NEW PHOTO USAGE POLICY - 2019

Ever since Twitter started allowing multiple pictures to be posted in a tweet, I have noticed traffic to my site has dropped.

I just went thru my analytics, and the numbers really back it up. Since they implemented this 4 years ago, ONLY ONE of my top 20 blog posts of all time on my site for total traffic, comes from the last 4 years. Despite my social media reach growing.
ONLY THREE single day individual post totals in that same time frame.

This year will be the 2nd consecutive year I have had the lowest traffic totals on my site since analytics were kept. This is despite the fact that several times this year, I had major spoilers to post from popular shows that were covered by major sites that discuss these shows.

While some of that loss of viewership does fall on the shows having dwindling audiences, and 1 show ending, there is certainly more than enough evidence of the fact that I saw several major tweets with several of my pics posted this year of MY spoilers, WITHOUT LINKING TO THE BLOG POST, had retweet/like numbers in the 1000s to support that traffic is lost on my site, by photo spammers on twitter.

Because of this overuse of materials with no linking to the source material, I am implementing new usage guidelines for my posts for 2019.

If you are a site that uses my photos frequently, and do not credit to the originating source (THE BLOG POST - not just my social media handle of that specific platform).... be advised NOW, I will be petty over handing out takedown notices. Why should I do ALL the work, and you reap all the benefits?

In the past, I had a simple policy. Credit me, and you could use them long as you dont remove watermarks. Last year, I added in the stipulation that you could not use more than 4 photos. MANY twitter spammers saw that to mean "4 photos per post" and would frequently post the entirety of my blog post to their account through 4 photo per post posts. After several conversations with some of the worst offenders, many understood the ACTUAL guidelines, and respected that. However, I still have some, despite multiple requests to stop posting everything, resisting. Their logic was "I credited you, that is enough.". Which is not in fact the case.

When you post all of the photos, even if you post my social media handle as "credit" it does almost NOTHING for me. The click through rates for a "credit" to a social media account is pretty small. So imagine how small it is for them to click through, AND follow me for future updates, then translate those new followers to viewers of the site. The impact to my business for that type of "incentive" to allow you to use all of my work, is so laughably small it SHOULD be (and is, in some cases) considered theft.

Those who post a link to my actual blog post, but still use every photo I have. Guess what, there is not very much value in that either. It is most definitely better than a social media credit, but it is not driving a whole lot of traffic to the site. The click through rates for that are still sort of weak. Better than a social media account credit, but the traffic it SHOULD generate, to the reality is smaller than it was 5 years ago.

Twitter has created this platform where people think they just can get everything there.  Twitter has certainly helped grow my site. I probably owe 40% of my sites success to twitter in the early days. NOW, it might actually be a hindrance. Twitter seems eager to try and to squeeze out the very sites who provide them the content people post. Instagram, facebook, youtube, and I am sure if anyone still uses it now, tumblr as well, have all had an impact on this too. Twitter however, has crippled smaller websites who provide any type of media.

My average 1st day blog views for posts in
2011 - I averaged 2,004 views in 1st 24 hrs per post
2013 - It was up to 3,772 in the 1st 24 hrs.
2015 - A year after twitters 4 photo per tweet policy - 1,076 in 1st 24 hrs
2017 - (A few youtubers who credit things properly helped push this up) 1,424 in the 1st 24 hrs
2018 - It limps in at a mediocre 1,000 (1,000.1 if we are being precise) in the 1st 24 hrs.

Those numbers make very little sense when you consider some of the major posts I had up this year, and the amount of my material that was referenced, or used by larger sites in the genre of material most shows here cover.

I know a few sites, and youtubers have understood this, and been quite good at respecting my wishes on properly crediting my site. Those of you who have, you are possibly the only reason I still do this, as the financial value of doing it has diminished greatly. I dont charge for my content. Some ads pay a bit of the bills (you would cry if you knew how low it really is... spoiler alert, they did not even cover 1/2 of my website fees for the year.). But mostly, it is content I give you FOR FREE, that makes me nothing back. I post it to drive traffic to the parts of my site that DO make money for me. But with less eyeballs coming in, the time & effort of each post, is not paying off. So those of you who love my posts, you really SHOULD be thanking the few who promote my site when they use my material for keeping me motivated to keep going on with this stuff. If you love a post, re-post the link on your social media platforms.

