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Messages - PicturEngine-JustinB
51
« on: August 13, 2012, 09:49 »
Frankly Justin, you could really be on to something here. Since its a collective pool I cant see why buyers should not use it, saves them going through a heck of a lot of irrelevant stuff. Having said that, I presume theres no editing or anything on your part, so in practice, any port is welcome as long as they pay their fee? The problem is then that after some time lots of second rate material and bad keywordings could yet again take up the space? have I got this right BTW? and in the long run it could be a pool of everything and yet nothing. One of the problems in a large micro-agency, is to constantly flaunt good, commercial and saleable images.
best.
Youre asking a great question here! A search engine for the industry is exactly what our image buyers asked for, one that is unbiased and free of duplication and clutter. The process of creating a search engine for the stock photo industry has been challenging, a learning experience. When we initially spidered the world's top agencies, gathering over 300 million search results, we noticed a ton of duplication (just as image buyers were saying, the same images are everywhere), and about 1/3 of the images were exact duplicates. These duplicates were easily removed using an algorithm to find the base agency for each image(oldest upload). The search results after duplicates are removed yields a more reasonable 180.2 million images, yet still a staggering quantity. We then focused on the enormous number of sims of the same images / photographer / shoot, etc. Using visual image recognition, we stack these sims to reduce the result count even further, making the search more manageable. The stacked sims are displayed to the user with a special icon, and a simple mouseover unstacks and displays all of the visual sims in an appealing way, thus eliminating the users need to see the photographers whole unedited shoot within their search results. Were currently in the process of perfecting the visual sim image stacking. I roughly estimate that the sim stacking will further reduce the result count by about another 1/3 or more. After removing the exact duplicates and stacking the visual sims, we initially sort the results using several proprietary algorithms. We specifically target and suppress images that use stuffed, irrelevant, or inaccurate keywords, and/or any other method of artificially gaining rank within the search results. We use technology in addition to good old-fashioned humans to tell us the images they like seeing, based upon images added to lightboxes, licensed, etc. We complete ALL of the above prior to sending the results through our image ranking, learning suggestion engine. Once all of our search features are enabled, youll notice the best images rising to the top of the search, and the junk people arent interested in seeing falling to the bottom. Its also important to understand that our search and suggestion engine is both site-wide and user specific. When our individual users search, click, view, add to lightbox and license images, these images will float higher within their individual search results, but not necessarily within the site-wide search results, however when enough users like the same types of images, those images will see a rise within the overall results. So to answer your question, you are correct that technically we dont do a human edit on directly uploaded images or on images from agencies around the world. We instead rely on current search engine technology, along with tracking our users habits, to make the search the best it can be. Furthermore, we provide our platform photographers with vital live analytics showing them how their images rank individually and overall, hence assisting their decision making in adjustments to their keywording or removing their lower grade images to help their best images rank higher within the search. Here is an FAQ that may help too. http://support.picturengine.com/customer/portal/articles/415614-what-about-editing-and-image-quality-standards-Best, JB
52
« on: August 10, 2012, 11:06 »
Hi MSG, Until now weve focused primarily on the Photographer RM and RM/RF advertising, sales, and distribution platform. The photographer platform is nearing completion and we are now beginning to focus on the Advertising Only. Each step through our Beta brings us one step closer to launching. If you are interested in advertising your current distribution platform with our Advertising Only solution and do not see your platform listed when registering, please email [email protected] including the platform name in the title of the email, such as AO List KTools, AO List SmugMug, etc. (Please do NOT send any other correspondence to this email address.) This type of participation is vital to speed up development of your platform and encourage swift action from the various platforms we are implementing. If your platform is currently listed, I encourage you to register now and show your support, as well as lock-in your Beta rate for the future. At this time, there is NO CHARGE to register for Advertising Only, until we are ready to launch and actually advertise PicturEngine. Those who have registered for Advertising Only will receive a PayPal subscription link via email shortly prior to launch. Once the subscription link is paid, your images will be included, and your rate is locked in. If you choose not to activate your account, your account will be deleted the day we go live and you can register at a higher price after we launch. We are looking forward to a big launch soon and many successful years ahead. Stay ahead of the curve! JB
53
« on: August 09, 2012, 13:28 »
Alot of us are also buyers and we work and collaborate with other buyers/companies. I don't think it would take long for word to spread.
This is a brilliant thought, and one we have been aware of since before we started WP. The problem is getting people to take action. As I wrote earlier in the thread, there is only one other contributor who is actually helping me with the site. Everyone else is content to upload, and hope.
If we had 10-20 contributors actively hanging out on message forums with graphic designers, letting them know how artists are being treated by stock agencies, and that there are artist run co-ops springing up, I guarantee you there would be a buzz. Especially when you can buy direct from these co-ops for generally cheaper prices, the artist gets 50%+ of the money instead of a huge agency, and nobody is forcing a credits package down your throat. Just buy what you need and come back when you need more.
The idea that everyone's portfolios/sites have to be interlinked doesn't mesh with real world shopping. For instance I visit 2 or 3 farmer's markets per week. We get meat and poultry from one. Another has a better variety of greens, and yet another has the best sweet corn and peaches. I COULD get everything from a large chain grocery store, but I prefer the farmers get paid directly, and I appreciate their quality enough to make a few stops per week. It really doesn't cramp my style.
But just try to get people excited enough to become part of a "street team." They might start threads like this, and wish for better days, but we are all just standing still and talking about some future journey which isn't going to happen.
djpadavona, I like your analogy using a farmers market! Sticking with your analogy, imagine a very clean, uncluttered and organized market, containing everything you want and need, leaving you no reason to go anywhere else because this marketplace contains literally ALL of the grocery stores, farmers markets and coops combined. All of the major brand name items are located right alongside unique, eclectic direct-from-the-farm items. On every organized aisle you find all of the major label and unique goods in plain view and available to quickly add to a basket (lightbox). As you browse the selections, you continue to find a breadth of new tasty items youve never seen before, adding those items to your basket (lightbox) as desired. Removing ones you dont want anymore is easy and risk-free, as is sharing the contents of your basket (lightbox) with your family and friends(colleagues) to ask their opinion about what to bring home. This real-time collaboration assists you in making the best decision, every time. This marketplace saves time and resources, while ensuring you make the best purchasing decisions for YOU. When ready to checkout, you have a nice, organized basket (lightbox) to reference all of your selections. You feel good about your purchases, knowing that you are buying farm fresh items directly from the farmer where they receive 100% of each sale (for a small, flat monthly fee to be included in the marketplace), and when you cant buy directly from the farmer you still feel good knowing that you are using the next best thing, the farmers direct distributor and not a series of middle men adding fees (transportation, packing, labeling, advertising costs) along the way. As a buyer, you feel confident in your buying decision because you have seen nearly everything available and worth seeing, and you are not worried about trekking all over town to ALL of the stores or markets because you are confident youve already found the best item. As a seller its a no brainer to want to be included in the worldwide marketplace where the buyers go to shop first! The PicturEngine platform was built with direct photographer and image buyer input, always putting photographers (the fuel of the industry) FIRST! During the Beta, invested photographers are providing feedback, shaping the future of our industry. The time to bring suggestions to the table, weigh-in and make a difference, is NOW!! Stay ahead of the curve! Best, JB
54
« on: August 03, 2012, 17:14 »
Hi Sharpshot - you asked a great question. why are contributors having to fund the start up of the site? Waive the fees until there are enough sales to pay for them. Have a temporary 50% commission for the first year. You'll get lots more interest from contributors who will recommend the site to buyers.
After reading this question / statement again, then reading your first reply to this thread, it was pretty clear that you knew the answer all along: I think it would take a lot of money to make a big impact. It would be great if we could get the backing of a big internet business, like Google, Amazon, Facebook etc. If there was a site that was more beneficial for contributors and buyers, it could dominate the market.
People have tried taking on the big sites with little investment but so far they haven't succeeded. Why don't we just buy Getty? That seems more likely than us setting up a cooperative that works.
