MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: Shelma1 on March 03, 2015, 10:48
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Video from Fast Company comparing Tumblr and SS office space:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3043037/officethrowdown-tumblr-versus-shutterstock (http://www.fastcompany.com/3043037/officethrowdown-tumblr-versus-shutterstock)
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That was a fun watch, both spaces are great buy I would have to go with tumblr
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Do you think robot Brian follows a guy named Dave around the office asking him, "What are you doing, Dave?". Because I would totally do that. I think I'd vote Tumblr too.
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Woow, I want that great work desk! :o
If SS pays me 50% instead 30% I could go for yoga and massage too... :'( No, I'm not jealous, I just get significantly less % than my middleman... Who was talking about a rise lately?
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Woow, I want that great work desk! :o
If SS pays me 50% instead 30% I could go for yoga and massage too... :'( No, I'm not jealous, I just get significantly less % than my middleman... Who was talking about a rise lately?
Agree.
They make a nice living from our work.
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Woow, I want that great work desk! :o
If SS pays me 50% instead 30% I could go for yoga and massage too... :'( No, I'm not jealous, I just get significantly less % than my middleman... Who was talking about a rise lately?
Love the adjustable desk. Would want it pulled up to a sofa, so I could use it as a coffee table for meetings and a work desk while being comfy.
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Tumblr won
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Woow, I want that great work desk! :o
If SS pays me 50% instead 30% I could go for yoga and massage too... :'( No, I'm not jealous, I just get significantly less % than my middleman... Who was talking about a rise lately?
Love the adjustable desk. Would want it pulled up to a sofa, so I could use it as a coffee table for meetings and a work desk while being comfy.
Trying to find out which one they are using, any ideas? I'm in need of one so I can get off my butt more often while doing long hours of editing. I know Ergotron makes good ones http://www.ergotron.com/Products/Workstations/StandUpDesks/tabid/803/language/nl-NL/Default.aspx (http://www.ergotron.com/Products/Workstations/StandUpDesks/tabid/803/language/nl-NL/Default.aspx) and tried the IKEA (electronic) in store which is not too bad either.
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I'm surprised it's not popular yet... Very weird.
Btw, my man just saw the film and can't understand that they have beer there! Lol :D
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at last, the reason why all these effing-up has been happening at ss headquarters ...
everyone slacking off at our expense. way to go goofballs!!!
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Pisses me off to watch that video. They need to share the wealth a little more with us. Let's all send messages to support to protest the unfair wages. >:( Better yet, all those contributors that live in NYC can do a picket line—maybe not so easy since they pay us so little.
I can't help but think about this forum post: http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new (http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new)
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Haha. Wow. Corporate greed and stupidity never ceases to amaze me. It's fascinating how large corporations expect us all to cheer and dance of joy when we see this, and how they get all surprised and shocked when we don't.
To make a vector sell at Shutterstock you have to spend many hours on it since the low quality stuff don't sell any longer (and even the high quality stuff seems to be buried amongst the millions of files today). So if I spend a day on vector and I want to earn 15 dollars an hour (which is pretty low for a freelance graphic designer...) it has to be downloaded 315 times. And there's no way to know if it will sell that much, or sell at all.
So I'm not applauding their massage room.
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Good lord - my first "office" was a tin hut on a building site where "downtime" was used to settle arguments over the sports pages, whose turn it was to make the tea and who could fart the loudest.
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This is simply frustrating to watch.
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Well if you like it so much, here you go: http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings (http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings)
And don't forget to write a review once you get in.
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I'm glad they have the space; it will feel comfortable and familiar to potential clients who work in the ad industry, where spaces like these are the norm.
But I find it a little sad, actually, that everyone's adopted the money-saving "open plan" concept, where you sit right next to someone at a long table and are expected to concentrate on your work despite the lack of space and privacy and the roar of the constant din around you.
When I started in advertising many moons ago, fresh out of college, I had a big window office in the Graybar building on Lexington Ave. Since then the spaces have gotten smaller and smaller and noisier and noisier. Glad to be in my own quiet window office today (AKA the dining room).
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Well if you like it so much, here you go: [url]http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings[/url] ([url]http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings[/url])
And don't forget to write a review once you get in.
Despite the frivolous vanity spending at shutterstock headquarters, moral seems to be in the dumpster.
http://tinyurl.com/m3qx85m (http://tinyurl.com/m3qx85m)
Lousy engineering environment
Former Employee - Software Engineer in New York, NY
I worked at Shutterstock full-time (more than 3 years)
Cons
Engineers/programmers: DO NOT work at Shutterstock to exercise your skills with modern web or backend development.
DO NOT work at Shutterstock to learn modern web or backend development skills.
You won't accomplish either. If you have a favorite framework at any level of the application stack, odds are good that its use is explicitly forbidden.
