Like many revolutions, it is starting from the ground up, building
momentum. There is still a long way to go before the microstocks
achieve anything approaching full market penetration, in my view. I
was speaking to a designer friend the other day. The only microstock
he had heard of was iStockphoto (and that was quite recently), and
he is a top designer in a boutique London Web-design practice. Yet
mention Getty or Corbis to him and he knows both and has used them
(resenting the price but feeling he had no alternative). Imagine the
potential for growth if others like him learn about the microstocks. (He
will; I am buying him a copy of this book.)
FIGURE 12.1 Crowdsourcing leverages the power of the people. © Peteralbrektsen/Dreamstime
THE GAP 185