|
MicrostockGroup Sponsors
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - Lee Torrens
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 10 11 12 ... 15
151
« on: January 30, 2009, 16:16 »
My guess is they use search terms.
We can only guess. They make their decisions based on a mountain of data about buyer behavior on their site. They're not stupid, despite how it may seem from the outside at times. If they choose to retain categories, chances are pretty good that it's because they help sell more images. New agencies that "listen to photographers" and don't use categories may not be listening to the most appropriate group.
152
« on: January 24, 2009, 15:10 »
Overall this industry will probably work best for everyone once price points match the amount of effort and expense put into creating the work.
I don't expect that will ever happen. There's now too many photographers and no barriers to entry. There will always be a photographer willing to do more for less, whether because it's worthwhile in their country, because they're just getting started, or because they're doing it for fun. Jim Pickerell wrote a post on the relationship of price and production costs recently (subscription required: http://www.selling-stock.com/?p=3756) and I'm sure he won't mind me paraphrasing his main reasons why they will never be related: 1. Buyers make buying decisions based on the value of the image to them; 2. The value to a buyer is completely unrelated to the production costs; and 3. Buyers' perception of value is affected by other choices (competition). (he also qualifies that this relates only to stock, not assignment photography) What do you think?
153
« on: January 22, 2009, 16:22 »
Yuri is in. Rahul, it'll be great to have you there too. Especially with your beer fund contribution. Wait, you haven't started charging for LookStat yet! Don't even think about taking money from the capital needed for Casey to develop!  Another mutual friend and MSG regular, John Griffin, will be at the event too. I'll ping him now. Who else? And Rahul, thanks for the kind words. It's been extremely consuming over the past few months so the back pats will be well received.
154
« on: January 21, 2009, 19:22 »
155
« on: January 21, 2009, 15:54 »
If we're getting a group together we better meet on the Monday night - between the two conference days. I know some people are arriving just before the start and others are leaving right after it finishes.
So let's meet on Monday at 6pm. The conference program finishes at 4:30pm and there's a networking function that I (and hopefully others) will be attending which runs until 5:30pm. If we meet in the foyer of the Marriott Hotel (literally adjacent to the convention center and will be easy access after hours) then we can decide where to go from there.
Andres is in and I let Yuri know the details. Leaf and Sean, can you make this time? Who else will be there?
156
« on: January 21, 2009, 12:19 »
The only thing with logo - in metric conversions M is mega, mega, not micro 
Micro is
Lef, you're welcome to use my "MegaDiaries" avatar! I love the idea, original and clever, and it will certainly be a talking point. And it'll be like sharing a little version of your community every time you give one out.  Make sure the printer can get them done in time. Not long to go now! I have the under-sized Moo cards with a selection of photos on the back. I thought they were famous, but everyone asks about them - making them a real talking point. I think your idea will do the same but without the compromise of non-standard size. Smart move! I'm really looking forward to meeting you and chatting it up at the conference.
157
« on: January 15, 2009, 10:06 »
As Sean says, it doesn't make sense for them to cooperate in this way. They're competitors with each other and there's no financial or business benefit to do so. They're less interested in small portfolios than the big ones. An intermediary could do it. If they represented the portfolios of many contributors with small portfolios they could take payout reguarly and distribute the revenue for each contributors' combined earnings across agencies. But then the intermediary would need to cover costs, which means taking a cut, which isn't in the interests of small contributors. On automation, the agencies have PayPal MassPay. I don't have personal experience with it, but if it's anything like bank payroll systems, the agency just sends a secure file to PayPal listing all the accounts and amounts to pay and they're processed in batches. Can you imagine having to manually pay 60,000 contributors, or even the portion that regularly make payout? I have little doubt agencies use the unpaid royalties that acrue, even if just to generate or offset interest payments. This means more money for the agency, which for us is a good thing if they reinvest it in marketing, but indifferent if they take it out as profit. So don't begrudge them for doing it - at least most agencies - as it can work in our favour. The minimum payout threshhold makes sense for other reasons too. It's the micropayment concept. They don't process a credit card transaction for $1 every time someone wants to buy a photo. The transactions costs are prohibitively high for that. So they make a minimum parcel of ~$10 so the transaction is worthwhile for them. It's the same on the contributor side. Rather than sending you a PayPal payment every time you earn a dollar or less in commission, they batch the payment. I liked the LuckyOliver system where on one day of the year you could cashout your earnings regardless of the amount. That was a generous idea. But Araminta is spot on. Agencies are there to sell photos, so if you're not reaching payout, you're not selling photos. I don't blame agencies for not being interested in such trivial problems for contributors with small or slow selling portfolios. we were all in that position once and I agree with Araminta that it's a better use of your time to sell more photos than concern yourself with what agencies are doing with your $16.63.