Doesn't Recommend
No opinion of CEO
“Staff do not care for you. ”
Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
I have been working at Shutterstock
Pros
Good experiences drowning in dissatisfaction with the staff.
Cons
Silly customer - hah hah !!!
Advice to Management - Customer care and respect.
Negative Outlook
“opacity, secrecy and arrogance ”
Very poor management- Culture of secrecy, opacity and total lack of communication. Old Good Top down methodology.
Request, emails, questions remain unanswered.
Doubtful promotion system, where friends and acquaintances rise very quick while others struggle.
H.R take employees for a commodity to be used and abused, and lied to.
Advice to Management
Success when it's too quick leads can lead to complete arrogance. This is exactly what happened to the executives and founder of this company.
Wake up and respect other people around including clients, users and employees..
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEO
Culture Is Changing Drastically
Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
I worked at Shutterstock full-time (more than 3 years)
Pros
Good compensation
Generous PTO time
Good work/life balance
Cons
Everyone is not treated equal. The culture is not what it used to be. Management (tech & product) lack in leadership, guidance, and people skills. It seems like people are viewed as "tools", and not human beings. There isn't much team building, instead, they create an atmosphere of competition among each other, which affects morale. Management does not provide much support with personal growth, which leads to uncertainty of your future. There is no transparency, and conversations are not straight forward.
Advice to Management
"Learn how to manage in ways that motivate, not demotivate."
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEO
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I understand that client meeting spaces have needs beyond that of regular offices, but in lots of places I worked (none of them in New York or the ad business to be fair) the offices for "everyone" were separated from the meeting spaces clients & customers were hosted in.
Showering benefits on the people who are making the business successful isn't a new or surprising thing, but I find it really hard to view Shutterstock staff as the ones behind the business's success, as if contributor images just weren't significant (and hearing the host talk about how great it was to see everyone's work on the walls doesn't cut it)
I find that video pretty hard to watch.
When you recall all the unfinished and half finished contributor tools and the absence of any new reward schemes for contributors, seeing all the money poured into making a great workplace is an unpleasant reminder that we just don't matter to them. In the case of contributors, SS's great success has resulted in taking us for granted.
As they're apparently loosing to Tumblr anyway, you wonder whether participating in this was such a great idea.
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I really didn't need to see that office nor this - SS Global Publicist Salary - 121K >:(
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Shutterstock-Global-Publicist-Salaries-E270840_D_KO13,29.htm (http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Shutterstock-Global-Publicist-Salaries-E270840_D_KO13,29.htm)
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This is simply frustrating to watch.
Well stated. Could be nauseating too.
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Pisses me off to watch that video. They need to share the wealth a little more with us. Let's all send messages to support to protest the unfair wages. >:( Better yet, all those contributors that live in NYC can do a picket line—maybe not so easy since they pay us so little.
I can't help but think about this forum post: [url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new[/url])
that's just it!!! we do not make enough this year to catch a bus to the next city in the boonies; never mind to NYC to join the picket line.
who was it that queen who when told the people are starving while she sits in her ivory tower said, "let em eat cake!!!"
i imagine them all at ss HQ saying the same thing when reading this thread.
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i imagine them all at ss HQ saying the same thing when reading this thread.
I don't think agencies read this forum, nor they care at all! :(
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I can't blame them entirely - just more companies suckered in by the Feng Shui nuts and workplace consultants selling them the nurtured employee concept. All tosh really and it costs a pretty penny to have these people come in and tell you your office is all wrong, wrong, wrong. The last office I worked in had air hockey and table football games, "breakout" areas, a free gymnasium and a discounted Starbucks on site. It gets old very quickly.
What most people (the ones I looked after anyway) really want is for everyone to be paid for what they do rather than what they say and to be reassured they will be looked after when times are tough.
I'm thinking about getting a turtle now though.
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Makes me feel like a minion working for cents whilst the Barons in the ivory tower drive round in their virtual Segway head machines.
I'd like to see the Istock office in comparison.
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Makes me feel like a minion working for cents whilst the Barons in the ivory tower drive round in their virtual Segway head machines.
I'd like to see the Istock office in comparison.
Me too...
But what worries me more is that Low Earners can afford 30,000 square feet of swanky new office in Soho. :o
"The New York-based company saw revenues of $19 million in 2014, up from $12 million in 2013, and has relocated to 30,000 square feet of swanky new office space in Manhattan’s posh SoHo neighborhood."
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/20/pond5-issues-80000-free-media-assets-with-the-launch-of-its-public-domain-project/ (http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/20/pond5-issues-80000-free-media-assets-with-the-launch-of-its-public-domain-project/)
It must be a fashion to possess big office which shows off your "success". :-X
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gbalex: opinion of this anonymous employee exactly corresponds to what i thought about latest version of SS as a company. What we see on contributor side are the consequences. The company aged but in not good manner and very very quickly
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Despite the frivolous vanity spending at shutterstock headquarters, moral seems to be in the dumpster.
