Corbis Heralds Low-Tech Living

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 169 Words | Posted 9/30/2008 | Comments
According to the latest Corbis IQ Trend Report, devices invented to set us free are now causing techno-backlash as the over-connected struggle to unplug. Corbis says more and more people are deliberately disconnecting with technology and reconnecting with themselves and their surroundings.

Marketers Seek More Creative Risk

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 74 Words | Posted 9/29/2008 | Comments
Marketers say their creative approach is overly safe.

Senate Passes Orphan Works Bill, Industry Groups Urge Action

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 442 Words | Posted 9/29/2008 | Comments
Immediately following the Saturday announcement of The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act clearing the United States Senate, ASMP and SAA issued alerts urging their members to oppose the bill’s potential adoption by the House of Representatives.

Pro-Imaging Clears 5, Vetoes 2 Contests

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 67 Words | Posted 9/29/2008 | Comments
U.K. group that campaigns against photography competitions with unfavorable creator terms has evaluated contests by Microsoft, Sony and Lonely Planet—with different results.

Will Microstock Eventually Die?

By Jim Pickerell | 600 Words | Posted 9/26/2008 | Comments (3)
Some wishful thinkers believe photographers will eventually stop supplying new images to microstock, when it becomes clear that the vast majority can never earn enough to justify continued effort.

Metadata Working Group Releases First Specs

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 423 Words | Posted 9/26/2008 | Comments
The Metadata Working Group, a young organization that unites Adobe Systems, Apple, Canon, Microsoft, Nokia and Sony, released its first specification, which provides guidelines that would increase interoperability and preservation of image metadata. The group made the announcement on Thursday at Photokina in Cologne, Germany.

TopFoto Secures Rights to Imperial Iranian Archives

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 86 Words | Posted 9/25/2008 | Comments
London picture agency digitizes imagery of Iran's royalty.

Ad Spending Falls At Steepest Rate Since 2001, Online Display-Ad Growth Disputed

By Joe Mandese | 321 Words | Posted 9/25/2008 | Comments
TNS Media Intelligence uses the phrase "collateral damage" to describe the impact the economy has been having on U.S. ad spending.

Alamy to Open U.S. Office, Raise Company Cut of Sales

By Jim Pickerell | 341 Words | Posted 9/25/2008 | Comments (3)
Alamy has announced that it will open a U.S. sales office in early 2009. The company is aiming to grow its business Stateside, particularly in high-value markets, by 30% to 40% per year by establishing a local presence.

GumGum Reps Newscom

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 60 Words | Posted 9/24/2008 | Comments
Newscom content will now be offered via the pay-per-use and ad-supported content-licensing platform GumGum.

About Michael Masterson

Michael Masterson has a broad range of experience in marketing, business development, strategic planning, contact negotiations and recruiting in the photography, graphic design and publishing industries. In addition to his long experience at the Workbook and Workbookstock, Masterson owned and was creative director of his own graphic design firm for several years.

Masterson has been a speaker or panelist at industry events such as Seybold, PhotoPlus Expo, Visual Connections and the Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) national conference. He is currently the national president of the American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP). He also serves on the board of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council in his Los Angeles community. He chaired the marketing committee for the Los Angeles Conservancy, a historic preservation advocacy group, for many years.

He currently heads Masterson Consulting, working on projects ranging from business development for creative companies and sourcing talent for them to promoting and marketing industry events as well as providing resume and professional profile services for job-seekers. He can be reached at zvpunryqznfgrefba@tznvy.pbz.