Of course, the business world took note of the meteoric rise of YouTube, and investors came a calling. In October 2006, Google signed a deal to acquire YouTube (now barely 20 months old) for $1.65 BILLION. A true American success story, but YouTube is now localized for over 20 other countries, and continues to grow daily. However not everyone loves YouTube, which has been banned from Morocco, Thailand, Pakistan, Iran and China.

YouTube  is one of the cultural hubs of our time, along with other internet icons such as Facebook or MySpace. It is a place for people to share information and to build the internet community. Don’t even think of launching a new band without a music video on YouTube, because that is where people go to see you first.

Our favorite YouTube clip, a flash mob dance in Antwerp, Belgium.

Source: wikipedia.com

We recently did a thorough review of the major online stock photo services and would like to report on those findings. Before doing that I would like to mention that any photo search can be a time intensive task. To find the right photo you want to have a clear idea of what you want it to communicate, what size you need, how it will be used, etcetera. Allow money in the budget for the search itself, which can take several hours or more. It also takes time to present the photos to the client, typically in a pdf file created from download comp images.

When looking at photo purchasing web sites there are a couple things to keep in mind. You obviously want a site with a lot of photos to select from, but that requires a good search feature. Take a minute or two to review how the search works best for each site. You can do searches like “windmill NOT Dutch” to narrow the search. Most sites work best after you have registered and logged in. This procedure activates the light box, allowing you a place to store comp images in different categories for later review and comparison. You also want a site which is FAST – otherwise you spend a lot of time waiting. And don’t even think about visiting these sites without a broadband internet connection.

Try to figure out quickly what kind of site it is, for example Corbis and Jupiter have most everything, while one site might concentrate on ethnic/multicultural images and another site macro photos of everyday objects. Other sites may be aggregators, delivering search results from a number of different stock photo vendors. This can be fast, but you are now dealing with a lot of different pricing structures, and the chance of looking through these same photos later at the parent site. Establish right away if the site is in your price range, particularly when working with RM (Rights Managed) licensed imagery, as it can be quite expensive. You may need to go through the steps of purchasing the photo to know the actual price.

Why Royalty-Free, and what does it cost?

Royalty-free (RF) is the most common photo people are likely to buy, but that needs to be clarified a little more. RF does not mean the photo is not licensed. The photographer still owns the copyright, and future use of the picture. RF essentially means that, within the limits of the usage agreement, you can do almost anything you want with the photo at no additional charge. That is different from a RM licensed image in that you do not need to pay again for additional printed copies or even another usage altogether.

The usage agreement for RF images commonly specifies that you can not resale the image, or put it on products (such as a calendar or greeting cards) for resale purposes. You can not make the image available for download by others, or modify it in some slight way to attempt to negate the original copyright. You can also not use the image in a way which defames the persons depicted, or which implies those persons endorse a particular product.

As mentioned, licensed photos can be very expensive. Royalty-free comes in a wide variety of prices, everything from a buck to several hundred. Sites like iStockPhoto.com have an excellent variety of photos, but many of them have been downloaded hundreds of times. With RF there is always a risk that the photo you have chosen will show up in something else, even a competitors’ product.

To try to mitigate the problem of duplication, more and more photos are being sold “exclusive” RF, meaning the images are much more expensive. The assumption is that the end user will have more exclusivity to the photo because fewer people are willing to pay a much higher price. The good news is that you do get what you pay for. The more expensive photos are a much higher quality, the lighting is better, and they usually come with a model release. These are professional photographers making a living doing what they do best.

So how much do you need to pay? Our review shows that “exclusive” RF images start at about $150, but most of the images are falling in the $350 range. The most expensive we saw in this category was around $500 per image. At iStockPhoto they now represent a more exclusive collection called Vetta, which is also quite a bit more than the usual $10 download (they sell by file size, but the Vetta images are much more professional).

The Best Photo Sites (at least that we could find)

There have been some mergers this past year, so some stock sites which were popular in the past no longer exist. Here is a round up of the best sites we have seen for stock photo. (*) is for aggregator sites. No free or very inexpensive sites are listed here.

• ImageSource.com – RF
• Stock Connection – scphotos.com – RF and RM
• ImageState.com – RF and RM
• Corbis.com – RF and RM
• Kavewall.com – RF (interesting macro photos)(CDs available)
• DesignPics.com – RF
• AgePhotostock.com* – RF and RM (illustrations)
• OjoImages.com – RF (CDs available)
• GlowImages.com* – RF, RM and subscription (CDs available)
• FotoSearch.com* – RF and RM
• Alamy.com* – RF and RM
• GettyImages.com – RF and RM
• Veer.com – RF and RM
• EnergyImages.com – RF and RM
• Fotolia.com – RF and RM
• JupiterImages.com – RF and RM
• ShutterStock.com – RF and RM

Here is what you should consider when selecting a service to use when transferring your files, followed by a list of providers.

Many services are free or very low cost, but are often ad supported. Businesses might want to extend their branding to these services by having a customizable interface for you and the recipient – and get rid of the ads. Most of the services hold your file for the recipient from a day to a week or so, then the file is deleted. Other services are more like online data storage, and the file can sit on their servers for a long time. This could even be used as low-budget data backup in some cases. Companies with offices at different locations could use this service in lieu of a corporate intranet to allow sharing of common files, such as a work order or HR policies. Be sure to review the encryption protocols before uploading any sensitive data, particularly if you plan on leaving it there for awhile. Your privacy, and that of your recipients, is a really important issue. Try to avoid sites which sell the email addresses to other companies (which may be the primary reason for offering you free service). Review the terms and policy statement to see if they mention this. It might be better to use a larger more established company with clearly defined privacy policies, and perhaps pay something for the service. Upload speed is almost always slower than downloading, and is often limited by your own internet service provider, so expect sending large files to be slow. I also like a progress bar so that you can tell how far the file is along during the transfer. Your recipient will download them at whatever speed their service allows. Legitimate companies do not allow sending of copyrighted materials, and are particularly sensitive about music and movies. To help prevent illegal peer to peer (P2P) sharing, they limit the number of recipients per file. More expensive plans allow more recipients. As a user, don’t share copyrighted material or bad karma may ensue. Some services offer a desktop application which can be used instead of a web browser to manage the files. I have only used the desktop app from You Send It and can attest that it works well and may increase upload speed. Some services offer drag and drop, but that might come with the desktop app only. Some of the online services let you use your own domain name as part of the service, another important way to brand consistently. Several of the services allow for a place for your customers or vendors to send to you from a customized page which represents your company – pretty neat idea. You will want to use a service which has notification via email, particularly so that the sender knows that the recipient has either rejected or downloaded the file. Be sure this is included in even a basic plan. It is also nice to have a message area so you can include a short note to your recipient, something like, “Just bootlegged the new Star Trek movie just for you”. Just kidding.

Here is a list of a good handful of services, including their cost and allowable file sizes.

• YouSendIt.com – This is the one I have used for a long time. The lite version is limited, but free. You Send It Express is a good desktop application which is super convenient to use. To send files larger than 100MB you will need to upgrade to a $10 to $30 plan, which allows very large file transfers (2GB). Tracking could be cheaper.
• SendThisFile.com – The free service is decent, but for only $5 per month this company offers a pretty good feature set for sending, including from your own web page. No long term file storage. They have been around a long time.
• HeavyMail.com – Desktop app for only $30 per year for up to 10GB of transfer.
• PonBoo.com – This is a nice little free service allowing up to 250MB transfers. From the developers of Heavy Mail.com
• Skootit.com – Starting at only $5 per month, but they offer more advanced plans from $15+.
• SendToPerson.com – Free up to 5 times per month, with a Pro version for $20. Nice service.
• Memeo.com (SEND) – This company offers a lot of different services, particularly with online backup. The file transfer service is called SEND and is listed under the Business services. This can be used for as little as $5 per month and has a free trial. Looks like a nice company to work with.
• TransferBigFiles.com – Free up to 1GB (bigger than most). Simple service.
• Pando.com – Free up to 1GB, Pro levels for $25 per year (pretty good deal there).

• DropSend.com – Lite version is free and allows 2GB transfer. Basic plans as low as $5, other options available.

