Imaging Resource bites the dust

[Ken Katz]

Apparently, Imaging Resource as gone dark, and is likely closed down:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/9097452022/imaging-resource-closed-following-acquisition-by-new-owner

Somewhat humorous that I linked to an article on DP Review, which is also in the process of shutting down.  Don't have any words of wisdom on this except both Imaging Resource and DP Review were very good sources of reviews and information on the photo world and will be missed.  Apparently supporting such sites with only ad revenue may not be a viable business model anymore.  It is also unclear is such an operation can be supported by paid subscriptions.   

 

 

[PapaTango]

As we have learned, DPR has been rescued in a variety of ways.  In the end, it's always about the money.

Online communities come with a cost.  For sites that are image heavy, the cost is greater as they require more resources.  In general, forum-like communities are on the decline.  Various social media platforms have inserted themselves, along with things such as Quora, Discord, and Reddit as an alternative and 'instant' flow of knowledge and drivel.

Advertising in and of itself does not generate much income.  The larger piece of the pie goes to sponsorships from kindred businesses.  But these really require more than 100K membership, and documented (via Google metrics) daily activity.  But these likely will not pay the bills, no less compensate senior staff.

Subscription is another piece, but you must offer something that people want and think they need.  Value for investment, right?  But that is a tricky thing, in a web environment that offers so much for 'free.'  Again, this is something that in itself is not going to pay for itself.  Oh, and the more stuff people upload, the more monthly expense for storage.  Amazon S3, DigitalOcean, or CloudFront is cheap, but not so much when one has a terabyte of stuff stored away and being retrieved regularly.

If you ever wish to part ways with a few thousand dollars and wonder if you will ever see that money again--build your own community!  🤔