This might just be the most 'controversial' subject I have decided to address here in the Rant, Complain & Talk community. But it is a subject that I feel nobody is really considering to talk about, resulting in what I would consider to be a problem appearing here on Hive. Sure, there are always ways we could improve and do better as a community, and some of these ideas are down to preference and just general opinion. However, one particular part of Hive that I am noticing just seems to really bother me when I am roaming through the feeds and searching for something to check out and curate: stock images.
Many years ago I worked as a journalist in fintech and entertainment media. Any person familiar with that world would know that there is forever a big problem in how a publication can profit from and use media it does not own. Not to forget that the idea of content ownership and licensing is a massive problem on big platforms like YouTube where an algorithm actively seeks out uploads that might be breaching the idea of 'fair use' and reaching into copyright breaches. To solve this issue in journalism, these big publications will seek copyright free media or license content directly through a payment from one of many stock images/media websites.
For publications profiting from content and, well, being for-profit organisations, this is not really a problem to them. They are willing to spend money on hiring people to create media that they can use or license it from another. It makes sense to go this route to avoid the many legal issues that may come. With Hive, we have a fair system of considering how to approach these issues through downvotes and muting content in communities that may be breaching some of these copyright laws that may result in unwanted attention hitting the front-ends and witnesses.
I think, for the most part, we approached the idea of informing newcomers of how to go about posting here on Hive in a way that does not breach any of the community's rules and ensures these members stick around. But we got reliant on this idea of using stock images. Here on Hive we have a pretty relaxed idea of what content is to be considered valuable, because value is ultimately derived from those who may have an interest in that particular subject and its niche; one of my typical film reviews may be worth nothing to you, but worth something to another. That said, for me, I am starting to see so many posts using stock images that I am starting to value them less and less.
Hear me out: I am definitely not saying that they are bad posts. But I feel that in part of Hive's idea of pursuing good post presentation to increase the idea of value to a post is lost. We are all too reliant on stock images for our posts and it results in feeds that have very little standing out. Especially when such posts are then using the same stock images as others. Understandably there are situations in which a person may not have any other choice, but in many of these cases there could be more effort in that aspect of presentation. That is to fully say that I believe Hive posters could do a better job in that regard; taking their own images or creating their own thumbnails for posts.
There are many that do this already, and I love seeing how creative some people get in their posts with it. I have seen people go to the lengths of animating their thumbnails or adding a photograph of themselves to it and thus giving the post title and thumbnail a boost in personality that ultimately says: "Hey, come and check this out! I'm here!"
And the outcome of this is that those people earn my attention and thus my curation. Those who use a typical stock image end up being filtered out in a sea of content that remains visually unappealing. And when so much of Hive's idea of value stems from creativity and giving the platform life that makes it stand out, why are we still encouraging people to not step up and out of this early Hive user phase? There are many instances where such posts could easily have their own images taken. Just step outside, take a few with your phone. Slap on a little text on the image; maybe edit it slightly. Push yourself into being more creative.
Again, there are many instances where we might want to use images from another publication or source and thus link to them, which is completely understandable. But there is certainly areas where stock images just are not necessary. And the more I see it, and getting rather generously rewarded, the more I feel a bit disappointed in the community, because some of these posts truly do have potential to be great, but are just missing that aspect of personality that makes us remember that there's a person behind the account and it's that which promotes Hive.
In terms of my own posts: I will take images related to the subject I'm writing about. If I don't have any, I will use my own photography that I have taken or create something to use in Photoshop with a few lazy minutes spent. Definitely not on par with the effort others put in, admittedly. With my film posts, I tend to just take my own screenshots and use those in the posts, finding ways to make these key moments relevant to the post somehow. I never use stock images (this post was just begging for it, though) and actively avoid it. I find it kind of strange how popular photography is here as well, yet we still see a mixture of people posting their own photography and using stock images.
So, I actually want to ask those of you that read this: does the heavy use of stock images in posts bother you as well? Are you likely to value a post that has a specialised thumbnail made for it more than a post that uses stock images? And lastly: if you use stock images, what has stopped you from making your own images instead? I am sure there are some people that have valid reasons for doing so. Perhaps I am missing something here.
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I use stock images because my own set of images on hand are crap. I see your point here and I could agree on parts where the overused stock images for a thumbnail makes the post look generic even if that's not intended. Many users aren't even content creators, they try to be one to get a piece of the inflation and doing the generic stuff until they figured out their creative side and start exploring more ways to catch visual attention.
But you'd still get to see some users who are already comfortable with the rewards, don't have any initiative to explore, or have no idea they have this lack of creativity on their content as a problem.
Heavy use of stock images with the attached "source link" is an eye sore but it's better than a wall of text imo.
Yeah that ultimately seems like it is the case. The point where they've achieved some type of following and support and have not felt it's necessary to jump out of the what I'd call newcomer phase.
I actually agree on both. I usually try to split posts up with a few images here and there. Or even take advantage of that and use those images to not just split walls of text up, but to push me into the next segment of the post.
Personally, I don't like seeing stock images in a lot of posts from the same user. It's okay to use it sometimes but if it's always the case, that's kind of a turn off to me. I mean, the OP can at least edit using the stock image, right?
But well, can't blame them if they don't have good images.
I'm just tired of seeing duplicate images in some posts. 😅
I see it a lot too. And when people post numerous images, it's quite distracting. I notice I end up just losing interest in the text and move on.
Yeah that's another option, but I guess it falls back into the familiarity of just using stock images that we place into those who are new. They don't really grow out of it and there isn't really any encouragement for them to.
Ill have to say I'm guilty about this😂. The stock images are actually nice and at times it can't be avoided as you say.
I don't know about others but at times why I do use them is because I have no idea how people do all those flashy images😂😂.
Adding of your personal pictures and some videos do draw reader eyes but that isn't all to the post(unless it's an art post).
I think most blogger's just don't want to waste time and strength making a mid-image with Canva. When you can get a mid image in less than a minute online😂😂
Try it! See what you can come up with. Maybe even write about the process of learning it in one of the communities. You don't have to go all-out like others do with animated thumbnails, haha. But see what you can create, even if it's just taking an image of your environment and adding your own text on it!
😂😂😂 I'll see what I can do.
I actually did edit an image in my latest post, although it's nothing special 😂😂
me too! sometimes (believe me or not) I even no need to open the post - I guess by preview the image is too good to be made by user itself, but 'lended'. I not tend to explore such a posts assembled from the lended content some other folks have created, to be brief ...
Yeah I know what you mean. You can see a thumbnail and instantly see that the poster has put in a lot of effort. I think we really overlook that side of things.
off: have too much !BEER left today in my fringe, hope you dont mind 😏 😀 🍻
View or trade
BEER.Hey @namiks, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @qwerrie for you. Enjoy it!Do you want to win SOME BEER together with your friends and draw the
BEERKING.This was kind of always going to happen when so many apparently need the equivalent of picture books and one sentence or it's tldr :) I know I've had a comment about how the ttrpg writeups are too hard to read literally because there's no images.
My current idea for that is illustrating the ooc bits as shenanigans comics, as that's pretty much all I would have time to draw for those posts and I don't want to do gothic horror in the shenanigans style which is basically deliberately fast and sloppy glorified stick figures which take 5min or so to draw
It doesn't bother me that much as if the text is good I'll just skip over boring/irrelevant images that are only added in because there's "supposed" to be images in posts.
Well i notice even hivers love seeing stock images on lost instead of the user created images.. Aint that bad thou as long honor is given to whoever deserves it
Yeah I think it's unfortunate that people are very eager and quick to throw on some stock images to something. I will occasionally do it but I am trying to do it less often. OneAlfa in the Leo community actually called me out for it. I complained about not having a good source of Leo art images that people came up with and he said wtf don't post things with that, why not just add pictures of all kinds of other random things to it? It doesn't have to be crypto related.
That got me thinking and now I am trying to use all of my own photos unless there is some situation where I can't do that. I think I enjoy it more! It certainly takes a little hassle out of trying to find a specific image lol but it works out in the end. I wish more would do the same!