Latest news and articles
How about this hybrid pricing model for photography?
This is one I’ve had ‘on the shelf’ for some time now. It’s a stab at a pricing model to replace royalty free and rights managed. In fact, it’s a hybrid of the two models using usage and file size to create a quick and easy pricing for all types of photography. There is yet another debate on pricing on linkedin so I thought I’d throw this one in to see if it works.... [Read more]
Times paywall could start in May
2009 was the year of heavy debate about how and what to charge for online content. The copyleft (loosening rights) in one corner and the copyright (paywalls), headed by Rupert Murdoch in the other. The debate may be a little bit less vocal now, but this does not mean things have not moved on. A number of newspapers have experimented with payment and now the Times is looking to start charging... [Read more]
The “tablet wars” have started
Over 50 tablet devices may be launched in 2010 following the launch of the iPad . The coming swarm of tablets has even prompted ARM, Intel’s main rival in the mobile microprocessor business, to rent more space at the Computex electronics trade show in Taipei this year to show off the devices, in addition to e-readers, mini-laptops and other devices that use ARM processing cores. “The... [Read more]
We really tried not to publish about this site
This post has been sitting in the backoffice as a draft for about 2 weeks now. The reason for this is that what we’re about to introduce may be addictive to some and disturbing to most. It’s Chatroulette, and frankly, the cat is out of the bag now. Over the last few weeks the site has been written about by most newspapers, has featured on a number of TV channels and resulted in this hilarious... [Read more]
Everyone can now auto-caption YouTube video’s
With 20 hours of video uploaded every minute it would be an understatement to say YouTube has a challenge captioning all the content that is shown on the site. On top of that studies predict over 700 million people will suffer from a hearing impairment bu 2015. This is why YouTube has now opened auto-captioning to all users (for English video’s that is). The functionality has been in beta... [Read more]
The fast growth of the internet on interactive map
The BBC has released an interactive chart of the growth of the internet. You can find it here. The chart tracks the growth from 1998 to the present. By using the slider to browse through the years the incredible growth acceleration becomes clear. The chart shows how in 1998 only a few countries had extensive internet coverage. In 2008 only Africa is lagging in internet connectivity. Worth a look. Picture:... [Read more]
When will the media licensing industry “Burn The Boats”?
Mark Andreesen, the multimiljonair entrepreneur and co-founder of netscape gave a stern message to the publishing industry in a recent interview. He said they should take the example of explorer Cortes who told his crew to “burn the boats” when landing on new land. This would force the team to move forward, find solutions and explore new ground. Yesterday, Andreessen was in New York... [Read more]
Free weekly business lesson
Check out our weekly business lesson provided by 50lessons Peninah Thomson, Executive Coach, Praesta Peninah Thomson is an Executive Coach for Praesta, an organization that coaches individuals, executive teams, and boards in leadership. Ms. Thomson’s career began in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Based in Paris, she worked directly with the Board of National Delegates ofNATO in... [Read more]
WPP has been ’staring into the abyss’
And mentioning an improvement in 2010 may be ‘famous last words’. WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is known for his ‘bearish’ views on the markets. Recently he said that the situation for the advertising industry was ‘less worse’ but he was not prepared to be optimistic yet about 2010 prospects. In a recent interview with the BBC he has said that the group had... [Read more]
Online newspaper Huffington Post keeps moving forward
The Huffington Post, the online newspaper and aggregated blog that was founded by Arianna Huffington in May 2005 claims to have reached 40 million unique visitors a month. This will be another blow to established newspapers of which some are struggling to make their online presence competitive. The Huffpo, as the website has been dubbed, has over 3.000 contributors including some of the biggest names... [Read more]
Microsoft Booklet versus Apple iPad
We reported on the Microsoft Courier before here. This prototype tablet device is set to compete with the recently launched Apple iPad . A number of video’s and pictures have been circulating on the web over the past few days and we have them here. Where the iPad as a screensize of just over 10 inch the Microsoft Courier, dubbed a ‘booklet pc’ works with two 7 inch screens hinged... [Read more]
Thought Equity Motion brings contextual media to life
When we first talked to thought equity back in 2009 they introduced the concept of contextual media. This concept describes how media consumers will be able to find many layers of content beneath, or around their initial entry point. The company is now bringing the c0ncept to life with the creation of a video powered ‘Vault’ of content for NCAA March Madness. A higly anticipated... [Read more]
Stages of grief: Poll results
When I published our stages of grief post I said I believed the stock photography industry was in between denial and anger in dealing with the significant changes in technology, media and buyers behaviour. Our poll shows that some of you agree but most of the respondents think we’re in the bargaining stage. 32% Of respondents believe the industry is at this third stage of grief. This stage... [Read more]
Facebook buying Twitter spoof
Suze Orman interviews a certain Mark Z who claims he wants to buy Twitter for $1.5 Billion. Orman hosts a show on CNBC and this spoof is filmed with her in her usual setting. Orman goes through the personal finances of Mark Z to find out if he is financially able to make the acquisition before she makes her final ‘accept or deny’ call. Read More →
So magazines are not dead?