This all brings me to ... what now? One thing is simple, the status quo can not continue. To generate more traffic, more limits must be put in place. That said, I know by doing that it will push some people away. It is a calculated risk I have considered. It is also NOT an across the board cut down. It will be tiered, with some increases for material to be used. I want people to still have the option to post some free content with minimal credit given. I am not opposed to that. What I am opposed to is the blatant over indulgence of some of posting everything.

Those of you who have followed my accounts for awhile know when I say this, I WILL try to enforce takedown notices as often as possible. There will be no more "well, they apparently didnt know because they saw the photos elsewhere first" tolerance. It is 2019, not 1994. People know how the internet works, people know that if something has a large tag saying "Canadagraphs" across it, maybe it comes from that place, and maybe I dont have the right to use it.... I should check". So often I see people say "they are just excited fans". So what? Does being a fan, or being excited mean you are void of responsibility? NO. It does not. Often it is not even an "excited fan" doing it, it is some person with an account with more followers than me, focused on gaining more followers to feed their ego as some type of "super source" for a celeb. I am done being their free crutch to becoming internet famous with some people in their fandom.

So, for materials posted on this site as of January 1, 2019 (until any point it is revised) here are the new rules for usage.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS (Twitter, instagram, facebook, tumblr etc.)

0 Total - Photos with watermarks removed on a public site (exceptions may be made if you ask me, AND get my permission. Mostly that will be for people wanting to do an avatar with it, but I will decide on a case by case basis. Any use BEFORE asking however, will be dealt with as theft. This will absolutely result in a take down notice through that platform, and perhaps legal ramifications.)
1 Total - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed. No credit added. (This of course does NOT mean "per social media post", this means total from that blog post. I'll allow one. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for ALL of them.)
2 Total - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed. Social media account credit given. (This of course, does NOT mean "per social media post". This means total from that specific blog post. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for ALL of them.)
4 Total - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed with proper link to the original post the material is from (aka - this sites specific blog post, NOT a social media post from me). (This of course, does NOT mean "per social media post". This means total images from that specific blog post. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for SOME or ALL of them.)

NEWS/INFO/FAN WEBSITES
4 Total - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed with proper link to the original post the material is from. (This means total images from that specific blog post may be used on your site ANYWHERE. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for SOME or ALL of them, and perhaps legal ramifications.)

YOUTUBE VIDEO BLOGGERS

2 Total - Videos under 5 minutes in length - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed with proper link to the original post the material is from in the description & acknowledgement on screen, or verbally in the video to the site. (This means total images from that specific blog post may be used on your channel ANYWHERE. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for SOME or ALL of them.)

4 Total - Videos under 10 minutes in length - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed with proper link to the original post the material is from in the description & acknowledgement on screen, or verbally in the video to the site. (This means total images from that specific blog post may be used on your channel ANYWHERE. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for SOME or ALL of them.)

6 Total - Videos over 10 minutes in length - Photos in whole or part with watermark still displayed with proper link to the original post the material is from in the description & acknowledgement on screen, or verbally in the video to the site. (This means total images from that specific blog post may be used on your channel ANYWHERE. Any attempt to circumvent that total will result in a take down notice for SOME or ALL of them.)

Of course, you may at any time ASK if you can use more for any reason.
As well, all photos are for sale, if you want them unwatermarked. I sell them for substantially less than any news agency does. When you buy photos from me, I do not put any limits on how many of the ones you buy you post, or where.

Hopefully these changes will not have to be enforced often. But my 25 odd years of experience with the internet has taught me, usually its users are resistant to change. Just know, if you are one of those unable, or more likely UNWILLING to change, I will simply enforce the change on you thru legal options.