This is basic crowd sourcing for journalism’s sake. I like the idea, and I think this is a great resource for security contractors or the deployed military guy or gal. We are deployed to a war zone anyways, and we take pictures of really interesting stuff sometimes. Those photos either end up on Myspace or sit in their hard drive as personal memories. Instead you could throw them up on a site like Demotix, which will give those photos the value they deserve, just as long as you are not violating any OPSEC or PERSEC rules, or violating Non-disclosure agreements with companies. The kind of shots I think of that do not violate this stuff, are pictures of villages or of local security forces. Or of even old battle damage. The type of standard photos that guys and gals have loads of, but just sit on their computer collecting dust. The news agencies are always looking for good stock photos stuff, and you could be providing that stock footage.
The other cool aspect of this, is that tons of guys have pictures of the good things we are doing in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Smiling kids with soccer balls or happy villagers that are completely thankful for some goodwill task that a soldier or contractor just completed, are all great photos to post on Demotix. And that only helps promote the good deeds that are normally forgotten about out there.
This is a really cool resource for those that like to travel too, and maybe make a buck or two off of photos that you take. I know a lot of guys like to go to cool foreign destination for leave, and the opportunity to take really cool travel photos are always there.
The other reason I like this, is this gives you some control over your intellectual property. Places like Youtube or Myspace are fun, but as soon as you post your video or picture, you get nothing to very little in return. What if it becomes extremely popular and get’s millions of hits? If you have Google Adsense set up, you might be able to take advantage of those hits with some financial returns. Or if you think you have a picture or video of real value, then a group like Demotix can actually promote and sell your wares for far more than what you would get with these other avenues. And you would have more control of what is done with that picture or video. Something to think about, next time you take a picture or video out there, and want to share it with others.
But back to the crowd sourcing theme. This is just one example of the kind of things we will see in the coming years, of companies and people using the power of the people. I think a company would be wise to tap into their employees for ideas about how to make their company better, and crowd sourcing software is available for companies to use. Demotix is an example of a company using the power of wannabe journalists out there that want to sell their photos and report on their little part of the world. A company could do the same thing with their employees, as far as tap into the vast ideas that they could have, and if done correctly, the outcome could be amazing. Especially if a company had a system in place to reward the ideas, or to reward the participation in getting involved with the idea machine. The power of crowd sourcing is giving your people an incentive to get involved with making your company better. Making it fun for your employees to get involved or adding monetary incentives, will go a long way towards achieving this.
And in a way, the text messaging concept I was talking about earlier was a form of crowd sourcing. It is about tapping into the power of crowds to get answers to problems. With text messaging, you are able to get valuable feedback about the the desires and feelings of the local populations. So here at FJ, we will be doing further investigations into how crowd sourcing can be used in today’s war and every day life of the the security companies and employees. Interesting stuff to say the least, and we are only scratching the surface. –Head Jundi
From the Company FAQ
Because we have links with major media buyers the world over, Demotix can broker your photos and videos to newspapers, magazines, TV channels and websites, multiple times and simultaneously.
Basic, non-exclusive rights to your photos will sell for anything between $150 and $3,000 USD.
* Non-exclusive rights to your video: $500-1,000/minute.
* Exclusive rights: whatever we can get. And some photos and videos can go for $100,000s.
In all cases, you get exactly 50%.
The boring details are here *Terms of Sale* and here *Terms of Business* but basically:
* you retain the copyright
* we broker them across all spaces
* we split the fee
Everything we do (for you, for us, for the mainstream media) is designed to make those two things happen.
SO :
* Its’s Easy
Demotix is designed for you to take it over – we’re a platform, not a publisher. So we’re trying to make the whole process of logging on, creating news, navigating, and sharing as simple as possible. And the only details that we ask of you are those that will help us pay you if your image is licensed.
* Tell your Story to the WORLD
Demotix has an extensive, global and extremely varied distribution network which means that your work can be seen (and licensed) by all of the mainstream media, all over the world, all the time. We’ve got links from Newsweek to al-Sharqiya (Iraq’s biggest TV channel), and they’re growing!
* You keep COPYRIGHT
All the time, forever, and always. With your permission, we license your images for specific uses. At all times, you keep the copyright and the right to remove your images from our website whenever you want.
* 50:50 SPLIT.
You take the images, we get them out there. Simple. And a better deal for you than pretty much anywhere else. We need the 50% to keep our show on the road. You need your 50% – we imagine – to do the same.
* MONEY – the opposite of microstock
Together, we’re generating fantastic editorial images and video. Street Journalist, Amateur, Professional, camera-phone or 12MB wunder-photo we sell everything at professional rates. When it comes to sales, we don’t care who you are of where you’re from. We’re raising Street Journalists to professional rates (comparable and competitive with all the big, established newswires and photo agencies) because that’s what your material is worth.
In number terms, that means your non-exclusive images will sell for anywhere between $150 – 3,000; and your videos will sell for $500-1,000 / minute. Exclusives? The sky is the limit.
* SIMPLE PAYMENT
We like to keep things simple and straightforward. That’s why we don’t have complicated systems for calculating how much and when we pay you. If your image is licensed, we’ll pay you half of the fee as soon as possible, but always within 60 days.
* We have NO EDITORIAL POLICY or agenda
Obviously. Demotix is yours. Do with it what you will! It’s your site, your story, and your community.
* Demotix is a COMMUNITY
Please make friends with each other. And please make friends with us. You’ll find our emails and our own profiles on the About Us section of the site.
* GROW WITH US
We’re getting bigger and better. Our improved website will provide tools to make image upload easy, and reports that let you see how many times your images have been viewed. You’ll be able to customise, adapt, create, reinvent pretty much all the interesting bits of the site. Who else gives advice on everything from how to take marketable pictures through to how to stay safe by protecting your anonymity as a Street Journalist?
* PROFESSIONAL
Demotix may be new, but we have a quarter of a century of experience in journalism and the stock photography industry. Turi, the CEO, has appeared on pretty much every major international News Channel; and Jonnie, the Head of Sales, has lectured on how to sell images all over the world. We’re idealists, but we’re real-worlders too.
Demotix Website