
Cool beans.
I know we've gotten some push back from people thinking we're nuts creating a new space, but midstock seems to be working. I look forward to working with artists to increase their margins.
After a week of talking with designers, they fully understand the value of providing an opportunity for artists to earn more margins. The upside for them is that it's a free market system- you need to compete for their business.
In the end, you get what you pay for!
44
« on: June 20, 2007, 17:35 »
Tom...always feel free to reply back to a bouncer review. We have no quotas.
45
« on: June 20, 2007, 17:33 »
Well, from first hand experience, those artist that have larger files will have higher margins. Our xLarge and xxLarge sell for $10 and $20- a few of these sales will quickly add up.
We don't add the extra pixels to the largest size- instead it gets put into the extended license original size. I've seen many of these purchases made purely for the extra pixels.
Our midstock model allows for custom pricing, so I would think your margins make up for any feeling of losing money on a smaller size.
46
« on: June 08, 2007, 19:06 »
Yeah, might look something like this 
47
« on: June 08, 2007, 12:03 »
I'd like to thank all the artists that have supported us this past year (and even those that have challenged us!)...it's been a fun ride so far. It's enjoyable to work with such a motivated group of people. We're still taking baby steps, but I think our growth will accelerate over the next year. It might be hard to see for individual artists, but we have weekly sales growth. I talk with customers on a daily basis- the response we've been getting is extremely encouraging. We're still laying down the foundation and we're aware of the risks of spending too much time trying to grow this business. We'd love to catapult sales, but we want to make sure every sale, customer and artist gets the attention they deserve. We've made up huge ground on the competition - the next year is about taking out the boxing gloves . Our marketing right now is focused on conversations. We've got a lot going on ( http://www.luckyoliver.com/blog/222/rally_time). I'll continue to ask Carnies to be patient- things are working. We're now leading the charge in midstock and the margins on images will continue to go up as we push forward ( http://www.luckyoliver.com/blog/230/sideshow_results). Thanks again! Bryan And Steve, we'll see you at the How Design Conference!
48
« on: May 22, 2007, 13:53 »
hatman12- We've found a couple ways to look at this problem:
1. Volume sales typically work if the series has breadth and quality- without the quality the series doesn't do very well.
2. One-off photos that fit a content need don't always have to be high quality- they're more about getting the right subject in the shot. As we reach a saturation point in specific subjects this might change, but it's eaqually important to be in front of the customer. Good meta data helps.
Bryan
49
« on: May 14, 2007, 13:19 »
Jeff-
As a former athlete (ahhh the good ole days before kids...) I think your work is very authentic and full of passion. Your portfolio is one of my favorite.
Sharply_done has a good approach...focus in on a few areas and dominate a subject. Being known in an area makes good marketing sense.
You can tell a difference in Jeff's sports photos- his body of work shows a level of patience and maturity that isn't created overnight. There's a sense that he has studied the sports he shoots- not just documented it through images. Well done.
Ehhh...noise...it's something that can and can't be avoided. For small amounts of noise I think it should just be included in the description for the buyer to decide.
50
« on: May 09, 2007, 14:19 »
Guys, I went to Bobby's first seminar, so we thought we would sponsor the event. All LuckyOliver Carnies will receive a $50 discount.
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