You are correct, it takes money, time, dedication, along with up-to-date technology to draw in and keep buyers, keep photographers happy, and compete in this marketplace. With the help of several silent investors, I maintain 100% control of the company's vision and direction. This is very important to me (and should be to you too). Investors want to make money (period). They will change and control the direction of the company to make the MOST money (period). The past and current sales of Getty are no different. You have seen change and you will see more change very soon, as new owners WILL make money for their 4 billion dollar investment. My current investors and I have covered the upfront costs of research and development, infrastructure and technology. The very low, monthly subscription fee we have mathematically calculated to charge photographers, is what it takes to manage, maintain and advertise an individual photographers account, and any profit is reinvested into the company. I have been doing this long enough to know and project these fixed expenses. No one is getting rich here overnight, instead we are banding together with our resources, as front line image producers. ALL of the money coming in upfront, from Beta users, goes to initially advertising the site. You said yourself that you know this is a huge and much needed expense. We are capable and prepared to pay this upfront expense. However, the more photographers who join the platform before we launch, the more money well be able to allocate to the advertising campaign. Additionally, I have promised all of the Beta photographers, to alleviate early entry risk, that they will always have the lowest price on the platform (period). I have stepped up to do my part, now it is time for photographers to stop complaining and DO something about it, fulfilling your part. I have built what photographers and buyers alike have asked for. PicturEngine will be a success, I have no doubt. With support of active working photographers, like yourselves, it has the potential to be a true and immediate game changer. All the best and have a great weekend, JB
56
« on: August 03, 2012, 15:08 »
Hi Marianne, The Advertising Only platform is not license specific. When a buyer clicks your image within the PicturEngine search results, they are sent directly to your platform to license the image, regardless of license type. See our FAQs for the Advertising Only platform: http://support.picturengine.com/customer/portal/topics/189995-photographer-advertising-only/articlesAll buyers surveyed were active image buyers from my traditional RM agencies, Corner House Stock Photo and Picturesque. Many of our buyers actively license all types of images for different clients with various needs. Best, JB
57
« on: August 03, 2012, 15:04 »
All of you will benefit from what I have built,
Not those whose pics were first uploaded to agencies with a lower price/commission.
Hi Sue,
We use a base agency calculation, to avoid sending buyers to affiliates of your base agency. If we were to send a buyer to an affiliate of your base agency, this would effectively increase the number of transactions taking place, thus reducing your small commission further.
You are correct, if you uploaded to the lowest price or lowest commission agency FIRST, given your example, we will send that agency all of your traffic.
Doesn't affect me one way or the other, but when someone makes a categorical statement/promise, "All of you will benefit from what I have built" and that's clearly proven to be a lie (but we can sign up for your system and then we'll benefit if we do), it makes me wonder what promise will be broken next.
Sue, We will send your images buyer traffic, regardless of active participation. Unless the goal is to hide your images from buyers view, one would consider PicturEngine advertising their images to be a benefit.
58
« on: August 03, 2012, 13:10 »
All of you will benefit from what I have built,
Not those whose pics were first uploaded to agencies with a lower price/commission.
Hi Sue, We use a base agency calculation, to avoid sending buyers to affiliates of your base agency. If we were to send a buyer to an affiliate of your base agency, this would effectively increase the number of transactions taking place, thus reducing your small commission further. You are correct, if you uploaded to the lowest price or lowest commission agency FIRST, given your example, we will send that agency all of your traffic. Your options include joining our platform and not sending buyers to any of your agencies, thus keeping 100% of each image sale, or being content that we are helping you make more sales via your agency(ies). Best, JB
59
« on: August 03, 2012, 13:03 »
.......For years, I have listened to photographers complain about.... continued lower prices, and even lower commissions.....
I must have totally misunderstood what PicturEngine does then, I thought it allowed buyers to easily find the cheapest possible price for a photo actively driving prices lower for photographers. Is that not correct? Are you not actually driving prices lower in a more active way than anyone else?
Microbius, I encourage you to learn more about the PicturEngine platform, dig a little deeper. As stated in my earlier post on this thread: Buyers also demand good prices. There is only one way to get the best price on ANY good or service, and that is to cut out or drastically reduce the distance from the producer to the buyer. We DO NOT compare prices, instead we send the buyer to the base agency (where the image was uploaded first) or directly to the photographer (if they are on the PicturEngine platform) to get the best possible price.
How does sending the buyer directly to you (allowing you to keep 100% of the sale) lower prices? You can choose to lower your price and still make more, or you can price the same as your agency and make 100% of your sale, entirely your choice. Buyers are happy knowing they are buying directly from the source, which usually means they are getting the best price and photographers are happy keeping 100% of the sale. Check out our FAQs: http://support.picturengine.com/Does PicturEngine compare prices? http://j.mp/J31IHD Am I competing with my agencies? http://j.mp/IMFXQhHope that is helpful, JB Here is a GREAT article I found recently for this group to read. http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/28/stranded-vessels/
60
« on: August 03, 2012, 11:03 »
Sean,
I found this thread to have the right combination of ideas and direction of thought for me to weigh in and share my input and experience. I am not trying to sound like an advertisement, sorry if it seemed that way. All of you will benefit from what I have built, regardless of your direct participation, so think of it as an announcement.
