Pixazza starts tagging home, travel and sports images with commercial links
Pixazza has found a way to add value to images by tagging the content in images with commercial information and links. Basically it takes listing designer dresses for Oscar-night dresses a few steps further. Here’s a great way to provide advertising that is both integrated and relevant while using pictures in a highly commercial way. We like this way of using images but image sellers may want to get ahead of things and start to think about a) Their position on images being used this way b) A licensing/revenue (share) model for images being used this way. See the techcrunch comments for a debate about the photographer issues. Other companies doing similar things are: Like.com
, Image Space Media, GumGum
PRESS RELEASE
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — April 20, 2010 — Pixazza, Inc., a web service that turns static images into interactive content by revealing the “products in the picture,” today announced it will expand its web service beyond entertainment websites to now include home, travel and sports publishers as well. Beginning today at ad:techSan Francisco (Booth 6141), publishers can sign-up to join Pixazza’s growing network. Doing so allows publishers to offer their viewers interactive content, commerce and advertising, tailored to their unique interests, through the images already featured on their website
As the company completes its first year of business, Pixazza earned industry recognition for the strong adoption and momentum it has generated among web publishers, advertisers and consumers. Through its publisher network, Pixazza’s web service currently reaches more than 19 million unique visitors a month, 70 percent of whom are in the U.S. and Pixazza has a Quantcast U.S. network rank of 70. Pixazza is enabling images at a rate of five billion image views per year. In addition, Pixazza was just named one of the 20 most-promising startups funded by U.S.-based investors by Thompson Reuters’ Venture Capital Journal.
“We are thrilled with the enthusiastic reception Pixazza’s service has enjoyed since launching last year and we look forward to expanding into new image-rich, top e-commerce categories,” said James Everingham, CTO of Pixazza. “Our ‘products in the picture’ web service delivers engaging content to consumers, potent reach to advertisers, and incremental revenue to publishers.”
To use Pixazza’s service, consumers simply browse the photos featured on their favorite website. If an item in a “tagged” image catches their eye, they mouse over it to instantly reveal information and pricing about similar products, and if desired, click to purchase. More than five million products are available through Pixazza’s service today from dozens of popular merchants.
Pixazza’s unique advantage stems from its crowdsourcing platform, which combines product experts and computer algorithms to dynamically create and deliver the optimal content related to each image. Rather than rely exclusively on technology to drive product gathering and matching, its platform harnesses the taste, judgment and insights of product experts across time and distance to orchestrate the process. They identify, tag and match products found within online images and then link them back to the inventories of Pixazza’s network of advertisers.
About Pixazza
Founded in 2008, Pixazza, Inc. is a web service that converts static images into interactive content by revealing the “products in the picture” across popular web sites. By enabling consumers to simply mouse over images to learn more and see related products, Pixazza has pioneered the use of images as real estate for brand advertising and ecommerce. Through its network of leading publishers, Pixazza currently serves more than 19 million unique visitors per month at a rate of 5 billion image views per year. Developed by technologists from Netscape and LiveOps, Pixazza’s platform combines technology and crowdsourcing to deliver the optimal content relevant to each image. Pixazza is a private company funded by August Capital, CMEA Capital, and Google Ventures, with offices in Mountain View, CA. For more information, visit www.pixazza.com.
Breaking stories: : Pixazza starts tagging home, travel and sports images with commercial links http://www.fastmediagroup.com/archives/5864
Right now, Pixazza does not do any revenue share with photo agencies or photographers but just with publishers. Publishers do not either accept revenue shares either.
In fact they install Pixazza on their site without even seeking authorization from the photo’s copyright owners.
However, the ads are embedded into the images thus relying on it to generate relevant ads and revenue, not on the publisher’s original content. This business model is detrimental to the photo industry and certainly not something to praise.
Hi Paul, my praise is for the fact that this company is trying to find a way to monetize images in an innovative way. As I mentioned in the post, photographers should find a way to work with the company to clear rights, arrange revenue share or find another way to make this work for everyone. Perhaps one of the large agencies or one or more organisations should pick up the phone and find out what Pixazza’s stance is on this? Clearly they are gaining traction and investment (from google as well) so the sooner a model is found the better.
…But perhaps I’m being idealistic
In any case, thanks for the comment
Google has never been a friend of photography or photographer. Google image and Google Books are only two of there most visible aspect of their take no prisoner approach to our world. The fact that they would invest in a company that rips the value of an image to gain valuable ad dollars without proposing a share to the creators is yet, another example of their position.
When you write ” photographers should find a way to work with the company to clear rights, arrange revenue share or find another way to make this work for everyone. “, it seems that you are thinking upside down. It should be up to Pixazza to contact the creators and not the opposite, since, besides a few clicks and links, they really create no value, but rather parasite existing ones.
While the concept might be of interest, the delivery is nothing short of robbery.
New is not always synonym to good.
I understand what you’re saying about upside down thinking, what I’m saying is: if they don’t, what then?
If google or Pixazza don’t approach photographers there are only a few options left considering the power of Google and they are: Wait until they contact (they won’t) – Accept it and find another occupation (not necessary) – Get frustrated (happens a lot, not healthy) – Sue innovators (music industry tried that) – Contact them (at least we’re talking).
My point in posting about all these new businessmodels and technologies out there is to ensure the supply side is aware and can prepare or adapt. Sure, sometimes people won’t respect photographers rights, but in other cases they probably will. It doesn’t look these companies will dissappear anytime soon with the funding they are getting so it seems worth trying to express a voice with these innovators
I don’t know all the details about their views on copyright so I sent a message to Pixazza to see if they can react and engage. To be continued hopefully.
Marco