StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

BrightQube offline, Pixsy without API

• "Brigh[t]Qube is currently off-line":
  At least since mid-October BrightQube is now offline. Emails to people @brightqube.com don´t get through and no one answers during business hours to calls from within the US.
  BrightQube introduced the Dynamic Mosaic search two years ago, received about $850k in funding and was the first photo portal to combine microstock and high end RF content. Last year Lee Corkran, with his impressive career both as a photojournalist and a manager, sat on my Work-in-progress panel about "New Trends in Microstock, New Technologies for Consumers and New Photo Portals", together with Eyal Gura, Oleg Tscheltzoff and Bruce Livingstone.
  Lee Corkran was looking for another round of financing; in spring he said "BrightQube has been generating strong sales, and the business is now close to generating positive cash flow".
  Apparently that´s not enough today. It´s a shame.
  Related:
  • "So tell me about BrightQube ..." (Nov. 23, 2007)
  • BrightQube Demo Tour (June 02, 2009)

• Anyone Know Where Pixsy Has Gone (and Chase Norlin)?:
  "An e-mail has been sent to partners indicating that the “Pixsy API is down indefinitely”.
  Related:
  • Pixsy: "Next Generation Photo Search Engine" (July 30, 2005)

Alamy's financial statement for Q1 2009

Quarterly Alamy sales figures for Q2/2008 until Q1/2009 below. All details over there. Alamy notes that "the decline in average price has been exaggerated in this report by the weakening of the UK pound (GBP) against the US dollar between Q2 2008 and Q1 2009".

Deutsche Telekom to launch Microstock Community with Stock Agency Zoonar

Hamburg-based mid-/microstock agency Zoonar has sent out emails to photographers stating that Zoonar is supporting the Deutsche Telekom/German Telecom regarding the launch of a new image portal run by Deutsche Telekom, including a microstock agency, a photo community and an online magazine for photography ("Augenblicke").

The new image portal will apparently launch by the end of May and pay photographers a 35% commission.

Related:

• Deutsche Telekom To Launch New Microstock Community (Apr. 19, 2009)

New Alamy Q3/2008 financial statement

Simultaneously with the first decline of quarterly revenues from Q2/2008 ($8.52 million) to Q3/2008 ($8.166 million), Alamy´s present Q3/2008 financial statement misses to show important information which appeared in the statement in previous quarters, like:

• new RF/RM images from photographers/agencies
• photographers/agencies submitting RF/RM images

Alamy explains: "Please note that we have had to withdraw some parts of this statement that refer to contributor image submission volumes. This is due to a technical problem which has affected the way those figures have been reported, resulting in a misrepresentation of numbers in some instances."

Digital Railroad: "Sorry, no events in the near future"

"To our valued Members:

We´re sorry to inform you that Digital Railroad (DRR) has shut down.

On October 15th we reported that the company had reduced its staff and was aggressively pursuing additional financing and/or a strategic partner. Unfortunately, those efforts were unsuccessful. Therefore Digital Railroad has been forced to suspend all operations.

This archive may only be accessible for the next 24 hours."

From a NPPA report today ("Digital Railroad Shuts Down": "Calls to Digital Railroad´s published phone numbers in the States this morning, including their Marketplace Image Sales number, were answered by phone company recordings that said the phone numbers have been disabled"), quotation in the title from Digital Railroad´s Event Calendar (as long as it is accessible).

Related:

• Interview With Digital Railroad´s CEO Evan Nisselson (March 23, 2006)
• Digital Railroad: A New Hub For The Professional Photographer (August 14, 2004)

Alamy Q2/2008 numbers

Alamy has released its quarterly financial statement for Q2/2008.

More details over there.

Alamy´s Limited Use license starts with 3.5 million images

• Facts


• More facts


• Contributor´s opinion


• "The scheme shouldn’t be confused with Micropayment"


• "And so it begins" => "Almicro" [Alamy micro]

• Update in "Novel Use announcement" (James West, June 10th): "An opt out has been made available for Novel Use".

 

 

Alamy Q1/2008 numbers

   

Alamy has released its quarterly financial statement for Q1 2008.

More details over there.

Alamy´s CEO James West Live

Alamy posted today four very long videos (together over 2 hours and 50 minutes long) from their contributor event on Nov. 23, 2007, just seven weeks ago: two videos with presentations by James West and Alan Capel, and two videos of the Q&A sessions.

All four videos can be viewed on Google Video in a higher resolution. Below is Part 1 with CEO James West: "Our plan for the next three to five years is to get Alamy into the $50 million - $100 million turnover range. To achieve that, we will have to..."  =>  Click play.

 
 

QuickLinks For 2007-11-12

• PhotoShelter Collection online:
  The newly launched PhotoShelter Collection enables photographers of all levels to benefit from a worldwide image-selling marketplace that returns commercial and creative independence back into the hands of the artist. For commercial photo buyers, The PhotoShelter Collection aims to offer the freshest editorialized collection of imagery online.
  More details about PhotoShelter´s "Rating System".
  Look also at PhotoShelter´s new "The Contemporary Collection".

• Microsoft Wants To Create The Next Flickr:
  The feature team is building a next-generation photo and video sharing service that will compete with flickr, smugmug and other photo web solutions today.
  Duncan Riley/TechCrunch. - Microsoft is at the forefront of innovation again.
  Related:
  
  • Microsoft is readying its Flickr competitor (Harrison Hoffman)