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Corbis Offering Free Pictures For Bloggers

by Darren

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Corbis is a large stock image company that has come up with what they think is a solution to the problem of unlicensed photos. The company is allowing bloggers to use some photos in exchange for the right for Corbis to run ads on the pics.

Corbis and its digital rights partner, PicScout, will allow bloggers to access photos via a Web link from the site PicApp.com, now in a test phase, Corbis Chief Executive Gary Shenk told the Reuters Media Summit in New York on Tuesday.

The photos will either include an ad overlay on part of the image, or embedded advertising that pops up when a Web user runs a cursor over the picture.

“We work with a partner so that those pictures are tracked, and if they’re being used illegally, we can figure that out,” Shenk said. “But as long as they are downloaded through this application, you’re legit and you’re ready to go.”

The effort is the first of its’ kind, and seems to follow the principle that Google has been promoting for years: give away the “product” and charge advertisers for ads. How well this will go over remains to be seen.

The offering is limited in which pictures can be used, so that’s one drawback. Corbis has been doing everything they can to turn a profit, so the new business model might work.

What do you think of this plan by Corbis?

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