158
« on: January 14, 2009, 09:35 »
Quick update: Fotolia's Oleg Tscheltzoff has just been added to the conference program.
159
« on: January 11, 2009, 10:35 »
Hi Lee,
You have a 'g' instead of an 'e' in Kelly Kline's URL...just thought I mentioned it so you can correct it.
Kind regards
S
Corrected. Thankyou!
160
« on: January 10, 2009, 09:05 »
thanks for starting the thread Lee.
Yeah, it seems like it is going to be a great time with tons of super info. I am looking forward to it.
Most people are probably staying at the hotel the conferance is in. I think the discount for the conferance hotel is over now (it lasted until January 5th i think) but rooms are surely still available. I am staying in a hotel a few blocks away though that was half the price.... travelling on a budget you know I may make a living from microstock, but I am not quite to the level of my co-panel members
I forget the name of it now, but i can find out if anyone wants to check it out as another option.
The Convention Center is adjacent to the Marriott, which is where the hotel where discount was arranged. There are a lot of people from the photo track staying there.
161
« on: January 09, 2009, 12:09 »
congrats to all involved. And Lee, once you get that vid out to us, our "fearless" leader will no longer also be our "faceless" leader .at least to me, as I've written to leaf several times, ( I used to live in his hometown), but never seen his self-portrait)
Faceless is he? Not any longer:  Sorry Tyler, couldn't resist.
162
« on: January 09, 2009, 10:10 »
Will they be making a video? Alamy video their annual meeting and I have watched the last 2. Makes more sense than all of us going to San Jose.
It makes sense for Alamy who make money selling photos. For a conference which makes money on ticket sales, it doesn't make much sense. Unless they sold the videos, but then you wouldn't get to ask questions. I haven't heard any plans to film the sessions, but I'll find out. At minimum, I'll ensure you all get a photo of Leaf in action!
163
« on: January 09, 2009, 07:28 »
You may not yet be aware, but our fearless leader of Microstock Group, Tyler Olsen aka Leaf will be appearing at the User Generated Content Conference and Expo (UGCX) this February in San Jose. Not just once, but TWICE! Leaf is on a panel titled Servicing the Crowd: Business Opportunities around UGC where he'll discuss his experience creating and operating a business servicing a UGC market (microstock) - effectively representing all forums that cover UGC businesses. Not only has he built up an amazing resource which everybody in the industry watches (trust me, they ALL do!), but he's also created a real community - not just a few people swapping tips, but a real community where people know each other, help each other, throw the occasional insult, but generally contribute for the benefit of the community. Leaf's second panel is Making a living in Microstock which features microstockers successful enough to live on their microstock earnings. They'll discuss and answer questions on how they've achieved that success and how others can do the same. You may also recognise many others participating in the conference. ...alphabetically: Yuri Arcurs - "the world's top selling microstock photographer"... enough said Ellen Boughn - industry consultant and Dreamstime's Director of Content (and superstar blogger!) Kelly Cline - the 'big time' food photographer from iStockphoto's exclusive ranks Fred Durham - founder and CEO of CafePress - I know some people here sell photos on CafePress John Griffin - founder and CEO of Cutcaster, and avid user of Microstock Group Jack Hollingsworth - guru traditional stock photographer who's giving a solo session on "Stock 2.0"! Jeffrey Kalmikoff - the Threadless guy!... enough said Bruce Livingstone - founder and CEO of the microstock industry. Just kidding... sort of. iStockphoto founder & CEO Rahul Pathak - founder and CEO of LookStat, the new microstock earnings tracking and analysis website Andres Rodriguez - the outspoken top microstocker, aka "the nicest guy in microstock" Yuval Tal - CEO of Payoneer, the Mastercard debit card microstock payout facility Kelly Thompson - iStockphoto COO and guru architect of all things good at iStock James West - co-founder and CEO of Alamy. Yes, ALAMY is there! Bruce Livingstone & Kelly Thompson are doing a tag-team keynote, and Fred Durham is doing one too. Those familiar with the entrepreneurial field will be interested to know that Guy Kawasaki is also keynoting, and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark's keynote makes it four! Impressive list, don't you think? The conference runs February 9 - 10, is at the San Jose Convention Center, in San Jose, California, USA. With a lineup like