• egnyte.com – Decent service at all levels, Pro users start at $15 per month.
• FileApartment.com – This appears to be a popular service for very limited use. They allow 1 file for 1 day, and a strange pay as you go system.
• 2big2send.com – Solid service for only $7 per month.
• ShareFile.com – Plans starting at $30 per month aimed at power users.
• FilesDirect.com – $18 per month and up. Smaller file sizes than even many free services.
• SizableSend.com – Great name, big downloads, free
• FileDropper.com – Large transfers, only $0.99 each month – that is a good deal.
• Senduit.com – free service

So, the next time you have a big file to send to a friend, skip burning a CD and send it over the internet instead. If you know of another good service, please let me know. Good luck

ai – A vector based file format used in the Adobe Illustrator program. While this is a vector format, raster images such as tiff or psd formats can also be placed in the ai file.

eps – A common vector file format but like the ai format it too can contain raster images. Many software applications can import, open and export this format so it is often provided by designers to clients.

pdf – The Portable Document Format is an extremely popular format developed by Adobe Systems.
It’s popularity is due to its ability to be viewed and printed how the author intended on many computer platforms and as a result it has also become an industry standard in the print industry. The pdf format can contain type, raster images & vector art just like the ai format, and even interactive media.

tiff – This is a raster image format. It supports many features and is used primarily in print.

psd – Adobe Photoshop’s primary file format. This is a raster image format but supports many features like vector type and art. Designers often work in psd, then export to the appropriate file format for the final output.

jpg – This is a compressed raster image format commonly
used for web images. It supports various
compression levels to keep file size down. This format
is often used in digital cameras.

A licensed photo is generally expensive. The stock house and photographer license the photo to the advertiser for a specific usage, specific period of time and a maximum number of impressions. The price would vary according to the stated usage, and the advertiser can not use the photo in any other ways. So for $500 you might license a photo for 2 years for an annual report cover and print 300 copies. For $1500 you might get the same photo, but own a lifetime exclusivity, but not additional prints. This arrangement is how photographers make a living, so it is not all bad. The reason advertisers pay for exclusive use is so that the image does not show up later in some other campaign beyond their control.

Royalty-free photos is what most people are familiar with. Royalty-free discs began to hit the market in the mid ’90s for everything from photos and icons to clip art. Royalty free is inexpensive, costing from $1.00 to about $100. The price is usually based on the size of the photo and whether it will be used only online or if it is large enough for print advertising. You do not have any exclusivity. For example, the photo on the right has been used by a spa in Fort Collins, a church in Greeley, and in a national computer magazine in a paid ad. I will bet you have seen this image as well. Royalty-free can not be used in items for resale where the image is a key component, such as playing cards or calendars.

4) Hire a professional photographer. If you were marrying off your only daughter and needed a photographer for the event, would you ask “Uncle Ted the Shutterbug”, or a professional wedding photographer? Duh. Professionals tend to have great general knowledge about photography, but many also find specialties within the field. So some are great shooting architecture or interiors, others people or food, some nature, and still others with macro subjects or sports. The professional can take an average situation or product and make it more dramatic and interesting. If the point of marketing is to improve sales of your product or service, than you want everything on your side. A professional photographer in your corner can make a huge difference. From a graphic designer viewpoint, when the photos are great, the job is already half done.

In the initial contact with your company, a prospective customer learns a great deal about your brand. In those first moments your brand is like a handshake. In that handshake you recognize one another and look for ways the relationship can produce positive results for everyone.

In that handshake your brand is everything you put forward, all in one big blast. The key is consistency. Every aspect of your business must be authentic and ring true. You can not tell clients you are fun and quirky and then send salesmen out in blue blazers. So look at every area of your company and ask yourself, “Is this who we really are?”, “Is this how we want our clients to think of us?”. Be consistent with your marketing message (themes and written content), and establish guidelines for how you use the company logo, typefaces, colors and imagery. Create a marketing plan and stay with it for at least 18 months. Finally, know your potential market and design your advertising to speak to their needs.

Print shops can be heavy users of nasty solvents, but printers like Vision Graphics have increased print production while cutting solvent usage dramatically. Most printers today use soy or vegetable based inks, a great improvement from past practices. Print shops also generate huge amounts of paper and other waste, much of that is now in the recycling loop.

Paper production and shipping can contribute to ecological damage to forests, rivers, estuaries and other critical environments. Paper manufacturers have improved production techniques to use less energy and water resources. When possible, select papers which are domestically produced and contain a high percentage of post consumer recycled fiber. Be part of this solution by recycling your own office paper. The international non-profit organization Forest Stewardship Council (FSC.org) certifies sustainable growing and harvesting procedures and promotes fair trade practices for forest resources. Be sure to consider FSC certified papers for your next project.

Source: wikipedia.com