Vivozoom Blog

Our new affiliate program –probably the best affiliate program in the world !

29th March, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

You can now offer your friends a 20% discount and at the same time generate 15% affiliate income on all their purchases for the next year.  What a way to celebrate our first birthday with us!

Lawrence and Tom (the co-founders) would like to thank you for your support in this year and are delighted with the progress to date.  We have really carved out a niche for ourselves, we are building a reputation as the place to go for relevant and reliable images (with our $25,000 warranty), all at a price, at least 40% less than the equivalent images at iStockphoto  (see note 1).

Our objective is to focus on the customers’ needs, and to that end we have dropped our prices while our competitors like iStockphoto have continued to increase them by up to 100% (see note 2).

We expect that the powerful combination of quality images, keen prices and a lucrative affiliate program will create a compelling new formula for image buyers and marketers alike. To send your discount coupon go to http://www.vivozoom.com/send_discount_coupon.html

We look forward to working with you in the future.

Lawrence Gould, CEO

Note 1. Pricing based on published single seat pricing of non exclusive images (as below) as at Mar 23rd , 2010. Is subject to change and may not address all possible pricing scenarios. See www.vivozoom.co/pricing.html for more details.

Note 2. Based on the increased number of credits required for an XSmall non-exclusive image at iStockphot as at Mar 23rd 2010 vs  Dec 2009.

Falling down a rabbit hole for inspiration

24th March, 2010 - Posted by admin - 1 Comment

Credit: Monkey Business Images/vivozoom

After a weekend of healthcare reform controversy and the scandalous lives of athletes, I took a break from reality with Alice and the rest of the misfits of Wonderland.  Much like the Cheshire Cat – “I never get involved in politics”, so armed with a contraband cupcake and 3D spectacles, I forked over the $14 for a trip down the rabbit hole.  If you are looking for a nonsensical yet visually stimulating journey in a two-hour time constraint – head to your local theater for an escape from ordinary for a world of extraordinary.

Credit: Andres Rodriguez/vivozoom

Although the Mad Hatter thought she had lost her “muchness” (her innocent self-confidence), my voyage with Alice proved quite thought provoking.  The innovative costumes, colors, textures and dialogue were a far cry from my first visit to Wonderland that I remembered as a child.  Then I thought – how many of us “used to be much more…muchier”.  Maybe it takes a tumble down a rabbit hole to get back that creative oomph we all tend to misplace as we grow older.  Maybe painting the roses red and having tea parties with idiots can spark the imagination.  Again, no political motivation here.

So, if your imagery is lacking “muchness”, maybe a trip down the rabbit hole is exactly what your portfolio needs.  Who knows, maybe our reality is nonsense and wonderland makes sense.

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Toasting St. Patrick

17th March, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

Credit: iofoto/vivozoom

There is no escaping the scent of corned beef and cabbage as it wafts through the streets today in celebration of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.  Although, St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish, it doesn’t stop pub goers from raising a pint of green beer in his honor.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated the world over.  Paddy’s Day parades are taking place from Argentina to South Africa and some cities even dye their rivers and fountains green for the occasion.  Plus for the last 40 years in the US, St. Patrick’s Day traditions have included the elusive Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s.

If your St. Patrick’s Day plans include following leprechauns in search of a pot of gold, maybe your time could be better spent working on creative holiday images.  From traditional to quirky, holiday images are always great sellers.

So, whether you raise a pint of Guinness or a minty milkshake to St. Patrick, may the luck of the Irish be with you today.

http://www.vivozoom.com/index.php?page=view_lightbox&sl=421&uid=e217fb35f69e29b6ca207c018df2ec53

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Spring has sprung – now what?

16th March, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

Credit: Yuri Arcurs/vivozoom

Crocuses are sprouting up through the snow and there are hints of spring popping up around every corner.  Daylight savings time is here, days are growing longer and the dark, gray days of winter are almost behind us.  So, what are you going to do with all of those extra daylight hours?

Why not take advantage of the extra time and get outside.  Spring’s renewal can also revive a person’s creativity.  The fresh air and the extra vitamin D can get those creative juices flowing.

So, grab your camera, sketchbook or laptop and head out the front door.