that, it's worth traveling to be there. You can get more details about the conference itself at the website, www.ugcxevent.comEntry to the conference isn't cheap for most of us, but you can use Leaf's discount code from the ad at the top of the page (premium members will need to log out to see the ad). For details on the photography track (where all the above speakers are participating) see this page: http://www.ugcxevent.com/phototrack.htmlFor a list of all speakers and their bios, see this one: http://www.ugcxevent.com/speakers.htmlJust to be clear, I'm promoting this event here because I think it's awesome and very relevant to us as microstockers. I'm conference co-chair and will be moderating the 'Making a Living in Microstock' session, but there's no financial benefit for me (or leaf) if you buy a ticket. However, it would be great for us to share it with you. I look forward to reading your responses and I hope I will meet many of you there. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Just post below, or feel free to PM me or contact my via my site. -Lee edit to correct link address
164
« on: November 22, 2008, 16:10 »
...Plus, in my experience, with only a few exceptions, both the top contributors and agency CEOs are very open and approachable as Ichiro17's experience below demonstrates. Try it sometime. The thing between us and the information that can make the biggest difference is our resistance to picking up the phone or writing an email.
lee, unless i misread, don't you mean AVAVA, rather than Ichiro17? it was AVAVA who called...
and was responding to Ichiro17.
Correct! My mistake. I also said "below" when the referenced post actually appears 'above'. You'd think I'd have learned that by now!
165
« on: November 22, 2008, 15:41 »
He has become a celebrity in this industry, and attracts the same kind of interest that keeps people following the actions of Brangelina, TomKat, etc
Oh yeah! Let's have some fun. "Yuri couch jumping incident" "Cecilie seen without makeup" "Yuri punches paparazzi (camera not harmed)" "Yuri caught shooting with Nikon!!!"
166
« on: November 22, 2008, 14:27 »
I have some observations which I think can add to this discussion.
First, the agencies 'get it' a lot more than we realise. I was lucky enough to hear Getty, Corbis, Jupiter and Masterfile senior executives answer questions about the industry last month, and I was amazed at how well informed they were about what it happening in the industry and how much I, and many others here at MSG, underestimate the sophistication of their decision making. It really does look from the outside like they're pretty stupid sometimes, otherwise we wouldn't all have this perception, but there are many factors that influence their actions and inactions which we don't see. They get it, trust me.
A new market comes with new rules. We (microstock photographers) opened up the market. In doing so, we took power away from individuals and organised groups. An industry association like SAA works in the traditional portion of the market because it's the old model (limited suppliers, individual contracts, relationship driven, etc). In this context there are many of us here in this forum who 'get it' a LOT less than these 'old school' traditionalist.
It's easy to confuse 'contributing to the community' with pure philanthropy. I have a blog with over 200 posts with the sole aim of helping microstock contributors, completely free for anyone to read. This is NOT an example of generosity, giving back, or philanthropy. I'm extremely happy that what I've created helps people for free, but I'm not doing it for that reason. I'm neither that generous nor that financially independent. It's safe to assume that the top contributors who are creating blogs and videos which help the contributor community have similar business motives. It doesn't mean that they are not generous individuals nor that they aren't happy that what they're doing helps other people. Ron is in fact extremely generous, from someone who knows him personally.
Finally, I'm constantly surprised at how connected the industry is. The top contributors speak directly with the CEOs of microstock agencies, in depth, and frequently. Some agencies approach their top contributors for opinions and insights when considering strategic decisions. I've actually seen information plugged in on one side of the industry pop out on the other side. Again, 'constantly surprised'. Plus, in my experience, with only a few exceptions, both the top contributors and agency CEOs are very open and approachable as Ichiro17's experience below demonstrates. Try it sometime. The thing between us and the information that can make the biggest difference is our resistance to picking up the phone or writing an email.