At the opening of the American Association of Advertising Agencies rumours or their death had been greatly exaggerated meeting in New York City a number of publishing executives launched their ‘good news’ message about magazines, saying the rumours or their death had been greatly exaggerated. They point to statistics that show success in print and emphasise that different media can... [Read more]
Retna pictures acquired by Photoshot
Photoshot, a picture agency in London has acquired Retna Pictures, a picture agency specialised in music and celebrity photography. We talked to Photoshot MD, Charles Taylor tonight to find out more about the biggest acquisition in its history. Charles Taylor and Stephen Hodgson made the following comments about the acquisition: Charles said, “The addition of Retna Pictures Limited to our... [Read more]
Robert Harding reports good news
Robert Harding has recently made changes to its website and is reporting a marked increase in traffic as a result of these improvements. The company has seen their web traffic increase by a significant 20% in the past 6 months. The stock agency, founded in 1972, provides leading travel imagery from around the world for use in advertising, design, publishing and the travel industry. Collections... [Read more]
Bigstock makes changes to website
Bigstock, a royalty free stock photography agency has announced changes to its website. The new site was designed in collaboration with subscription agency Shutterstock. The company also launched a blog dedicated to covering company news, as well as updates from buyers, contributors and guest bloggers. The site gets a new interface and a number of functions to improve the user experience. Changes... [Read more]
A cheap iPad alternative in the making
Paul Melcher mentions a new device on his blog that may become an alternative to tablet devices like the iPad if it works. A small projector that can take images from a number of devices also reacts to movements and allows tablet-like interaction with the added benefit that you don’t have to touch the screen. If Microsoft or someone else can make this work we’re one step closer to the vision... [Read more]
New: Get a free personal profile on our site
We have added a brand new option to Fast Media Directory: You can now add your own profile under the people section. You can simply do this yourself and even add your picture by sending us a jpg that we will add to your profile. Adding a profile will get you professional exposure to anyone that wants to know more about you. It will also improve your search results if someone Google’s you. Have... [Read more]
BBC proposing major cuts to some services
In the UK, the BBC has announced major cust in it’s spending as part of a new proposed strategy. Under the new strateg the company plans to shut two radio stations and cut half its web pages. The changes could lead to 6oo redundancies. Under the plans the company would spend 80% of the license fees on original programmes and divert as much as £600 million back to program making. It may also... [Read more]
Lookstat offers free guide on microstock
Lookstat , a company that helps photographers upload images to multiple microstock websites at once is offering a free guide on how to shoot for microstock. The guide is free when registering some basic details. It’s targeted at photographers that have previously been submitting their pictures to other licensing models and it may also be applicable for hobby photographers. Lookstat’s Rahul... [Read more]
Using your mobile phone to influence a movie
Here’s an interesting piece of interactivity. Instead of asking you to turn of your mobile in the cinema you’re allowed to keep it on this time. In fact, in this case you’re encouraged to use it as the actor playing in the movie may call you for advice. In this horror movie the actors will call phones in the audience for advice while trying to escape a murderer. Voice recognition... [Read more]
Google acquires photo editing software company Picnic
Over the course of 2009 Google announced a number of innovations to their image search capabilities. This improved the experience for users and is bringing Google image search closer to commercial search engines. Today Google has made another investment to their image capabilities with the acquisition of the image editing software Picnic. As opposed to desktop based imaging software, Picnic is an... [Read more]
Six degrees portraits, Steve Lake
Six degrees of seperation refers to the idea that everybody in the world is only six connections away from everyone else. Fast Media Magazine is exploring this idea for the media licensing industry through a series of short portraits of those working in and around the industry What’s your name? Steve Lake Where do you work? 4Corners Images What does the company... [Read more]
Read More Posts From This Category