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Missing the “Extra” in your ordinary? vivozoom hopes to ignite your creative amore.

10th February, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

credit: www.vivozoom.com/Trinette Reed

The only difference between “ordinary” and “extraordinary” is that little something “EXTRA”. Whether you are a photographer, illustrator, writer or designer, today’s creatives need to step up their game to remain competitive.  Hopefully these postings motivate you and ignite a creative spark.

Let’s start our courtship discussing the upcoming holiday of love thanks to the beloved St. Valentine.

For decades the public has criticized poor Cupid, that plump, arrow-wielding cherub of consumerism.  Cupid doesn’t rely on Twitter, Facebook or texting to reach the masses.  Cupid, armed with his cherished, mass marketing arrow, can coerce millions of people to spend billions of dollars every year on heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, bouquets of roses and mushy greeting cards.  Yes, I said billions!  I think we all would want a piece of that “billion dollar pie”, but do we need to sell our creative souls to get it?

Initially, Valentine’s Day was created to symbolize an individual’s personal affection for his/her loved ones.  So, why are so many consumers bound and determined to fork over all that cash for mass-produced and gift-wrapped amore?  How many times have we viewed shot after shot of a man standing in the doorway, holding a box of chocolates behind his back.  We all know the shots, because they flood the stock websites. Well, maybe it’s time to think outside that heart-shaped box and get creative.

Take a field trip to a local chocolatier and witness first hand some of the mouth-watering confection creations.  The colors, textures, designs and don’t forget the aromas are stimulating.  Before you leave don’t forget to sample a few chocolates (they are said to release endorphins, so consider it research).  Don’t have a local sweet shop in town – then watch one of the …And The Chocolate Factory movies (Willie or Charlie – it really doesn’t matter).  A psychedelic fairy tale is just what you need to break out of the stock mold and create something unexpected.

To the right of this posting you will see a few examples of how these vivozoom contributors escaped the ordinary and created EXTRAordinary.

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Simplicity was our design goal for Vivozoom and that goes for pricing too

9th February, 2010 - Posted by admin - 1 Comment

We took the path less travelled when designing vivozoom.  We wanted to simplify the search and buy experience and felt that the time was right to offer just two resolutions, print and web.  We offer these in essentially three packages, pay as you go, subscription and an ‘Enhanced License’ booster that removes traditional (May I use that adjective for such a young industry?) Microstock restrictions on prints runs, prominence etc..

Other sites had spreadsheets for a pricing page and it was daunting to try and figure out if you were getting a good deal or not.  We  wanted to avoid permutation melt-down.

Until this week, however, we had not offered a resolution option on Subscription plans.  We have now completed our pricing picture with the addition of a web-only subscription model starting at $99 for 30 days at 15 images a day.   At a time when choice is fast disappearing and sites appear to be sneaking in price changes, we hope simplicity will be welcomed like a breath of fresh air.

Lawrence

All images are not equal

8th February, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

When designing the technology on our website for accepting image uploads, it was clear we’d have to handle images from many contributors  who were submitting JPEGs with embedded color profiles.  Embedded profiles are great news as they allow you to experiment with the image by removing the profile and applying a different one and contrast the before/after effect.

These days many images are used on the web and many browsers do not honor embedded color profile (yes yes… Safari does I know, I know..).  But even if all browsers did honor the color profile, embedding the thing into every thumbnail results in bloated image sizes.  So what to do?

Throw it away like 123rf?

123rf jpg of Pasta Sauce by Ed Bock

And Dreamstime?

Dreamstime jpg of Ed Bock's Pasta Sauce

Or how about (and I know this sounds crazy) we show the image as the photographer intended..

vivozoom's color corrected version as the Photographer intended

The colors are vibrant, the ingredients look appetizing rather than anaemic.  Download the high-resolution from vivozoom and you will have access to the color profile to swap out or modify as you please.  Download the web resolution from vivozoom and you get the real deal.  Not a washed out version.

If you purchase web-resolution images, make sure you buy from a business that knows images… vivozoom.   We convert color profiles on all images that are destined for web display to sRGB in the working space.

All images are not equal.

StockXpert clients offered 50% off first purchase at VIVOZOOM

5th February, 2010 - Posted by admin - No Comments

So long, we'll miss you. A true innovator.

