Author Topic: Change of Plan - Symbiostock is Independent [updated] (Read 34221 times)

StockPhotosArt.com · « **Reply #75 on:** February 09, 2014, 11:10 »

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 08:25

Most people in the network have 10 links, plus a few more from keywords. You, cascoly, add every single person to your search page. Same with ajt. (...) Therefore you have more benefits than most do in the networking department. Correct? Therefore you and some others will do way better than most others.

Let me see if I understood you right... So, you're having problem that the people that created and helped developing Symbiostock are benefiting more than others from the networking aspect?

Apart from creating a website and joining Symbiostock, I've done little to nothing to help develop it (wouldn't know where to start to be honest). Should I be upset that the people mentioned are gaining more benefits from it than I? Isn't that natural? Is it so terrible that people working for the project benefit from links and improve their sales?

At least they aren't taking +80% of the MY sale and deducting fraudulent credit card sales from MY income! They are earning money THEY'VE earned.

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 08:25

You guys sound a lot like lobo at istock. Only good things can be said about SY, otherwise the person saying the not so good things is a lying, slanderous, unprofessional.

That sentence reduced to dust every single bit of credit you would have for me.

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 08:25

I have every right to express my opinion and say what i want and what i think to be true about this subject or any other.

I agree with it.

What I have trouble to accept is that because you seemed to have absolutely unreal expectations about Symbiostock, now that things didn't work out as you've dreamed in your wild dreams you're acting with deep grudge and somewhat a vindictive mode.

I also cannot agree that based on jealously over the people that worked on this project, and could be gaining something out of their work, you're damaging the image of a project that I PERSONALLY participate.

It take months or years to build a skyscraper but it only takes five minutes to build a bomb and demolish it. I think that this is what you are doing based on personal desires, jealousy and grudge. And you say you look at this as a business person... please...

bunhill · « **Reply #76 on:** February 09, 2014, 11:27 »

Quote from: marthamarks on February 09, 2014, 10:52

Quote from: bunhill on February 09, 2014, 10:40
Quote from: marthamarks on February 09, 2014, 10:13
I'm still building my Symbiostock site (currently 1,610 images and growing) and am very proud of it.
How are sales ?
Not great for me. But others are doing quite well.

The last time I read through the forums on this I had the impression that the people getting sales tended to be illustrators with already established private sites who had switched to this platform. That was a while ago. Are photographers doing well with this now too ?

marthamarks · « **Reply #77 on:** February 09, 2014, 11:32 »

Quote from: bunhill on February 09, 2014, 11:27

Are photographers doing well with this now too ?

Some are, yes. Redneck in Texas, for example.

klsbear · « **Reply #78 on:** February 09, 2014, 11:39 »

Quote from: bunhill on February 09, 2014, 11:27

Quote from: marthamarks on February 09, 2014, 10:52
Quote from: bunhill on February 09, 2014, 10:40
Quote from: marthamarks on February 09, 2014, 10:13
I'm still building my Symbiostock site (currently 1,610 images and growing) and am very proud of it.
How are sales ?
Not great for me. But others are doing quite well.

The last time I read through the forums on this I had the impression that the people getting sales tended to be illustrators with already established private sites who had switched to this platform. That was a while ago. Are photographers doing well with this now too ?

(edited to fix quoting error - I had put my response inside Bunhill's comment instead of following)
I wouldn't say I'm doing "quite well" but I did have my first sale last month - a single image for $20, better than EL's on some of the sites listed to the right and I don't even have 300 images on SY yet. It appears they found me from Google search. That single sale was more than my BME on 8 of the sites I'm on. I was already paying for hosting for another project so my only expense was the domain name.

I'm in this for the long haul and will be putting more effort into my SEO efforts and adding to my portfolio this year.

leaf · « **Reply #79 on:** February 09, 2014, 16:35 »

I still have only a half built site but planning on finishing it.
I'm still a fan

marthamarks · « **Reply #80 on:** February 09, 2014, 17:57 »

Quote from: leaf on February 09, 2014, 16:35

I still have only a half built site but planning on finishing it.
I'm still a fan

As my verrrry old and verrrry cool

Great-uncle Roy used to say: Good on you!

ajt · « **Reply #81 on:** February 10, 2014, 07:44 »

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 10:11

ajt, please also delete me from the global search on your site, too.

Webmaster Tools is still showing the top three sites linked to me:
symbiostock.info
symbiostockphoto.com

All links leading to your site from above adresses were automatically removed three days after you deactivated Symbiostock theme. Webmaster Tools reports them because Google has them in database, and I think that you have to wait months (sometimes even longer), until they completely disappear.
BTW, my Webmaster Tools show 571 links leading to my site from cathyslifestockphotos

cathyslife · « **Reply #82 on:** February 10, 2014, 11:18 »

Quote from: ajt on February 10, 2014, 07:44

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 10:11

ajt, please also delete me from the global search on your site, too.

Webmaster Tools is still showing the top three sites linked to me:
symbiostock.info
symbiostockphoto.com

All links leading to your site from above adresses were automatically removed three days after you deactivated Symbiostock theme. Webmaster Tools reports them because Google has them in database, and I think that you have to wait months (sometimes even longer), until they completely disappear.
BTW, my Webmaster Tools show 571 links leading to my site from cathyslifestockphotos

Pablox · « **Reply #83 on:** February 10, 2014, 20:15 »

A Big Thanks to Leo and everyone involved in making this a reality! I am extremely grateful for all your selfless work and help building this... which for a lot of seemed like far away dream. I will keep on working on building my site, there's still a long road ahead but as the saying goes... once you start you are already halfway there. Thanks for giving us the much needed leap and getting us closer on becoming independent from external stock sites!

Anyway, wishing you all the best wherever life takes you.

cidepix · « **Reply #84 on:** February 10, 2014, 20:56 »

Quote from: Leo on February 06, 2014, 01:06

Many suppose I got rich off of this.

like if there is anything wrong with that!

I believe even the haters will accept that symbiostock is "at least" a good product which is also FREE?

it may not work equally well for everyone.. but it's a good product that works.. and good products deserve good returns..

Goofy · « **Reply #85 on:** February 10, 2014, 21:19 »

Quote from: leaf on February 09, 2014, 16:35

I still have only a half built site but planning on finishing it.
I'm still a fan

Just like movie "Field of Dreams"- build the site and they (buyers) will come...

farbled · « **Reply #86 on:** February 10, 2014, 21:50 »

I decided a few days ago to redo my food site so I started from scratch with a different domain. Dead easy and simple to do. All it took was a little patience (because I don't read instructions, just ask my wife

) and now I'm busily uploading to the new site. Thanks Leo! I had been out for quite some time and it is really cool how far the theme has come since I first installed it back at the beginning.

Harvepino · « **Reply #87 on:** February 11, 2014, 04:32 »

Am I understanding it well? There is one "businesswoman" who is disappointed that SYS hasn't been profitable for her during its very first year of existence, while she has serious suspicion that the creators are doing much better, because there are more links leading to their websites than to her website... is that so? I hope not, because that would be nothing but shallow jealousy.

I'm on the other hand surprised, that Leo isn't spending his time on something much more profitable... as you know, skills like programming, scripting, building websites, plug-ins are very well paid these days. Yet he spends time on something valuable for hundreds of artists in the community. Paid PRO plug-in and voluntary links to SYS or Leo's website... to me it looks like a very fair business model if we really try to judge it as "businessmen". I can't honestly see what is wrong with it.

cascoly · « **Reply #88 on:** February 11, 2014, 07:39 »

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 08:25

And cascoly you keep lying about how i dropped out of networking early on. I never did. But you will to continue to perpetuate that one to make it seem like i dont get it.

Most people in the network have 10 links, plus a few more from keywords. You, cascoly, add every single person to your search page. Same with ajt. That means you have at least 10 people in your network PLUS links to every single person who builds a site. Thats up to what, 250, 300 people now? Is that not a correct statement? Therefore you have more benefits than most do in the networking department. Correct? Therefore you and some others will do way better than most others. Thats how the whole internet scheme works. I could build a site like you did and do the same thing you are doing, of course. Is the average photographer going to do that? No. Therefore a few in the network are benefitting much more than others because of the increased search traffic and links. It is to a few of your's benefit to downplay that fact and keep recruiting people so you can keep building traffic to your site. Meanwhile, those of us who believed that being part of the network with 10 or so links would have equal benefits, and that just isnt so. Thats what people building sites need to understand. The way to drive traffic to your site is with massive amounts of links. Having one or two thousand images and networking with ten or so people is probably not going to be enough.

You guys sound a lot like lobo at istock. Only good things can be said about SY, otherwise the person saying the not so good things is a lying, slanderous, unprofessional.

I have every right to express my opinion and say what i want and what i think to be true about this subject or any other. Everyone has a right to build a site and test it themselves. Everyone has a right to present an opposing view, whether others like it or not. You guys dont get to bully me into not saying what i think.

I have said it, and i will continue to post if and when i feel like i have something to say. Until Leaf bans me. This forum has always been the place to come to freely express views, whether negative or positive. And yet here are some of you trying to change that, now that you have a stake in something. When we were all griping about istock, this was a good place to speak, because we couldnt have our opinions censored. Now you want to censor and discredit anyone who expresses what they believe to be true. It can be done on the SY forum, thats why it was created....

months ago you made it clear you didn't want to be part of the network and I told you at the time I had removed you

no one has been trying to ban or censor you --
as always, i'll defend anyone's right to their opinions - but you DONT have a right to your FACTS when they are demonstrably false or misleading

you're confusing 2 very different things when you repeatedly whine about some who have more links than you do/did -- ajt & I maintain global lists of the networks (how else are we supposed to do a global search of all images?) for our personal sym sites we have 10 links, just like everyone else - as you mention you could have done the same thing, but you chose not to ; next, you clearly don't understand what a BACKLINK is -- when I link to all those other sites I give THEM backlinks - I get NONE from any of them unless they link to my site.

cascoly · « **Reply #89 on:** February 11, 2014, 07:47 »

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 09, 2014, 10:11

.....Webmaster Tools is still showing the top three sites linked to me:
symbiostock.info
symbiostock.org
symbiostockphoto.com

I have already informed those who had me in their network weeks ago that I was disconnecting. If anyone else in the network is linked to my site, please feel free to use the slot for someone else.

In order for me to get a good read on what is successful and what is not, I must be TOTALLY disconnected from Symbiostock. That includes all the links you all have to my site.

....

you just don't get it! those links on sym.com & org are because YOU PUT THEM there when you posted with your website as part of a signature. that's how backlinks work!

the links from sy,...info are historical and take time tio decay

cathyslife · « **Reply #90 on:** February 11, 2014, 08:49 »

Signs of desperation. Too bad, SY started out a good idea.

JoRodrigues · « **Reply #91 on:** February 11, 2014, 12:13 »

I’m away from all of this for two or three months to finish publishing a book and I come back to all of this! I’m not going to add fuel to the fire but I am going to add my opinion. If you choose to disagree with it, go right ahead, but I am not going to reply.

Firstly, let me say I am not bashing anyone or kissing up to anyone either. So if you take offense to anything I am about to say, you are just looking to stir and this pot has its lid on tightly!

Let’s get to the facts shall we? One person, whom we shall for argument sake call “Leo”, sits down to write software to benefit everyone who makes use of it, gives it away for free (other than a few plugins that you DON’T have to buy), largely gives up his livelihood to doggedly stick with this project, puts up with all the negativity, and some people have an issue with this? How much of a discount can you expect on FREE? These are the facts. Put whatever spin you want on it.

Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but unless it is well-informed, and based on easily digestible fact, no one will take you seriously on purely negative opinions. So here is my opinion on SymbioStock: I’ve not sold a single file YET, and yet ... I have not only high hopes but extensive plans for my site in the future. I just haven’t had enough time thus far. I’ve decided to make a life out of being an author and it takes a lot of my time.

If Leo ever actually makes a profit from SymbioStock it will takes years before he sees any financial reward from it. This is also fact. If you don’t know these facts then you are ignorant. There is no polite way to put it. Go inform yourself on the facts before arguing.

As with any business, it takes time to grow and to mature into a well-known and respected brand. Anyone who believes they will put up three pictures of their hamster and by morning they will have exceeded the profits of an existing agency is a fool. No such promise has ever been made by anyone associated with SymbioStock.

What you actually get is a platform for YOU to build YOUR own business and for YOU to promote and grow it! If you have no customers, I’m afraid that SymbioStock is not going to be much help in finding you any unless you are prepared to work hard and learn. I’m finding that the people who have the most negative opinions are those that have contributed the least and have yet expected the most.

Let me recap: you pretty much invest only in hosting and time and what you do with your site and your skills is of your own making. In many ways some not even related directly to photography, I am extremely grateful to the experience and knowledge I have gained by using SymbioStock. Then again, I WANTED to learn and that always makes the difference in the outcome.

There is an old saying (that probably doesn’t translate well into English) that a poor dancer blames his performance on a crooked dance floor.

Jo

marthamarks · « **Reply #92 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:03 »

Amen, Jo, to absolutely everything you said.

BTW, I'm a writer too, currently working on my second novel. My time is divided between writing and photography. Neither one pays me back anything like what I put into them, but I do them both (in almost equal measure) for the joy of it.

Good luck with your book, and thanks so much for your contribution to this forum today. It was needed.

airphoto.gr · « **Reply #93 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:11 »

Just when I was finally "sold" on the idea of creating my own SY site...

As it wasn't very clear for me, is Leo abandoning the project?
Is there someone else who will continue updating the code when needed (eg new versions of wordpress, or new versions of plugins)?
or adding new features when needed?

chromaco · « **Reply #94 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:26 »

Leo is absolutely not abandoning the project. He has just changed how he will communicate. In fact his is reworking the .com site so that it is more customer focused. I've had a few PM's from him in the last couple of days. Sounds like some pretty cool things are around the corner. Jo is right however about getting back what you put in. Symbiostock will probably not work for you if you treat it like an agency. It does require some love and time. If you are looking for a site that you can be proud of with potential for good sales in the future and are willing to be patient and give a reasonable amount of continued effort Symbiostock will probably be a good fit for you. If you want a quick way to make big sales without much work you are definitely looking in the wrong place.

farbled · « **Reply #95 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:34 »

Quote from: chromaco on February 11, 2014, 13:26

If you are looking for a site that you can be proud of with potential for good sales in the future and are willing to be patient and give a reasonable amount of continued effort Symbiostock will probably be a good fit for you.

Other reasons for doing this besides making money:
online backup of all your stock photos, no more worrying about losing/corrupting a hard drive
non-agency portfolio to show prospective customers, agencies, etc
never having to worry about "Orphan works" since you have easily found images with proper copyright

cathyslife · « **Reply #96 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:39 »

Too bad you guys cant round up sales data on the effectiveness of the networking feature and seo as it relates to actual sales of images, the way you are rounding up bashers.

Too bad when an anonymous poll was put up on the SY forum (its probably gone by now because anything negative gets deleted) only 42 people responded and the majority of the respondents of that poll only had one or two sales so far.

Too bad the people who actually are selling wont share data, even when the sharing is anonymous. Let me make a prediction...that sales poll is going to skyrocket here in the next week or so!

Too bad it wasnt explained to those of us who were first builders of sites that in order for the networking to be effective at all, we would have to build second, third, fourth sites to realize any kind of seo benefit from that networking link. If anyone expects to get any benefit from just building a site and networking, why then they must be unprofessional, ignorant, lazy people who have crap images (images of course that sell well on other sites).

Thats my recap.

airphoto.gr · « **Reply #97 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:44 »

Thanks chromaco & farbled for the clarification.

I'm patient and I know I'll have to build...

Thank you!

cathyslife · « **Reply #98 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:48 »

Quote from: farbled on February 11, 2014, 13:34

[size=78%]Other reasons for doing this besides making money: [/size]
online backup of all your stock photos, no more worrying about losing/corrupting a hard drive
non-agency portfolio to show prospective customers, agencies, etc
never having to worry about "Orphan works" since you have easily found images with proper copyright

Those are excellent points and a good reason. But a person doesnt need a theme with networking features to do that. If the networking is superfluous unless you can take advantage of multiple sites and cross-linking, what is the point of all the extra code?

Ron · « **Reply #99 on:** February 11, 2014, 13:51 »

Quote from: cathyslife stockphotos.com on February 11, 2014, 13:39

Too bad you guys cant round up sales data on the effectiveness of the networking feature and seo as it relates to actual sales of images, the way you are rounding up bashers.

Too bad when an anonymous poll was put up on the SY forum (its probably gone by now because anything negative gets deleted) only 42 people responded and the majority of the respondents of that poll only had one or two sales so far.

Too bad the people who actually are selling wont share data, even when the sharing is anonymous. Let me make a prediction...that sales poll is going to skyrocket here in the next week or so!

Too bad it wasnt explained to those of us who were first builders of sites that in order for the networking to be effective at all, we would have to build second, third, fourth sites to realize any kind of seo benefit from that networking link. If anyone expects to get any benefit from just building a site and networking, why then they must be unprofessional, ignorant, lazy people who have crap images (images of course that sell well on other sites).

Thats my recap.

Sorry Cathy, but thats the biggest rubbish I have read in a while.

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Author Topic: Change of Plan - Symbiostock is Independent [updated] (Read 34221 times)

StockPhotosArt.com

bunhill

marthamarks

klsbear

leaf

marthamarks

ajt

cathyslife

Pablox

cidepix

Goofy

farbled

Harvepino

cascoly

cascoly

cathyslife

JoRodrigues

marthamarks

airphoto.gr

chromaco

farbled

cathyslife

airphoto.gr

cathyslife

Ron

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