I think a coop (or any form of collectively taking responsibility for our own destiny) is a great idea, moving us in a positive do something about it direction. This is vital for our long term survival. Lets face it, we are collectively, very competitive. We are all seeking sales from a small pool of image buyers, for our sometimes unique, and more often very similar work. Helping one another is not by nature our common goal, however given the current circumstances, working together is our only viable option.
For years, I have listened to photographers complain about needing to make more money for their efforts, about continued lower prices, and even lower commissions, yet doing little about it. Its time that we all recognize that we are better off working together as a group of image producers, instead of bumping our heads together, complaining about low sales and lower commissions. Lets remember, photographers fuel this industry.
Best,
JB
Action expresses priorities. ― Mahatma Gandhi
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« on: August 02, 2012, 12:34 »
Hi All,
If theres a question I have not sufficiently answered, please ask it again. I dont answer rhetorical questions and I havent the time to answer questions that Ive already answered, or ones easily found within our FAQ support center.
Thanks for your support!
JB
63
« on: August 02, 2012, 12:30 »
@ Sharpshot
If theres a question I have not sufficiently answered, please ask it again. I dont answer rhetorical questions and I havent the time to answer questions that Ive already answered, or ones easily found within our FAQ support center.
Best,
JB
64
« on: August 01, 2012, 14:38 »
The biggest problem facing any agency/coop is getting and keeping qualified image buyers. Advertising for an agency is very, very expensive. I know, I have two agencies and have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get and keep image buyers coming back. To be successful, you must draw users in and keep them coming back EVERY TIME. EVERY advertising dollar must be used effectively, and you must have something for everyone. Niche or specialty agencies waste a LOT of money on advertising to those who only need or use them part of the time. We asked our pool of over 40,000 ACTIVE image buyers from our current traditional agencies, What do you want in a stock photo agency? ...and, What would be your perfect solution to search, find, and license images? OVER 16,000 active art buyers returned surveys, several thousand more emailed with answers and ideas on how to make finding images better, easier, faster. Survey results were gathered via email, mail, web after sale, and by phone over a three year period. We compiled all of this information, assembled a dream team of developers and built the platform to bring this industry up to date. Many of you know of our new platform PicturEngine, and some of you are already using it (congrats, you are ahead of the curve!). Our NUMBER ONE PRIORITY is being the place where buyers come FIRST EVERY TIME, drawing in ALL image buyers by providing them what they want and cannot get ANYWHERE else! Image buyers tell us that the same images are at every site and asked that we provide a search that consolidates the industry, removing all of the duplicates and stacking sims to create one clean, clutter-free, complete and unique industry-wide search. We did! Our search includes over 300 million images from the top agencies. Once duplicates are removed, our results include over 180.2 million images. Our visual sim stacking engine will reduce clutter even further once enabled. The full search and features will be enabled when we leave Beta. Buyers also asked that we provide them tools to collaborate and work with one another, so we gave them not only lightboxes, but a collaborative workspace where they can arrange, sort, rank, notate, communicate and share in real time with colleagues, images from across the whole industry of agencies and photographers. The first stock photo industry-wide collaboration tool. Buyers also demand good prices. There is only one way to get the best price on ANY good or service, and that is to cut out or drastically reduce the distance from the producer to the buyer. We DO NOT compare prices, instead we send the buyer to the base agency (where the image was uploaded first) or directly to the photographer (if they are on the PicturEngine platform) to get the best possible price. After establishing a platform that can attract and retain image buyers, providing them what they want and the tools they need and cannot live without, you will need to focus on the company, corporate infrastructure, photographer and image management, storage, security and distribution, corporate branding, advertising, sales, billing, servers, web development and infrastructure, legal, research and development (to keep you ahead of the curve), you know, the basics... I have done all of this. Offering the platform for a low, flat subscription fee to cover all of the base expenses upfront, photographers pay for their individual storage needs and any bells and whistles they choose to add onto the platform, and KEEP 100% of sales/licenses. PicturEngine is built and coming out of open Photographer Beta soon. If you are currently participating in our open Photographer Beta, speak up! Let everyone know what you think. If you have a question or problem, send it to support, well resolve it. We are in Beta to make the best platform possible for our industry. The more input we receive, the better platform we can build. If you registered for our Advertising Only account section, you will be happy to know that production will start on your section very soon, this week in fact, and you will soon see your images beginning to show up within your account and in our search. We will not start billing our Advertising Only contributors until we are ready to advertise the platform and enable the full search. I invite comments and constructive criticism. I don't have a ton of time to spend answering questions, so if you can review our support center first, that is appreciated. http://support.picturengine.comhttp://www.picturengine.com/ (NOTE: The full search is currently disabled until we launch. We are in Beta.) More later, my day is pretty full. Best, JB
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« on: May 31, 2012, 22:34 »
Hi everyone using Ktools,
We are talking with Ktools and asking them to build a data exporter for the PicturEngine platform. If you are using Ktools, please send them an email letting them know you are interested in this plugin and to please accelerate the development process. This will allow us to easily add Ktools to our Advertising Only platform.