It looked like most of the companies on there were in the 3 star range. I assume most employees have complaints about their company because working kind of sucks.
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For what it's worth, it's not about you and I anymore, it's about the shareholders... The company I work for is a multimillion dollar business and has roughly 3000 employees, and the owner refuses to go public for which I'm glad. He believes our product will and has allowed us to expand across the country without public funding. We even got raises when the economy was in the dumper. Wasn't much but was greatly appreciated. The bottom line is, if the product is good (as contributors we know our product is good) people will buy it. Just sayin'...
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I'd like to see the Istock office in comparison.
I did see the iStock Calgary office - in 2009 - no idea about Getty's Seattle offices though.
The owner of the LocalMotive building (iStock rented space there) had all sorts of rules about not taking pictures, so I didn't, but here's one from the glass company that worked on it:
(http://www.albertaglass.com/services/resizeae2f.jpg?img=upload/photos/localmotive1.jpg&w=700&h=450)
It was a funky-chic open plan space. Nothing luxurious.
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Pisses me off to watch that video. They need to share the wealth a little more with us. Let's all send messages to support to protest the unfair wages. >:( Better yet, all those contributors that live in NYC can do a picket line—maybe not so easy since they pay us so little.
I can't help but think about this forum post: [url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/i-think-we-need-a-well-deserved-raise-this-year/msg409569/?topicseen#new[/url])
that's just it!!! we do not make enough this year to catch a bus to the next city in the boonies; never mind to NYC to join the picket line.
who was it that queen who when told the people are starving while she sits in her ivory tower said, "let em eat cake!!!"
i imagine them all at ss HQ saying the same thing when reading this thread.
Marie Antoinette. Later beheaded by a guillotine during the French Revolution. Perhaps time for stock producers to storm the Bastille. Or maybe SS new offices compare better to Versailles.
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Getty Images, Chicago
55 E Monroe Street
17th fl, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60603
USA
Getty Images, Los Angeles
6300 Wilshire Blvd, 16th Floor
Los Angeles, CA
90048
Getty Images, New York
75 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
USA
Getty Images, Seattle
605 5th Ave South, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98104
USA
Pick one? :)
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dubiousquotes/a/antoinette.htm (http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dubiousquotes/a/antoinette.htm)
The Myth
Upon being informed that the citizens of France had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette , Queen-consort of Louis XVI of France, exclaimed "let them eat cake", or "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche".
The Truth
She almost certainly didn't utter the words; critics of the Queen claimed she had in order to make her look insensitive and undermine her position.
(not unlike the re-use here?)
I don't know why a company needs an entire floor of the Empire State Building, fancy design elements, massages, whatever else, to function. A gym, after hours health club, nice lunch room, I can see fringe benefits for better work environment. I'll stick with the rest who say, we paid for this...
This is simply frustrating to watch.
Well stated. Could be nauseating too.
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I don't know why a company needs an entire floor of the Empire State Building, fancy design elements, massages, whatever else, to function. A gym, after hours health club, nice lunch room, I can see fringe benefits for better work environment. I'll stick with the rest who say, we paid for this...
It's all PR and probably a way to attract super young millennial generation to work for peanuts, while offering candies, massage and ping-pong. ::)
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I'm not one to usually shy away from pointing out some of the excesses of the corporate world, but just to play devil's advocate for a second here...
When it comes to salaries, I don't know that any of us can say that $121k is excessive. We don't know that job, what it really entails, how much time that person puts in at the office. I would be willing to bet, however, that they put in more hours each week than 99% of the people on this forum do in the stock business, myself included.
Also keep in mind that some of these perks at SS HQ are designed to keep people in the office more and get more work out of them. Sure they're nice, but no company really provides this stuff out of the kindness of their hearts. Not saying that there isn't any good will intended by SS in providing perks, just that if you really think about each of them, you can easily see what the company has to gain by providing them.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, right? So that "free" lunch pretty much guarantees that you're taking a much shorter lunch break than if you left the building. So you're back at your desk sooner (or eating lunch right at your desk since you never left the office) and the company gets more time out of you.
Just saying...
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Up until its recent price dip, I have made more on SS as an investor than as a contributor. We work in a free market economy. If we want to work with SS our only control over what we make is volume and quality of submissions. They have a right to make money and spend it any way they like. they can pay as much or a little to us as the market will bear. There may come a time when it just doesn't work to be a stock contributor with SS or any other agency there are other options for making a living in the imaging space, we are all creative people, we will find them. I don't see any agency owing us anything. Just a thought from someone who has spent way too much time in the business world and not enough time behind a camera.