167
« on: November 02, 2008, 08:50 »
Hey Susan, for those of us unfamiliar with PMA, perhaps you could outline the benefits of attending. Their website doesn't do much to sell the event for me.
168
« on: November 02, 2008, 08:17 »
I picked up a D90 last week. I'm coming from the D70s so the jump in quality is OUTSTANDING! Indoor images are bright and lively where the D70s was dark and gloomy. The on-board flash doesn't cast the same lens shadow on the images (don't know how as it doesn't look to be any higher) and doesn't cast heavy shadows like the D70s. The LiveView works good though I can't see it being overly useful. The video is ok, but I've read there are some issues with focus when zooming and panning. Plus the audio isn't spectacular and there's no microphone socket.
Aside from the higher quality (and double the megapixels) the biggest help is the screen. On the D70s you could only zoom in to 200%. On the D90 you can go right in to check find focus. And the screen is about 3 times the size.
I'm sure there'll be lots more benefits as I get to know the camera better, but so far, I'm loving it. I'm very much looking forward to getting my first XL sales in micro!
169
« on: October 31, 2008, 10:25 »
I've met Rahul and found him to be a genuine bloke. We spoke in detail about his service and I'm excited about the developments he has planned for LookStat. I'll be using the service myself.
170
« on: October 28, 2008, 16:12 »
They've updated all parts of their website now with this message in plain text: October 28, 2008
To our valued Members and Partners:
We deeply regret to inform you that Digital Railroad (DRR) has shut down.
On October 15th we reported that the company had reduced its staff and was aggressively pursuing additional financing and/or a strategic partner. Unfortunately, those efforts were unsuccessful. Therefore Digital Railroad has been forced to close all operations.
Digital Railroad has attracted a loyal set of customers and partners, and we regret this unfortunate outcome. Without sufficient long-term financial support, the business had become unsustainable.
Thank you for allowing us to serve the photographic community these past few years.
All questions pertaining to claims should be addressed to:
Digital Railroad, Inc
c/o Diablo Management Group
1452 N. Vasco Road, #301
Livermore, CA 94551
Publicly stating that they needed funding and not getting it 'appears to be' another no-confidence vote for the traditional sector of the market. Who is going to provide DRR funding when JI sells for $96mil?
171
« on: October 17, 2008, 14:45 »
I had a sale last month. 2.50.
They've been relatively low-profile lately, but they're very responsive to email for me. I guess they're dealing with growing pains at the moment as the submissions mount up.
172
« on: October 15, 2008, 22:15 »
The 'go-to guy' cool...
I have a little plastering job i need doing, when do you think you could pop round?? 
I'm booked until December and I'm VERY expensive!
173
« on: October 10, 2008, 19:14 »
What if one will be in NY during, oh, I don't know, maybe the largest photography exhibition in the world, PhotoPlus Expo, which finishes on October 25, and they leave NY on, let's just say, October 26. Wouldn't that be a little frustrating? Might have to head down the street to B&H!
174
« on: October 10, 2008, 11:08 »
I still actually think lucky oliver was a good site - and if it was still around I would be uploading there. Just too bad the bottom fell out 
Totally. Market strategy can be as good as you like, but if you don't have investors with expectations that are in tune with the market, it won't save you.
175
« on: October 10, 2008, 11:05 »
Okay, I was going to edit that because it sounds a little too sarcastic.. but the site won't let me at the moment...
But Lee has almost become our go-to-guy. They (agencies) actually listen to him.
Now, instead of saying "I'll write a letter to the editor" we can say "I'll write a letter to Lee Torrens!"
Thanks Lorraine, that's good for the ego. The agencies 'listen' in the sense that they read it because they know everyone else in the industry reads it, but that's not the same as 'listening' to what I'm saying as though it means anything. I still just an average microstock contributor to them, the only difference is that I'm loud. But, I love the idea of being a 'go-to guy', so if you think my 'loudness' can do something for you or for us, I very much welcome those letters.
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 10 11 12 ... 15
|
Sponsors
Microstock Poll Results
Sponsors
|
Show Posts
