8 Understanding the Microstock Revolution
FIGURE 1.5 The Internet has been key in transforming stock photography; this image is an example of a good stock graphic. © Patrick/
Dreamstime
Microstock Is Born
By the end of the 20th century, the market demand and the technology
to serve microstock were in place. All that was needed was someone
with a little perspicacity to see it. The fi rst microstock library was
founded by a Canadian, Bruce Livingstone, in Spring 2000 (Figure 1.6).
Called iStockphoto, at the outset it was free (its opening strap line was
“always free royalty free stock images [really]”). It remains one of the
leading microstock libraries to this day. You’ll be reading a lot more
about iStockphoto later in this book.iStockphoto.com was founded in May 2000, but the groundwork was laid in
1999 with Frequency Labs Inc., my fi rst attempt at launching a stock photography