Morawski & Company Business Development for a Left Brain World Through Social Media

See who is using your images online.

Ever want to find out all the places on the web where your images are being used? A new service, www.tineye.com , might do the trick. Developed by Idee Inc., they are the same folks who do work for many stock image agencies and Adobe. Upload an image and within seconds the site does a reverse image lookup, scouring the web for all exact images and even similar images. I did a sample image search on a Mustang Ad shot by Roy Ritchie. Here’s the image that I uploaded:

 

And here are the results that were returned. 

 

You can see that the software is sophisticated enough to find images that are similar. In fact this is the exact same image just color shifted.

Unfortunately, Tineye is not completely foolproof. It did find the image that was running on the Money Talks blog.

It also completely missed the original article that the image appeared in on FastCompany’s web site.

 

The Tineye page states the software is in Beta, so we can only assume that it will get stronger as time goes by. In the meantime, this does provide a very good first step in an image lookup process.

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigator

 

  

Mike's Top Five most read Blog Posts of 2009

The 5 most read posts of 2009 were:

1.   What business is this guy really in?

You have to ask this question after you look at Alexx Henry’s work. He is redefining the definition of photographer.

2.   Clear the mechanism

Use this book to rediscover your creative self and visit these photographer’s Facebook pages to dip your toes in the Social Media waters.

3.   Two Twitter tools I like- so easy an agent can use them.

Apparently many of you were interested in this statement. I’m guessing that in your hearts you figured if yours truly could master them than it would be a snap for you.

4.   3 New CMO’s and 1 New VP of Advertising

Obviously everybody wants to know where new business opportunities can be found.

5.   The power of Thank You.

I have always said, we get the clients we deserve. Occasionally we get ones that are really wonderful to work for.

 

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

 

What's the future of photography?

Time Inc. released a demo of what an issue of Sports Illustrated might look like on an e-Reader. They say this will be available in 2010. Holy Mackerel Batman, 2010, that’s now! If you're a still photographer who still thinks that they shoot stills then please watch this demo video.

 

 

This will be a game-changer for photography. In order to capitalize on this exciting trend, photographers will need to change their mindset. No longer should you simply think that you create images. Rather, you’ll need to begin thinking about creating images that move.

 What do you think? Does this medium open new opportunities?

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

 

That was not a misprint. He only spent $100.

Why settle for lemons when you can make lemonade? Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Those are two very well-worn lines. Louise Grant is an Illustrator that really gives them meaning rather than just paying lip service. Illustration is a business that has been in a 40 year decline. Even in a good year it’s safe to say that it’s extremely hard to be a successful illustrator.

Traditional outlets for creative work are dropping like flies these days. We constantly see stories about newspapers, magazines and anything print related shuttering their doors. Everyone is reading online. Sometimes to get work you have to make your own market. Louise was tired of not being able to sell her illustration services. She writes in her blog;

“This project came about at my frustration of not getting illustration work in the picture book industry. I just wanted to create books. At the same time I got an iPhone and was totally in love with it. I think it is a fabulous medium and kids use them so intuitively it seemed silly to not create a book.

There was and is a number of companies selling kids books for the iPhone but I found that most of them were simply scanning books and making them fit the iPhone screen size. I wanted to create a book specifically for the iPhone and utilising all the features such as voice over, sound effects, music etc.”

She has created the first of three new picture book apps for the iPhone. You can go here to iTunes and get them. They are lovely. The illustrations are fabulous.  The little tricks of voice-over and voice recording are way cool and personalize the experience for readers. She designed and illustrated the books. Her husband spent $100 for the SDK developer kit and did the programming. That was not a misprint. He only spent $100.

Read the entire story on her blog. Then, let your mind wander and see how you can create your own market. Be inspired.

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

Who should be your new best friend at the agency?

Are you looking for opportunities to show your creative moxie? Looking for a client who is willing to think outside the box? In fact, insists that you think WAAAAAY outside that box? Who actually is willing to listen to your ideas and accept your input?  Want to build a portfolio of new samples that are different from anything you’ve done previously?

Then you need to go meet the agency New Business person. If it’s a small to midsize agency then it might be the CEO, CFO or the Head of Accounts. Sometimes, they even have original titles like New Business Developer or Chief Development Officer or better still, The New Business Committee. No matter what they’re called these are the people who fish for new clients for their agencies. They are hungry for a way, any way, to get their toe in a client’s door. They are desperate to find that new hook, solution or idea that will get the client’s attention, solve a client problem and separate their agency from the pack.

These are new business opportunities ripe for the picking. Sure, most likely you’ll pay for the work out of your own pocket. Or at best, there will be a nominal dollar amount to defray costs. What does that matter? You were going to do those new samples anyway and who was going to pay for that? Your ROI will far outweigh the costs. Suddenly you’re cast in a different light. You’re a giver not just a taker (remember the idea of Pay it Forward). You’ve become a partner eager and willing to help. Not simply a supplier. You’ve developed new relationships. If the agency wins the account, guess who’s going to be first in line to execute it? Finally, win or lose the pitch, your level of awareness has been increased within the agency.

After all, isn’t being top-of-mind the name of the game and half the battle?

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer