ViewBug

Does anyone have a subscription to ViewBug? Have you had any luck with their contest? What are your thoughts?

Trying to decide whether or not to join.

Why pay to enter contests? You can find contests on your own. They apparently make money on memberships etc. and the voting seems to be a popularity contest as much as anything. It's easy these days for a company to have a nice looking website but what they're offering or selling may not be that great. I scroll down to the bottom of a site and look at things like About Us, Terms & Conditions, etc.

I know a couple of people (not from this site) who tried it and said they didn't stay with it long because it wasn't worthwhile for them. Said they still keep getting emails from the company.

I placed in the top 30% according to an email I got from them in their latest contest thru snapfish.  My image was ahead of 126,854 other images. That said, I don't usually enter their contests,
nor participate much on that site. I think they entered that image for me. I have one of their "free" accounts.

Looked at them about 7 months ago, wasn't all that impressed.  Pass.  

Now you guys got me curious, I hadn't looked at their site in a long time. Already under Terms of Use of the Viewbug Website, #2 goes into third parties, #5 User Submissions gets into allowing the site  usage of your photos etc. And now says 'Your Photos May Be Selected To Receive More Exposure!'. Exposure to who? other photographers? what advantage is that to you? seems like that's to the advantage of the company.

I quit reading the Terms after that, it goes on and on. I just don't think I'd sign something like this, which seems to be basically what you're doing when you use a site and agree to follow their terms.

Thank you all for your feedback.  I was teetering and you have helped me not spend any money.

icepics wrote: Now you guys got me curious, I hadn't looked at their site in a long time. Already under Terms of Use of the Viewbug Website, #2 goes into third parties, #5 User Submissions gets into allowing the site  usage of your photos etc. And now says 'Your Photos May Be Selected To Receive More Exposure!'. Exposure to who? other photographers? what advantage is that to you? seems like that's to the advantage of the company.

I quit reading the Terms after that, it goes on and on. I just don't think I'd sign something like this, which seems to be basically what you're doing when you use a site and agree to follow their terms.

    I was thinking the same thing.  Pass 

Late to this discussion, but with my two cents on Viewbug. They've combined the social accessories of facebook (likes, followers, Pm's, peer awards) added a hierarchical points system ( a 'Wow, you progress to the next level!' encouragement system'),  using those, and zealous email promptings, to pamper your vanity and have you paying memberships to enter the Premium or Pro contests, a dream they encourage around you (using the above mentioned stuff). Their production line of contests often contain over 50,000 entries, and, on a contest completion, they're polite enough to show you a line graph depicting how many tens of thousands of entries had more family and relatives than you have, voting for their shot.   They invite professional photographers to judge the contests, which adds a bit of celebrity and star power to proceedings, and DO use advertising in offering sponsors gear prizes, and cash. They also interview professional photograhers in their blog (which doesn't allow comments/interaction), which constitutes a 'tutorial' on the photographer's work and chosen field. It is all carefully managed, easily digestible 101 stuff. Noticably, there's no forum for members to interact. You only get to one on one with other members, using Pm's. And managed further, in the sense that your comments, complaints or feedback (using an email form submission) are never heard by anyone else in forum. Viewbug is corporate, clever, slick and faceless ( emails signed, 'Your friends at Viewbug). It has you paying for the privilege of their packaging and social networking. Beneath its social networking, slickness and accessories, Viewbug's business isn't photography. It's money. The service it provides in the field of Photography is wholly in the eye of the membership buyers. And there's nothing of the Viewbug 'photographic dream' selling business that you can't get elsewhere on the web, for free and without the ego massaging. That said, its use of members and its money making model is the closest thing to a ponzi scheme that you're allowed to have now days. Bernie Madoff would be proud.

Sounds like you didn't have a pleasant experience there!  

LOL I'll say @Vahrenkamp. 

OP- Well sorry you had such a bad experience!

He's had two years to get over it.....