Hackers, Web Sites And Stock Photography

 

  I've been hacked...and not for the first time either! Hey, maybe I should make cyber crime images!

 

I’ve Been Hacked!

Something weird happened on my website today.  All of the file names on my site, all 6,000 plus of them, suddenly are the same: Hacked By Wosera.  My webmaster (actually my twin brother) spent a good number of hours trying to figure out how we were being hacked. We have been hacked before several times and it has been a major pain in the butt. At any rate, my brother is currently working on the problem. In the meantime, thank god our hosting company backs our site up every day. Just an aside, cyber crime is going to be an increasingly important stock photo subject!

Hackers, Google “Tweaks” and Ground Zero

However, this latest little hiccup got me thinking. The amount of time and effort that has gone into my web site I still find a bit staggering. You put all of this work into something so important and in an instant a hacker, a change in Google’s algorithm, who knows what…and its back to ground zero!

Time, Resources And Good Returns

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in getting one’s work up on the net and building traffic. My efforts in doing that have certainly earned me some good returns, but at this point the return on my Internet investment could not possibly have matched what I would have earned if I had put all of those time and resources into creating more images.

Selling Your Own Stock

That brings me to another point. I know that there are photographers who do well selling their own stock.  In my own case though, I can’t imagine trying to deal with the volume of sales I get through agencies. There is simply no way I could negotiate, track the rights, deliver the files and do all the other functions that the agencies do for me. I wouldn’t have time to create images…heck, I might not even have time to sleep!  As it is, if I didn’t have my twin brother working on my site almost for free I’d be tearing my hair out…oh wait, I’m already bald!

Time, Resources And A Web Presence

I guess what I am trying to say is that I believe it is important for stock photographers to have a web presence, but at the same time it is really important to understand how your web site is going to work for you, and how much of your time and resources are going to be needed to maintain it. In my experience my web site, blogging, and social media require far more time than I ever imagined. Heck, it even requires time and energy to try and maintain a reasonable balance between my online efforts and my production of stock photos.

Kicking Back On The Couch

Right now, however, I have to end this blog post and kick back on the couch, watch a little mindless TV, and not think about stock photography, facebook, twitter, tumblr or blogging.