They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.

It�s a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.

Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.

I got the letter and ignored it.  I've had an editorial submission pending since March 26.  It was images from an antique car show ... no serious urgency.  But, is it normal to hold editorial that long? 
It was my first submission; a very discouraging first submission.

They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.

It�s a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.

Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.

I have to add something about the lightbox. it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes. for months and months I have made comments in threads about the same contributors being added to all of the showcase lightboxes. I have opened support tickets and I have sitemailed the admins administering the specific lightboxes.

in the case of this EDITORIAL collection LB....there are many of us, NOT just me, who are heavy contributors to editorial who are NOT showcased at all in that LB. and some of the files in the LB do not belong in there as showcase images (one example is two nearly identical shots by an admin, both of which are in the LB).

if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes.

in this particular case I have no problem admitting that I want at least some of my editorial files in that lightbox. editorial is very exciting to me. it was the photography I did well before I did stock. so far no response from admin after more than a week. sigh.

Oh, and what still annoys me?? Seems no matter what I do, I cannot get an email or newsletter from iStock, on any topic other than payouts. The simplest things . . .

I'm always grateful when someone posts about a new Contributor newsletter; if you didn't, I'd never know there was one.

Quote from: cobalt on April 11, 2011, 17:08

They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.

It�s a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.

Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.

I have to add something about the lightbox. it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes. for months and months I have made comments in threads about the same contributors being added to all of the showcase lightboxes. I have opened support tickets and I have sitemailed the admins administering the specific lightboxes.

in the case of this EDITORIAL collection LB....there are many of us, NOT just me, who are heavy contributors to editorial who are NOT showcased at all in that LB. and some of the files in the LB do not belong in there as showcase images (one example is two nearly identical shots by an admin, both of which are in the LB).

if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes.

in this particular case I have no problem admitting that I want at least some of my editorial files in that lightbox. editorial is very exciting to me. it was the photography I did well before I did stock. so far no response from admin after more than a week. sigh.

It kind of bums me out too.  I have a couple in the "Gems" lightbox but I have a ton of editorial files and it sort of feels like not being invited to sit with the cool kids in high school.

...it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes....
if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes.

There's  evidence in many places of rampant favoritism - a small group favoring one another and claiming that it's image superiority that justifies the special treatment. Those who can self inspect even if the rest of exclusives are waiting 10 days; huge Vetta presence when some of the largest are those supposedly impartial "judges". The lightboxes could really be something fun and designer centered, but that's not what's happening.

There's no transparency in the process anywhere - not in our sales data, the criteria for all the special perks (Vetta, Agency, front page lightboxes). There's no appeals process for anything except for Scout - if you don't like it you can leave. It's Vetta because we say it is and we won't discuss it.

In light of all these things, I'm not sure what you could expect from complaining. The last time Lobo berated a group of us for complaining in the Help forum about a problem when we hadn't opened support tickets, I went and opened a bunch of support tickets, one for each problem. They all got closed with a note from customer service that I should use the forums like I'd been told and not open support tickets.

Someone wittier than me said that they could tell everyone to eff off and still be doing a better customer service job than IS. That about sums it up for me. They're taking from 60% to 85% of the gross and throwing themselves a party in London while the site limps along with thumbnails in the wrong color space, no e-mails for CR tickets or acceptances, a pile of search and site functionality bugs, a my_uploads page that would be unusable were it not for Sean's greasemonkey script...etc.

Back on topic, I thought that we might by now have seen the promised guidance on what to shoot (like the Getty Creative Research newsletters) - was that before Christmas that they promised that? I think it's a nice idea to tell us what sort of editorial they see as most needed, but there wasn't a lot of detail and the lightbox didn't seem to reflect the topics that were in demand (i.e. was more about spotlighting things they thought were cool than focusing on the areas they were telling us we would do well to focus on in our editorial submissions).

Quote from: SNP on April 11, 2011, 20:18

Quote from: cobalt on April 11, 2011, 17:08

They said they will take "ongoing" issues and the events in the Middle East are certainly far from over. They just cannot accept breaking news, for the simple reason that it cannot be processed in time and maybe also to avoid a direct competition with Getty.

It�s a very interesting newsletter and lightbox.

Good to see that editorial is beginning to sell.

