Crowdsourcing and Traditional Photographers Suffering

Howe’s article focuses on traditional photographers (still functioning in the physical realm of the marketplace) and how they are are suffering. Such artists are suffering because they are loosing business due to the popularity of crowdsourcing, which comes hand in hand with widely-used online networks like iStockphoto. iStockphoto is a place that fosters talent; talent that just needs to be tapped into by people who are seeking it. When someone taps into an online network like iStockphoto for business it’s not a matter of outsourcing, it’s an affair of crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing is a direct phenomenon that comes about due to online interfaces like iStockphoto. Though, if it wasn’t for iStockphoto’s popularity crowdsourcing wouldn’t thrive. Crowdsourcing expands, grows, requires and feeds on popularity. When something is popular it is because it is accessible by many people. In fact, it's accessibility (having the means like an internet connection and a computer, etc) that give people the oppurtunity to transition from one identity to another, i.e. going from 'traditional artist' to 'iStocker'. iStockphoto’s popularity is thus because of technological advances in everything from product design software like Photoshop to digital video cameras and computers. As one devoted iStocker says, 'things are going well professionally and personally so thats that. I plan on getting accepted to iStock finally with the help of this new camera.' With technology, many people seeking to become artists are heading to iStockphoto to do so (only increasing iStock's popularity). With products and services readily available to the public at fair prices pools of talent are able to emerge. With pools of talent, people can then 'crowdsource' such pools in search of what they are looking for.

In Howe’s article, one could feel bad for traditional photographers (who for instance, are not linked to any online network like iStockphoto). These traditional photographers appear as victims to the likes of iStockphoto and crowdsourcing, who in turn take business away from them.

Real life scenario and Reality of Crowdsourcing

Character (a.k.a. Victim): Mark Harmel, a freelance photographer not technologically linked to any online network.

Character: Menashe, who works with the National Health Museum.

Characters Connect: Menashe is putting together a series of interactive kiosks devoted to potential pandemics like the avian flu and wants to utilize Harmel’s photographic talent.

Plot Thickens: Harmel offers the museum a generous discount on his work: $100 to $150 per photograph. “That’s about half of what a corporate client would pay,” he says.

iStockphoto (a.k.a Suspect) enters into the scene.

Climax: Menashe crowdsources. She then e-mails Harmel regretfully saying the deal is off as she discovered a stock photo site called iStockphoto. She wrote, “which has images at very affordable prices.” The same day, Menashe licensed 56 pictures through iStockphoto – for about $1 each.

Conclusion: With iStockPhoto now with about 22,000 contributors to its site (charging between $1 and $5 per basic image) non-connected photographers are finding themselves not only network-less but client-less because of it. iStockphoto is a manifestation of talent, talent that just needs to be tapped into and waiting to be crowdsourced.