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Messages - Shelma1

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2651
General Stock Discussion / Re: Getty's new "Lean In" collection
« on: February 10, 2014, 13:53 »
As a few people have commented on the Times' website, it's nice to see she's concentrating on the really big issues.  ::)

2652

Just wanted to add that I had no part in the ruckus on the SY forum, so clearly there are others who must think and feel the same way. It apparently has disappeared, so no one will be able to read and verify for themselves. Well played.

No, I don't think anyone thinks and feels exactly the same way you do. A few of us (including me) had a disagreement about one small aspect of Symbiostock. We all still have Symbiostock sites. I'm still promoting all of us on Facebook. Stop by and give us a like.

https://www.facebook.com/SymbiostockPage

2653
I can see a little of both sides.

On the one hand, the linking SEO aspects of Symbiostock have been oversold a bit. So if you built a website using the Symbiostock theme and linked to a few people and expected sales to start cascading into your lap, you were probably disappointed. (In one case, incredibly, bitterly disappointed.)

On the other, I'll bet Cathy isn't on a board somewhere ripping apart the creator of her new WP theme, which I doubt has brought her any sales either.

A few people have been successful on Symbiostock. Those people have a few things in commonbut the main thing is that they all worked hard at getting traffic to their sites. They all went beyond building a site and uploading images and linking to ten people.

When I asked Leo what he did, he responded with a long list of all the work he'd done. Then he invited Dennis to share what he did to get traffic, which was different but also took serious work.

So Symbiostock is a great theme, it's a great way to build a site, you'll get some SEO benefits from linking. But you have to do more work than that if you want a decent number of sales. That's just reality.

2654
General - Top Sites / Re: How do you delete images from istock?
« on: February 05, 2014, 12:58 »
Funny, I just deactivated a file today and had to look up the thread where I asked for instructions. They make it very difficult to figure out.

2655
Shutterstock.com / Re: Reshuffle on shutter ?
« on: February 04, 2014, 14:40 »
And here is the crux.  How would a 38 image receive sales much more often than a 25 file?  When in actual buyer search experience the 25 files and new lower cost files are favored in the search. My best selling images no longer show up in the search AT ALL.  They have no way of competing for sales, nor will they ever be seen by buyers unless they visit the end 1/2 of my port sorted by most popular.

They need to give all uploaded images an equal chance at first. If you look at "most recent" files, there's no favoritism yet. It simply goes by date uploaded. If a file starts selling, they probably track how many sales in a set period of time. But that's all guesswork on my part.

2656
Shutterstock.com / Re: Reshuffle on shutter ?
« on: February 04, 2014, 13:31 »
I think it's great that Scott has taken the time to drop in here and explain things to us.

As someone with a tiny portfolio who has some images that frequently show up on page one, I can't fault their efforts. February was my worst month last year and this year I even had multiple sales over Superbowl weekend, so I'm cautiously optimistic about the latest shuffle. I'm in the .33 tier so not a .25 newbie and I don't think they are favoring the .25 cent folks. I think they are tweaking things to license as many images as possible and of course this is focused on the site as a whole and not targeted to any one contributor's portfolio. Given SS's track record, I really can't imagine that their efforts would deliberately target long-time .38 contributors to harm the value of their portfolios.

Obviously there has to be a way to get new photos seen or they would never sell, and any advantage given to new photos is going to mean that new photos by the .25 and .38 cent crowds are going to get equal billing, so more established portfolios won't completely dominate the searches.

I would guess they continually test algorithms that bring them the most moolah.

I'm sure they favor 25 images over 38 images *unless* the 38 images are downloaded so much more often they simply bring in more money overall, despite the difference in profit per download.

They also have to factor in how often an image brings in EDs, ODDs, etc.

In advertising we test stuff all the time. If a product is more expensive and gets fewer sales, but in the end brings in more profit than when it's priced lower, clients will go with the higher price.

2657
Shutterstock.com / Re: Reshuffle on shutter ?
« on: February 04, 2014, 11:34 »
Quote
The issue is the "popular" search. Not who is who. Thats a TV program. Anyhow Les is right. The popular, is not even remotely close to files being popular and how do they asses popular anyway?  by downloads or views?

The Popular as implemented now has nothing to do with views or downloads. Well, maybe a little bit if these are new files.
If they are old files even with thousands of downloads, SS tries to push them out of sight. Maybe they are well meaning, but totally misguided and dishonest with their buyers. The designation as popular is misleading and deceptive. And very sad that they can't even find a proper name for it.

I can understand they they are trying to force the new files to the surface, but that order should never be called popular.
Popular means most downloaded.

I have to agree with that. I can see how they add views to that equation, but most popular shouldnt be based on how quickly a file gets their first downloads or whatever fancy algorithm they come up with. My ultimate best seller is no longer my ultimate best selling image. Its dying, and SS killed it. Scott said, tests that generate the most downloads are pushed live, meaning more royalties, but that in my opinion is a partial fallacy. Yes it means more royalties, overall, not in my pocket. Unfortunately my bottom line is not important to SS test results. The SS RPD is though.

All they need to do is rename the tab most popular to Currently Hot and add another tab called Downloads, next to the existing Relevant and New tabs and its all sorted.