Word reaches us that StockXpert is to be shuttered.   Less choice for buyers  is rarely a good thing.

A true innovator, they used free images and social media as a springboard to launch a force in the early years of Microstock.

We hope that if you are (were) a client of theirs that you’ll accept our offer of 50% off your first purchase at vivozoom.

To take advantage of this offer:

1. Register on vivozoom
2. Email your vivozoom account name and a copy of a stockxpert invoice to us at stockxpert@vivozoom.com
3. When you receive your discount e-coupon via email, choose your images at this address and use your e-coupon code at checkout (remember to click ‘APPLY’)

You’re assured of a warm welcome to vivozoom, images you can trust.

Lawrence

CEO

Note: Offer expires 31 March 2010 at midnight EST

The $10 billion question: Why is online image theft so widely accepted? By Lawrence Gould

21st January, 2010 - Posted by admin - 1 Comment

Could it get any easier?

Web designers, advertisers and bloggers can choose from million of pictures – everything from shots of Afghan voters lining up to cast ballots in their presidential election to one of the sun setting behind the Golden Gate Bridge – thanks to traditional stock and microstock photo companies delivering the right, high-quality image for any need.

But as users have gained unprecedented access to these images, the combined theft of stock and microstock photos comes to as much as $10 billion a year. As evidenced by the recent controversy over the Los Angeles Times lifting copyrighted, all-rights reserved photos of wildfires from the image-hosting site Flickr, confusion over image rights reigns supreme.

File sharing in the music industry has led to the targeting of the worst violators with court injunctions or hefty fines. An industry-backed proposal approved by the French Parliament last year and another scheduled to go before the British Parliament calls for cutting the Internet connection of the most active file sharers. This comes just as microstock is drawing battle lines through consolidation – Shutterstock announced its acquisition of BigStockPhoto  and the addition of image warranties – all at the end of last year , iStockphoto followed Vivozoom’s lead in offering a guarantee against any legal challenges to its images by covering the expenses of a claim.

Yet when it comes to stock and microstock companies, rigorously enforced theft-busting measures are uncommon. According to PicScout (www.picscout.com), a company that uses image-recognition technology to track content on the Internet, some 85 percent of the rights-managed images detected on commercial websites are being misused.

Stock image libraries are not the only ones to lose out: Photojournalist Leif Skoogfors has risked his life covering armed conflicts in Northern Ireland and Bosnia for Time and Newsweek. In spite of his hard work, he has lost $180,000 in income on two of his photos widely lifted from the Web.

“This is not an isolated incident,” said Skoogfors’ attorney Nancy R. Frandsen, who specializes in copyrights and trademarks for the law firm of Woodcock Washburn and has represented both sides in the larger intellectual property dispute. “It is the same copyright infringement issue that the music industry is fighting. But who has more money and therefore more power to lobby the government?”

Tools designed to search for photos online, such as Google Images, have undermined the copyright concept. When thousands of photos are easily located and copied at no cost with a couple of mouse clicks, where’s the incentive to pay? Like Napster, this has encouraged theft.

Stock and microstock theft totals $10 billion a year, based on PicScout’s 85 percent figure and the estimated $2 billion annual stock image market. With such staggering losses, the stock industry should feel compelled to respond with the same kind of vigilance as the music industry. But this is the stock industry’s dirty little secret, a cocktail of apathy, incompetence and greed.

“Nearly everyone who uses unauthorized copyrighted photos has a good chance of getting away with it,” Skoogfors said. “Often, they aren’t even aware they’re illegal.”

Photographers have detailed on such sites as the MicroStock Diaries instances of their pictures, distributed through larger stock companies, uploaded by violators to competing stock and microstock outlets and sold as their own. The photographers are now finding themselves having to police the sites while the agencies fail to address the thefts.

No one’s denying the benefits that come with such ease of use online. Photographers want publishers to find their pictures. Distributors require a thriving business. But in a culture where theft is euphemistically known as sharing, where 17 of every 20 stock images used on commercial sites are stolen, how can anyone expect photographers and producers to make a living let alone survive in an environment where such costly crimes are met with silence?

Lawrence Gould, CEO and co-founder of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com), was previously the CFO of Getty Images.