Best,
JB
66
« on: May 31, 2012, 22:29 »
Buyers most often complain that "the same images are at all of the agencies." Now, we all know that's not possible, as some agencies are exclusive, BUT the client is always right and their perception is just as real as the facts. They see the same (or very similar) images everywhere so that's the first problem we solved.
So if you're solving the 'very similar' issue, how are you going to decide whose 'isolated red apple against white' (gazillions within each and between all the agencies) is going to be featured?
Hi Sue, The search order is determined by the image buyers interactions with their search and results. Just like traditional search engines (NOT photo agencies), we pay special attention to the way users interact with our search and results. Some traditional photo agencies sort results by various means giving extra weight to such things as image age, amount of clicks or previews, number of downloads or purchases; while other agencies rely solely on keywords, captions etc. PicturEngine takes everything into consideration. We have learned from the search giants like Google, that not all users searching our platform are the same. Some are very simple and to the point and rarely stray off course, while others start a search with a general concept and end up purchasing something entirely different, therefore all of these factors and more are considered when producing our search results. For some, searching for images is a journey and for others it is a destination, therefore one search cannot fit all as it currently does in the traditional stock photo world. The PicturEngine search includes, but is not limited to, traditional embedded metadata (captions, keywords, etc), visual comparisons / components / concepts, color, image size and orientation, direct and passive user input, and ranking (plus a lot more). I am not here to give away the secrets of providing a great search, but I will say that it is not easy and it took years of testing and trials to develop, and we are always making improvements. For PicturEngine, search is not just a term, but a journey and destination in one. We are dealing with very creative minds and often times a project ends before it begins with a simple discovery search. For instance, using your example, a client may say to a creative (art buyer) that they want an 'isolated red apple against white' and that may truly be where the journey begins, but often times, as you so delicately pointed out, there are gazillions of these images at agencies. It is our job as a search engine (NOT an agency) to minimize the clutter and duplication and focus on the uniqueness and separateness of those images that are in fact different and not focus so much on those that are the same. We do utilize sim matching technology and photographers images that are unfortunately uploaded to multiple agencies are consolidated and only shown once. We also consolidate images from the same photographer that are very near sims (from the same shoot, etc.), by stacking the results in groups (a simple hover over the stack unstacks them to display to the user), thus giving the one on the journey, the creative, an uncluttered view of the world of stock photography. PicturEngine is unique and will fast become the place to search for stock photography. Best, JB
67
« on: May 30, 2012, 10:55 »
Justin pretty impressive actually, thanks for showing us more PE, when do you think it will launch? what will be the price after? the 40$ starts in which month? where do we upload? thanks again for all your effort
luissantos84 Please check out the FAQs http://support.picturengine.com/ : http://j.mp/HDEl6s - When will the site be "live?" http://j.mp/I4XfUk - When does my 1 year subscription begin? http://j.mp/A5DYQ2 - where do we upload? I think I am caught up on questions, please let me know if I have missed any. Please check the FAQs first  Best, JB
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« on: May 30, 2012, 10:41 »
Justin, thank you again for your thorough answers to our questions. I, for one, will be signing up for the advertising plan. Hopefully it will return much more than the nominal $120 fee over the next year.
ETA: Okay, I'm confused. The only "platforms" listed are photoshelter, stockpipeline, licensestream, rightspro, and photodeck. Don't you have functionality to sign up with my own, self-hosted site? (Ktools)
Lisa, Correct, if you have your own custom site or platform, currently not listed as one of our supported platforms, you will need to go the agency route (register as an agency) and we will provide an estimate for making a data importer for your site. We wont know the cost until we look at your site and its database, structure, etc. We cover the cost for the major platforms initial implementations because we can distribute the up front cost over many users (we had more than 10 users per platform ask to be included on the ones currently listed). If you know of more users with Ktools (10+), please ask them to join you when registering. This will bring your costs down and we will include your platform in our Advertising Only plan. Best, JB
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« on: May 30, 2012, 10:40 »
Justin, thanks for answering some of our questions, but I feel that you still haven't answered my main question, which is what do I get for my $40? Presumably, you would be hosting my images on your site, but I would like a clear answer on that. Do you have FTP?
Would I need to categorise? Just knowing a bit more would be helpful. I think this is a great idea and would love to be involved from the beginning, but I'm a cautious person. If I could pay monthly, I'd be much keener to join than if I had to pay $480 up front. Is that a possibility?
Hi Equus, All of these questions are answered in our interactive FAQ section, support.picturengine.com I will attach some links below for your reference. what do I get for my $40? http://j.mp/zJkWt4 - What do you get? http://j.mp/HMtFAv - Will you help me keyword? http://j.mp/Az3MdA - Can I set my own pricing? Presumably, you would be hosting my images on your site, but I would like a clear answer on that. Do you have FTP? http://j.mp/A5DYQ2 - Image storage? http://j.mp/H7ifvr - How do I upload images? http://j.mp/HvVD40 - What size photos do I need to upload? If I could pay monthly, I'd be much keener to join than if I had to pay $480 up front. Is that a possibility? Absolutely, after the photographer beta, you will have the option to spread out the payments, but at a higher overall cost (annual payments will be discounted). Our beta photographers are receiving the best deal we will ever offer. Best, JB
70
« on: May 30, 2012, 10:36 »
It would be better of instead of picture engine linking to the site where the image is uploaded to first that it was linked to a site that you could nominate the site that you want to be displayed. i.e the one that gives you the most money per sale (or % if you want to direct your sales that way)
(how does linking to the "first site" work anyway if I upload to all sites on the same day, first site to approve, first to index ?)
Qwerty, That is a good idea. I see that becoming an option for the Advertising Only subscription. You could choose an agency to which you want us to direct buyers, however any agency you choose will still take a commission, whereas we do not take any commission and only charge a flat fee. Note to others on how we choose where to send the buyers: We all know the current system of searching for images is flawed and broken. Buyers have told us (via 16,000+ returned surveys) that on average they search 12 agencies to find a single image to use for a project. They need to be thorough to make sure they find the best image for the job, so they first try to search a base set of agencies to make sure they see everything. Buyers most often complain that "the same images are at all of the agencies." Now, we all know that's not possible, as some agencies are exclusive, BUT the client is always right and their perception is just as real as the facts. They see the same (or very similar) images everywhere so that's the first problem we solved. With that said, we set out to eliminate the "duplication factor. You should know first, PicturEngine does NOT compare prices. If the SAME image is unfortunately located at 10 different agencies, we only give the buyer 1 choice. To make the decision on which images to send the buyer, we attempt to discern where the image was uploaded FIRST and serve that location to the buyer. If the image was uploaded the same day to multiple agencies, then we use a random calculation to choose the winner. We make this determination when image records enter our database, not within our search results as the user is searching, which speeds the searching process. The only exception is, when the seller is one of our PicturEngine photographers and has listed the exact same image in his/her PicturEngine account. In this case, we believe that both the buyer and the seller are benefitting by directing the buyer directly to the PicturEngine seller on PicturEngine, as we take no commission. We do take care of our own in this case. I'm not saying there is any bias in the search, I am ONLY referring to duplicates at multiple agencies and when the exact same image is uploaded to our platform. Best, JB
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« on: May 29, 2012, 21:27 »
I just did a Google searching for keywords on my best selling area. It comes up with a number of my images in the first couple of pages. Interestingly they are all either photos in use or from 123rf or shutterstock. Maybe someone can explain why other agencies don't place as highly.
If the PicturEngine search provides customers with what they want quickly, based on some great best match algorithm that is superior to the search they can do on a site then some people will use it.