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... I don't see any agency owing us anything. ...
I don't think anyone claimed contributors were "owed" or entitled, but partnerships - especially those that last over time - are built on mutual interests, equity, honesty and transparency.
The notion of what the market will bear is rather empty unless you talk about over what period of time. You can temporarily hose your buyers, your workers or your suppliers, and that will often work for a while, especially when economic conditions aren't good for those putting up with the poor treatment.
Many successful businesses are the equivalent of the music industry's one hit wonder. A few last over the long haul and even fewer make profits, treat their employees well and are reasonable with their suppliers. I do not subscribe to the "if it's not illegal, it's just fine to do" or the "it's just business" schools of thought. We can do better than that.
There's no law that prevents Shutterstock from spending lavishly on their headquarters and spending the money they earned from selling licenses to our content as freely as the law allows. But over time, they may run into problems if the stories of contributors doing really well - which has driven contributors who hated subscriptions to send their work to Shutterstock anyway - start to dry up.
In the "it's only business world" there is no loyalty, and that works both ways.
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Good to see shutterstock are making the most of the proceeds of photographers' work in what must be the most prime and exclusive office space in the world.
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Kind of on topic, kind of off. But the workspace and buildings for tech upstarts, aren't something moderate or conservative.
They might eat natural foods off compostable plates, but really Read to the end. Link is to the full article.
Etsy IPO
1) It hasn’t turned a profit in the past three years… and doesn’t promise one anytime soon.
Etsy has incurred net losses in the past three years and doesn’t offer investors any reason to expect a profit in the near-term. The company said it expects operating expenses to “increase substantially” because of new hires, an increase in marketing, investments in its platform, and new services.
Those expenses are already on the rise. Etsy’s reported a net loss of $15.2 million in 2014, up from $796,000 in 2013 and $2.4 million in 2012. The wider loss came as the firm more than doubled its spending on marketing to $40 million last year.
(clipped a bunch from the middle)
7) Etsy’s digs might get really nice.
The company disclosed plans to spend $50 million to build out its new Brooklyn headquarters.
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/03/05/eight-takeaways-from-etsys-ipo-filing/ (http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/03/05/eight-takeaways-from-etsys-ipo-filing/)
$40 million in marketing, $50 million to build out. Net loss of $15 million. Yeah, they need the IPO to make the people who created this wealthy and share the rewards with investors. That is if you think a loss of $15 Million in 2014 was something positive? ???
Back to the shell game and buildings for the corporation. I must be caught in some kind of time warp or haze, because I'd want a stock, Shutterstock or Etsy or anyone else, to show values and respect for their money. Building the business and long term stability. Not spending it on prestigious offices and frivolous Bling.
At least SS keeps showing a profit. That I can respect.
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... I don't see any agency owing us anything. ...
I don't think anyone claimed contributors were "owed" or entitled, but partnerships - especially those that last over time - are built on mutual interests, equity, honesty and transparency.
The notion of what the market will bear is rather empty unless you talk about over what period of time. You can temporarily hose your buyers, your workers or your suppliers, and that will often work for a while, especially when economic conditions aren't good for those putting up with the poor treatment.
I cant really disagree with anything you said. That is why I mentioned that it may not make sense to continue in microstock. The only thing I would point out is that this industry has converted to a full on commodity model. I am not happy about this, but don't have any doubt that this has happened. As in any commodity based business relationships and loyalty become less important as it is basically a race to the bottom on price because there are so many suppliers providing nearly identical content. This can be somewhat mitigated by staying ahead on the quality and creative side, but it is an uphill battle.
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Up until its recent price dip, I have made more on SS as an investor than as a contributor. We work in a free market economy. If we want to work with SS our only control over what we make is volume and quality of submissions. They have a right to make money and spend it any way they like. they can pay as much or a little to us as the market will bear. There may come a time when it just doesn't work to be a stock contributor with SS or any other agency there are other options for making a living in the imaging space, we are all creative people, we will find them. I don't see any agency owing us anything. Just a thought from someone who has spent way too much time in the business world and not enough time behind a camera.
They have that right, the question is it ethical?
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I want a raise to buy my own Darn pizza and coffee, thank you very much.
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Up until its recent price dip, I have made more on SS as an investor than as a contributor. We work in a free market economy. If we want to work with SS our only control over what we make is volume and quality of submissions. They have a right to make money and spend it any way they like. they can pay as much or a little to us as the market will bear. There may come a time when it just doesn't work to be a stock contributor with SS or any other agency there are other options for making a living in the imaging space, we are all creative people, we will find them. I don't see any agency owing us anything. Just a thought from someone who has spent way too much time in the business world and not enough time behind a camera.
They have that right, the question is it ethical?
The answer is NO.