RE: Fair?
You are viewing a single comment's thread:
That's the way the world is going and it's kinda ironic because they are going to lose more business than you will.
I must say that some of those sites are just a little bit too much for profit and not so much in the interest of the photographer. I signed up many years ago to one where I had to pay to have my photos visible. Then when I no longer wanted to pay the subscription fee, they sent me a letter stating that all of the photos on that site I was now ceding over to them as ownership by not paying the subscription fee. That was the last time I ever put stock photos onto a website I didn't own.
You're far better off without companies like that to be honest. 😀
0
0
0.000
True, unfortunately that is the way the world has taken in the last few decades. Material over spiritual.
Profit? I wouldn't use that word as if I count the time spent and the revenue I've got... it's close to volunteering, lol. And when a site like that turns sharply to its commercial part, it feels really frustrating, at least for me.
I understand your point, I just feel I am not good enough with marketing, SEO and keeping up all the required infrastructure of hosting, updating stores, etc... So I just reduced the number of agencies I've been uploading from more than a dozen to two only. It went from a plan to a side-hustle, as I mentioned :) Let's see what happens in the next couple of years.
What's the site you sell your photos?
!PIZZA
I totally get it, quite sad really, but I also feel that aligning one's self with companies like that is just wrong, so I would also say "Thank you, goodbye".
The marketing side of things is always difficult because if you are doing it yourself, you're up against so many of these bigger brands, a hard market to crack into.
I don't even sell my photos now, I literally post them on Hive and nowhere else. I'm not even on any other social media. They all just feel shallow and fake in comparison to here and my life is a lot simpler without them. I think many people in my age group are moving that way. I wish you all the best of luck moving forward, who knows, things might change for the better in the next few years 😊
I am glad that posting on HIVE is enough for you, unfortunately, that's far away from enough for me as I am still trying to make my living out of photography. I live in a country that is a EU member and life is expensive, you know. Way more expensive since the pandemic and then the RU/UA war. Food, utility, services, I can say the prices doubled in the last couple of years. Well, the situation is what it is. Moreover, it seems I am not such an interesting contributor anymore. There are plenty of new people who are fresh and could bring new value, I guess. No pity here at all :) It is, what it is. As another blogger here said, it comes and goes, waves :)))
I consider myself an educated and polite person, but I am an introvert too. I know very well what I have to do to be financially successful on HIVE - cycle through the posts of the whales, comment positively, "engage". Not my plate, though, to be honest, but I generally reply to the meaningful comments under my posts and I like that.
I just prefer to share what is of interest to me, my passion, the visuals I like. If someone likes and appreciated that and I get support, I am happy and grateful. If not... well, next time, maybe.
!PIZZA
I have been following the huge inflation in prices around the world and I think that Europe has had it worse than many other places so I totally get where you are coming from.
As for Hive, I think that there is a way to do it if you are just looking for it to be financially viable, but like you, I don't do it just for that. I use my blogging as a way to work through thoughts, feelings, experiences and things I do or see that I feel I could look back on one day and appreciate as memories. There are loads of fun initiatives that I take part in too, more as a sort of self expression than for anything else if that makes sense and I enjoy it. I'm also an introvert by nature although some people don't believe it.
Yes, there are waves in Hive and when the market gets heated, it seems like people flock to it and then disappear again when crypto goes into winter, but the people who stick around (like you) are the ones that make up the back bone of the site and will in my opinion be the ones that reap the benefits in the long run.