Author Topic: A closer look at Shutterstock headquarters (Read 11229 times)

Shelma1 · « **on:** March 03, 2015, 10:48 »

Video from Fast Company comparing Tumblr and SS office space:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3043037/officethrowdown-tumblr-versus-shutterstock

jjneff · « **Reply #1 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:00 »

That was a fun watch, both spaces are great buy I would have to go with tumblr

cthoman · « **Reply #2 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:06 »

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.

Ariene · « **Reply #3 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:11 »

Woow, I want that great work desk!

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?

r2d2 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:24 »

Quote from: Ariene on March 03, 2015, 11:11

Woow, I want that great work desk!
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.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:53 »

Quote from: Ariene on March 03, 2015, 11:11

Woow, I want that great work desk!
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.

skyfish · « **Reply #6 on:** March 03, 2015, 12:03 »

Tumblr won

Snow · « **Reply #7 on:** March 03, 2015, 12:10 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on March 03, 2015, 11:53

Quote from: Ariene on March 03, 2015, 11:11
Woow, I want that great work desk!
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 and tried the IKEA (electronic) in store which is not too bad either.

Ariene · « **Reply #8 on:** March 03, 2015, 13:15 »

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

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #9 on:** March 03, 2015, 13:21 »

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!!!

Tryingmybest · « **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2015, 13:44 »

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

Monkeyman · « **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2015, 14:07 »

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.

Red Dove · « **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2015, 14:16 »

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.

Mantis · « **Reply #13 on:** March 03, 2015, 14:27 »

This is simply frustrating to watch.

spike · « **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2015, 14:30 »

Well if you like it so much, here you go: http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings

And don't forget to write a review once you get in.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2015, 15:00 »

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).

gbalex · « **Reply #16 on:** March 03, 2015, 15:38 »

Quote from: spike on March 03, 2015, 14:30

Well if you like it so much, here you go: http://www.shutterstock.com/jobs/listings

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

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

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #17 on:** March 03, 2015, 15:46 »

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.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #18 on:** March 03, 2015, 16:04 »

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

Tryingmybest · « **Reply #19 on:** March 03, 2015, 16:15 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 03, 2015, 14:27

This is simply frustrating to watch.

Well stated. Could be nauseating too.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #20 on:** March 03, 2015, 16:53 »

Quote from: Striving on March 03, 2015, 13:44

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

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.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #21 on:** March 03, 2015, 17:08 »

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on March 03, 2015, 16:53

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!

Red Dove · « **Reply #22 on:** March 03, 2015, 17:27 »

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.

qwerty · « **Reply #23 on:** March 03, 2015, 17:40 »

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.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #24 on:** March 03, 2015, 18:08 »

Quote from: qwerty on March 03, 2015, 17:40

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.

"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/

It must be a fashion to possess big office which shows off your "success".

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: A closer look at Shutterstock headquarters (Read 11229 times)

Shelma1

jjneff

cthoman

Ariene

r2d2

Shelma1

skyfish

Snow

Ariene

etudiante_rapide

Tryingmybest

Monkeyman

Red Dove

Mantis

spike

Shelma1

gbalex

Jo Ann Snover

KnowYourOnions

Tryingmybest

etudiante_rapide

KnowYourOnions

Red Dove

qwerty

KnowYourOnions

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors