O boy, here we go again. stealing my rice bowl... vs  share and share alike

I was writing something but erased it. This post just reminded me of why I come here less and less.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=6937.msg81597;topicseen

no Pauline, THIS (see link ) is why you have to keep coming back.  We have to take the good with the bad, the paranoia with the facts.

you're giving away all the secrets, and all these newbies will out sell me. already, i am crapping in my trousers 

Frankly Tu, if us newbies are that good after reading his "secrets", YOU ALL SHOULD BE   

The ever growing number of contributors is a concern though. Not because of the competition but because mathematically the pie shrinks when someone new comes on board.

I don't think the maths are so simple: 90% of the pie is taken by the top N contributors (N=1000?)

Sharing is not such a big deal for me if you intend to compete for the big portion of the pie because your competitor do not need the information we can share here and any one who need this information will only compete for the small portion (with a few exceptions maybe).

Yuri and AVAVA understand that well IMHO.

and if the newbies are so good that they are taking that bigger chunk. you better get your rear ends up that light table and improve your photography. no more easy meal-ticket , if you can't keep up with the competition. I think Yuri and AVAVA know that, and they welcome that competition.

If a newbie is so good, he will take the big chunk without having to use the information shared here.

Microstock is not rocket science: it is not that complicated to figure out what are the possible path to success. Sharing here will only help people to see those paths: success is not about knowing the path, it's about being able to actually follow it and you will not learn that here.

Hi Tuilay... it's a pleasure too 

Hi All,

  Like Pauly this is the kind of post that just makes me want to stay away for a while. The only value I received besides the helpfulness of Xpo was from his comment  " I didn't realize there was such a fear of competition. " There is a great shot wherever the light is great. Even an icy sidewalk when light properly could still sell very well uploaded today.
  I also agree with Matt when he said everyone here has benefited from someone else's sharing of knowledge. Then it appears some choose to close the door at that point and not share what someone else was good enough to share with them in the first place. I personally feel for these kind of posts. If I had to go through life so threatened by so little I would be missing out on so much.
 Not one of you was left alone in a room with a camera for a year and then set forth to compete in this business and never learned from someone else, we all learned from many sources. You all studied for free or some of you might have even paid for your education the fact is you all learned from someone and now you would like it all to yourself. I have never seen it work that way in business, never has never will.
 The sharing of knowledge is one of the great qualities man has to offer one another. All some of you see is the present and your "piece of the pie" at this moment. That is so far from what will fulfill you in this lifetime or even make your business strong in the long run. It is based on greed and no way around it greed kills, I've seen it kill fortune 500 companies let alone individual stock shooters.
 I think the anonymity of blogs has people say things they would never think of saying face to face and I have noticed some of the most vocal quite often don't share there personal info or their links to their work. No one has to share who they are but if you are going to take a strong stance on a subject of image quality or usability for your own credibility sake you might want to think about showing the writer or all of us your own work to support your point, just an idea.

My 2 Cents,
AVAVA

it's like a chicken coop, y'know? if you go in to grab their eggs, squuuaaaakkkk !

Followed by a 4 hour special in depth report on " People living in Fear "

thank u so much 4 a luvly afternoon. xcuz me , i have 2 get back to read  MAGARET ATWOOD "payback".  .. and a breathy Hitchcock "goooood evvvening 2 u !" 

Quote from: madelaide on January 29, 2009, 15:19

There has been a very provocative and angry mood in MSG lately.  Geez...   

Regards,
Adelaide

Absolutely.  I don't understand all the "attacks."  Is it fear or just boredom?  Hard to find a compliment in here.   

Agree...
People sometimes think that few new photographers will take all money from them. Anyway, new photographers WILL come, with this guy or without him. There are more than 100 000 of us in this business. So I think there is no place for mass panic attacks because of newcomers.

There is a term in psychiatry for this state of mind. It's called paranoia.
For the information of all of you. I will probably lose my job in the next month because my company already fires 65% of employees, I have a son too, who's birthday is today, and we had to celebrate it no matter I will lose my job, and no matter 30 000 people lost their jobs in neighbour city of 200 000 people.
My salary is decreased for 30%, and I have a credit for a car, and my wife has credit for an apartment, as we live separate. So, we have double bills for electricity, water, garbage and telephone.
So, don't tell me about your "poor financial situation". If someone here knows how it looks like, it's me.

And, yes, I hope I opened your eyes now. You are afraid of few more photographers in the world of more than 100 000 microstock photographers. You are afraid of people who will submit 3-4 photos per week, and you are not afraid of people who are already submitting hundreds of photos per week, and make some good money here.
Even if wee all submit the same number of photos per week, with these newcomers your sales will drop 0,000 001%-0,000 005%
Now tell me, if you know math, where do you see reason for panic??
And, you didn't even think that some of us will maybe stop uploading, or even die these days. Do you want to hope that someone of us will die for you not to lose 0,000 001% of your sales? Do you?

I've waded thru the sarcasm and still can't understand why some people post here.  Aren't you afraid you may slip up and reveal something positive?

Well, I had to write all this, because when someone say something about "poor financial situation", I feel like Pamela Anderson when they call her "Doll" in a movie "Barb wire"
I work here all month for 400$, and prices of food and clothes are like in California. I know because I was there last fall, and I am not ashamed to say that my friend from California paid for my airplane ticket. Otherwise, I would never see California. I never go to winter vacation, and I travel only once a year to seaside, for 10-15 days with my family, and I collect money for this all year because I don't want my son to suffer because his dad can't earn enough money. And I am a vet... I saw how my colleagues live in California.