I can see that there are issue however with buyers who will be confronted with images at microstock prices, mid level prices and some at much higher. If I was on a budget (or cheap) I wouldn't want to wade through looking at images above my price range. Maybe this is aimed at the higher end of the market.
This site may be of great benefit to some contributors but I can't see it being worth $40+ per month for me at the moment.
I understand that $40 a month seems a little steep for an unproven site, but this is totally different from anything else we've had. We do a lot of complaining about the agencies squeezing the life out of contributors and now we have something new that could revolutionize the industry. For 100% commissions, I'm more than willing to pay $40 a month. Besides, aren't we paying each agency much more than $40 a month? If you make $200 a month at an agency that pays 20% commission, then you are, in essence, paying that agency $800 a month. And that's just one agency!
Danny, You make a great point! This is exactly what our photographer surveys have shown. PicturEngine is very affordable when you look at the numbers. You are already ahead of the curve! JB I will get to more of these tomorrow my time is limited.
72
« on: May 29, 2012, 16:01 »
So if someone buys a file we have with an agency, but we haven't opted to pay them anything, they get nothing?
Hi ShadySue, You are correct. Just like Google, PicturEngine has options for both buyer and seller. We use the same (or very similar) business model: 1. You can search for free on Google and PicturEngine, and when you login to the search on Google and PicturEngine, your search results are tailored to your searching preferences, the more you search the better your results become. 2. Just like Google, if you have an established company (an agency over a million images), you will show up in the organic results and pay nothing. 3. If you are a smaller agency (under a million images) or a photographer with a sales platform, you can pay for Advertising Only and be included alongside the organic results. Unlike Google, your results are mixed in and not posted on the side, PicturEngine has NO paid placement. Your images are ranked just like all of the others in the organic results. 4. Similar to selling on Amazon or using the Google cart, you can opt to use our sales and distribution platform to skip the steps of making and maintaining your own sales platform. Our sales and distribution platform has many options to help you get your images online and selling fast. We are not reinventing the wheel here. You can look around and see other industries are very successful with this model. Best, JB
73
« on: May 29, 2012, 15:57 »
Hello Justin
I tried to sign up for the advertising only but the platform Smugmug I use is not available to choose from. How should I proceed?
Cheers
MicrostockExp, Please email photographer_relations at PicturEngine dot com with the suggestion of adding Smugmug. If enough people on the platform want to be included, we will add it to the Advertising Only options.
74
« on: May 29, 2012, 14:17 »
Here's another question for Justin. How do you feel about Pinterest? I hope you won't be adding a button under each image.
Hi grafix04, I think Pinterest still needs some work before it has applications in our industry. JB
75
« on: May 29, 2012, 14:12 »
Hi Lisa, Please find your answers in bold below. Justin, thanks a lot for answering my questions above. This all sounds quite promising. I just have a couple more questions before making a final decision:
If you are representing agencies, as well as artists, do you delete the duplicates from the agencies when an artist signs up with their own site? If I am paying to have my images searchable on the site, I don't want buyers to be finding and buying my images from the agencies instead.
We use a visual comparison algorithm to identify when you upload an image that is also located at an agency (other non visual considerations are also taken into account to verify the match). Once confirmed that you are the originating photographer, we remove the image from agency record in the active search and direct the end user directly to your image. Duplicate images was the biggest complaint we received from image buyers during our market research, and it is fundamental to what makes PicturEngine unique. Also, if I were to sign up for the advertising function, at $10/month, but a year from now discover that you have brought in enough sales to justify upgrading to the $40/month account, would that rate still be locked in, or would I have to pay whatever the going rate is for the plan at that time?
We are offering the beta discount for those helping with and participating in our beta. The Advertising Only subscription does not really do anything to help with the beta. You supply a link to your platform and we pull the images, that's it. The Advertising Only subscription is very simple (and affordable).
If you had a RM subscription and participated in the beta, then wanted to up upgrade to a RM/RF subscription we could definitely extend the beta price down the road, but not with the Advertising Only subscription.Lastly, the concern I have is that if you are representing agencies, this might conflict with your representation of artists. Agencies certainly have deep pockets and can pay more for premium placement, if you should decide to offer that type of service.
You cannot pay to gain a higher ranking in the PicturEngine search, period. There is NO premium/paid placement. These are my core values and the values of the platform I built. Image buyers will NOT use the platform if it has a biased search.Stay ahead of the curve, JB
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