Google Tax: Could French President Hollande Be that Stupid ?

There’s what’s called the Google stupid tax — what you pay when you try PPC advertising without the proper education. And now there could be an actual Google tax. I already had low expectations for François Hollande. Apparently, he is not one to disappoint. He is currently exploring the idea of taxing Google anytime they […]

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Attacked By Evil Photog Trolls! [More on Getty Extortion Letters]

Ever since publishing my post about Getty’s extortion letters, I’ve been inundated in comments. When I shut them off, there were 214 of them. Basically, a blog reader shared my post in the Shutterstock forum, which prompted many disgruntled photographers to come here for The Airing of Grievances. Multiple people emailed me privately to suggest […]

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I Was Shocked to Get a Getty Images Extortion Letter

In July of 2011, I received a letter from Getty Images. The letter claimed I was in violation of copyright. But the letter was not a typical Cease and Desist. Rather, it demanded the removal of the image from my site, plus a settlement payment of $1,065 to Getty Images. My first reaction was shock. […]

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Flattery from a Stranger

So I got this little gem of an email in my inbox this week. GREETINGS MY NAME IS ANGEL AND I AM THE DIRECTOR OF MEDIA REPRESENTING VISUAL MEDIA IMPACT IN TARRYTOWN, N.Y. I AM EMAILING YOU BECAUSE I SEE POTENTIAL IN YOUR TRAFFICKING DUE TO MY EXPERTISE OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZING. I HAVE OVER […]

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I Demand a New Tax to Fund My Marketing!

Some taxes never get put to a vote. Such was the case with the “Christmas tree tax” that was announced today in the Federal Register. The tax is a 15-cent per-tree tax on growers and importers of fresh Christmas tree. Believe it or not, this tax was supported by many growers. Why, you ask? Good […]

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