Well, now that I'm part of their test audience, I get to see their algorithm machinations in action. It's weird. On my laptop if I search a certain category where a couple of my images are on the rise, they appear near the top of the first page in results. On my iPad they appear on page 2 (which isn't really a second page any more, just a thin line separating it from "page 1").

Of course, I like the first algorithm better, but the folks with the "old" most popular files undoubtedly would prefer the second.

Shutterstock prefers whichever one brings them the most sales.

2658
General Stock Discussion / Re: What is your most selling image?
« on: February 02, 2014, 19:10 »
My #1 seller is a file I almost didn't upload because I didn't think it was worth the time. You never know.

2659
iStockPhoto.com / Re: No Thumbnail Displays When Uploading
« on: February 01, 2014, 21:42 »
I know. But I usually upload to a few sites at a time, so I can't remember what image I uploaded since the thumbnail doesn't show up. Sent an email to support, no response.

2660
Shutterstock.com / Re: S J Locke Uploading to Shutterstock
« on: February 01, 2014, 11:04 »
Yup, if you reach your payout amount Shutterstock pays you automatically. I don't recall ever getting an email about it, but I could be wrong.

If you go to your contributor page and click on "earnings" at the upper left, you can see payments, earnings summary, tax center, etc.

2661
I care. I'm waiting for them to make it possible to upload fewer than 1,000 vectors at a time.

2662
Shutterstock.com / Re: Reshuffle on shutter ?
« on: January 31, 2014, 09:08 »
Hi all,

A quick note on how we do things: at any given time, we're running a number of tests.  Those tests are typically targeted at a small percentage of the overall population.  If a test wins (for example, if it drives more downloads and customers are more successful in finding what they're looking for), then it is released to the broader audience and the performance is monitored. 

Tests can include changes to the user experience or the relevancy of search results. If you're seeing changes, it's possible that you're seeing a test that is targeted at a small audience, or that you're seeing the results of a test that won.  These tests are thoughtfully conducted and changes are never rolled out broadly without careful analysis.  For contributors, this might seem confusing in isolation, but it ultimately results in more successful customers, who then generate more downloads and more royalties.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Cool. I'm part of the test audience. That's a switch for me.  ;)

2663
Shutterstock.com / Re: Reshuffle on shutter ?
« on: January 31, 2014, 07:20 »
They have an entirely new search result on mobile, at least. On my iPad I now see many more images, smaller and closer together, with continual scrolling and pages separated by a thin line. Looks more like google results. And things do seen reshuffled a bit. Plus, to switch from most popular (the default) you have to click on the small word "options" over to the top right.

Also, strongly vertical images are favored in the size they show up.

They must have been conducting a lot of behavioral research to make such a big change.

2664
Shutterstock.com / Re: S J Locke Uploading to Shutterstock
« on: January 30, 2014, 18:16 »
It's a good day to be a vector artist.  ;)
Sean produces vectors and various other media.

Darn!

2665
Shutterstock.com / Re: S J Locke Uploading to Shutterstock
« on: January 30, 2014, 17:59 »
It's a good day to be a vector artist.  ;)

2666
iStockPhoto.com / Re: PP started for December - finally!
« on: January 30, 2014, 07:33 »
My month was just okay, which I figured would happen with the Christmas dropoff. However, I also have two exceptional days...18 and 19. I didn't make that many more sales those days, but my earnings were much higher.

And now I'm back to wondering if those two days are wrong or if the other 29 are purposely under-reported.

2667
Yes, please...I posted a screenshot for you at the Symbiostock community board.

2668
Shutterstock.com / Re: How are sales going?- Shutterstock
« on: January 29, 2014, 07:36 »
January and December are the worst months of the year for most people, so don't judge your overall performance by those two months.

2669
Nope.. Extra work for no purpose.

2670
Off Topic / Re: Fired!
« on: January 28, 2014, 10:08 »
Ah, dating one of the dancers....that explains it. So he's at the performances anyway, shooting his girlfriend. Still, cr@ppy of him to take a paying job from you. The other dancers might start to get annoyed when they see 90% of his shots are of one dancer in particular. ;)

2671
In all fairness, your posts were probably wiped accidentally when there was a spam issue with the boards and they were just trying to stem the tide of obnoxious spam posts. They had to delete a lot of users and we all had to re-register.

Right now I'm felling pretty neutral about Symbiostock. I've decided to stop being so active and "relax" instead, as Cidepix has suggested.

2672
What about those of us who've already helped??????

2673
Shutterstock's market share may be growing, but is the market itself growing? If not, then yeah, the slice of pie gets smaller for each of us...unless we can find a way to grow our own market share, which means an even smaller slice for others.

2674
Common sense tells me to quit when working on my illustrations no longer generates enough income to justify the hours I spend on it.

Last year I got a 2% raise at my "real" job and a 100% raise in microstock. This year I hope to get a 50% raise in microstock. My "raise" as a percentage of my microstock earnings will decrease each year, but it'll take several years before it slows to what I get in the "real world." That is, if things continue as they have been. But who knows? With the increased competition it may plummet.

2675
iStockPhoto.com / Re: No Thumbnail Displays When Uploading
« on: January 25, 2014, 13:00 »
I'm having the same issue. Haven't been able to upload there since last night.

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