I have to add something about the lightbox. it REALLY bothers me to see how they are populating the front page lightboxes. for months and months I have made comments in threads about the same contributors being added to all of the showcase lightboxes. I have opened support tickets and I have sitemailed the admins administering the specific lightboxes.

in the case of this EDITORIAL collection LB....there are many of us, NOT just me, who are heavy contributors to editorial who are NOT showcased at all in that LB. and some of the files in the LB do not belong in there as showcase images (one example is two nearly identical shots by an admin, both of which are in the LB).

if contributor confidence and community spirit is still of concern around iStock, one action that would help restore my confidence would be to see an even distribution of contributors represented in these showcase lightboxes.

in this particular case I have no problem admitting that I want at least some of my editorial files in that lightbox. editorial is very exciting to me. it was the photography I did well before I did stock. so far no response from admin after more than a week. sigh.

It kind of bums me out too.  I have a couple in the "Gems" lightbox but I have a ton of editorial files and it sort of feels like not being invited to sit with the cool kids in high school.

hmmm, I think I know which your files are and I really like one in particular! good for you getting a few in, but you're right, you could have way more in.

Quote from: OhGoAway! on April 11, 2011, 20:45

Oh, and what still annoys me?? Seems no matter what I do, I cannot get an email or newsletter from iStock, on any topic other than payouts. The simplest things . . .

I'm always grateful when someone posts about a new Contributor newsletter; if you didn't, I'd never know there was one.

that's bizarre. are you certain the newsletters aren't going to junk mail/spam folder or something? crumby.

I took out my third support ticket on this very issue in early Feb and am waiting for a reply. The previous two said they were having problems getting them to me (that my email address was wrong). BUT their replies found my inbox, as do auto replies, payment notifications etc. After my second email, I did get some; three of everything for a couple of months then nada.
I looked at the site map and 'couldn't look for seeing' (probably) where the newsletters are, as I remember you can view them online. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? Tx

Quote from: ShadySue on April 12, 2011, 03:37

I took out my third support ticket on this very issue in early Feb and am waiting for a reply. The previous two said they were having problems getting them to me (that my email address was wrong). BUT their replies found my inbox, as do auto replies, payment notifications etc. After my second email, I did get some; three of everything for a couple of months then nada.
I looked at the site map and 'couldn't look for seeing' (probably) where the newsletters are, as I remember you can view them online. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? Tx

They are searchable under Participate > Articles and select Newsletter,  but that's only any use if you know what the latest newsletter is about !

Thanks - yes: you'd think they'd make it easier to find it.

I'm not interested in being a cool kid Marisa, and I'm not the product, my work is. as someone who spent a lot of your time cultivating a cool-kid persona in the forums, you're being hypocritical to say the least.

*Sigh*

"Cultivating a cool-kid persona in the forums?" You are off your rocker (as usual), my dear. I am who I am. In the forums, in email, on the phone, in person. What you read/see is what you get. There is no cultivating of a persona. There is only me. Where iStock offers no transparency, that's all you get with me!

My point was that while our work *should* be the product, it's not. iStock operates largely on favoritism and so if you're not one of the "cool kids" your work doesn't get promoted or favored as well. And therefore doesn't likely perform as it could/should/would if you (and therefore, your work) were in "the club".

Capito?

I want only what is fair, and I believe fair means equal representation for all contributors whose work is of the quality prescribed for the showcase lightboxes. in the editorial lightbox instance, I feel my work definitely qualifies.

We agree there, completely. Which is why I suggested you go the BBB Canada route, as others have suggested. I think it's a brilliant idea. Much of what IS is doing is shady, and possibly illegal. So our concerns should likely be reported. Officially.

I'm running my business the way I feel works best for me. that includes the relationship I have with iStock, which I value the way I would any long-term business relationship I have built.

Hello! Again. We concur. If I thought a relationship with iStock were completely useless and a waste of my time business-wise, in either the short or the long term, I would terminate said relationship. But since I do think it's a relationship worth continuing, I think it's a relationship worth straightening out. If that means reporting the company to the BBB or taking other measures to ensure that I and my fellow contributors are being treated fairly and equally under the law, then so be it. THAT was my point. Which you seem to have missed, entirely.