500px

500px (pronounced "five hundred p-x") is a global online photo-sharing platform that is a subsidiary of Visual China Group. It is based in Toronto, Canada.[2][3] It was co-founded by Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev on October 31, 2009.[4]

500px
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
Social Networking
Headquarters20 Duncan Street
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
Area servedWorldwide
OwnerVisual China Group
Founder(s)Oleg Gutsol
Evgeny Tchebotarev
Employees35 [1]
URL500px.com
LaunchedOctober 31, 2009 (2009-10-31)
Current statusActive

500px is an online platform for photographers to gain global exposure, test their work, and earn money through licensing and brand partnership opportunities.[5] It facilitates direct connections between photographers and clients. As of September 2018, the site has 15 million users.[5]

History
500px headquarters in Toronto

Evgeny Tchebotarev started 500px in 2003 on the social blogging website LiveJournal[6] as a hobby, while he completed a business degree at Ryerson University.[7] Back then, 500 pixels was considered a good size for web display[8] and was therefore the limit placed on photos submitted to the community for review.[7] Once photographers submitted their photos, they were moderated, and only those of high quality would make it past the community's curators and be published on the site.[6]

Tchebotarev joined forces with Oleg Gutsol and in early 2009[7] they began work on the mostly automated incarnation of 500px. Image size grew to 900 pixels but the name remained. The two launched the official site on October 31, 2009.[6]

In 2009, the site had 1000 users, purely through word of mouth.[9] By late November 2012, the site had more than 1,500,000 users.[10]

500px's blog was named one of the best blogs of 2012, by Time magazine.[11]

In July 2015, the company raised $13 million in Series B funding[12] led by a strategic investor, the Visual China Group, and included participation from existing backers of the company.

In August 2015, the company launched a new version of its iOS app.[13]

In November 2016, the company launched 500px Studio, which allows brands to access custom and on-demand photography from 500px's photographers after their launch of a global photographer directory.[14]

In August 2017, 500px announced support for wide-gamut images.[15]

In November 2017, 500px was the recipient of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 award, which recognizes Canadian companies for their innovation, rapid revenue growth, and entrepreneurial spirit.[16]

On February 26, 2018, 500px was acquired by Visual China Group.[17]

On July 1, 2018, Getty Images became 500px's exclusive distribution partner for licensing outside China, as per its existing agreements with VCG.[18] As a result, 500px Marketplace was shut down on June 30, 2018. The service also discontinued support for publicly-licensed images (such as Creative Commons), citing that the function was underused.[19]

On July 5, 2018, 14.8 million accounts had "partial user data" (including e-mails, personal information, and hashed passwords) leaked via security breaches. 500px reported the breach in February 2019.[20]

Technology

500px has an algorithm in place to evaluate recently uploaded photos that takes views, likes and comments into account and results in a photo's rating or 'Pulse'.[21] The higher the Pulse, the more likely a photo is to reach the site's Popular page, giving it a higher chance of being seen by other users. The algorithm allows all users, not just those with a following, a chance to get their work to the front page of the Popular photos, increasing exposure.[22] This results in the Popular page always displaying fresh content and motivates users to regularly upload new images.[23]

Each user also has an overall rating titled 'Affection'. Taking into account the likes and favorites they have received across all photos, it is a reliable indication of how popular a photographer is within the community.[21]

Apps for iPhone,[24][25] iPad,[26] Android,[27][28] were also made for the site. Versions for Windows Phone 8[29] and Windows 8[30] were shutdown by the end of April 2015.[31]

Controversy

On April 12, 2012, 500px's Terms of Service rose to the top of popular site Hacker News, garnering attention for legalese on the left-hand side of the page and summing up the legalese into basic points on the right-hand side. The resulting discussion on the Terms was mixed, with positive feedback such as 'awesome'[32] and 'one of the cleanest in the industry'[33] alongside negative feedback that believes 500px may have put themselves at undue risk.[34]

On January 21, 2013, Apple removed 500px's iPad app from its store, citing concerns of nudity available via the app.[35] Apple restored the app on January 29, following the release of a new version with a "Mature 17+ rating" and a report button.[36]

See also

References
  1. "Meet our team". 500px. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  2. Bonnington, Christina (2012-03-28). "8 Eye-Popping Retina Display Photography Apps for the New iPad". Wired. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  3. Deubele, Simon (2012-04-11). "German Review: 500px is photography - Die Fotocommunity". 22Millionenpunkte. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  4. Taylor, Colleen (2011-10-17). "500px, the website for photo buffs, hits its stride". Wired. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  5. "500px | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  6. Taylor, Colleen (2011-05-17). "Move Over Flickr - Hot Shots Love 500px". Gigaom. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  7. Ho, Trung (2011-09-13). "Business Management 2007: Evgeny Tchebotarev". Ryerson Folio. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  8. Dzierza, Michal (2011-05-09). "500px.com - where quality meets simplicity". Michal Dzierza. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  9. Havlik, Dan (2011-07-25). "Photographer-run 500px is giving Flickr a run for its money". The Daily. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  10. "Gorgeous Photos, Now In Your Pocket: 500px Arrives On iPhone". AOL Inc. 2012-11-28.
  11. "25 Best Blogs 2012". Time. 2012-10-22. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24.
  12. Lunden, Ingrid. "500px Raises Another $13M To Take On Getty And Flickr". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  13. "The new 500px app is a high-resolution Instagram". The Verge. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  14. "500px for Business serves up photography on-demand for brands". Digital Trends. 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  15. "Photos and Color Profiles: The Quickly Approaching Move to Wide-Gamut". PetaPixel. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  16. "Deloitte Technology Fast 50 winners achieve strong growth in a challenging labour market". Deloitte – press release. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  17. Zhang, Michael (2017-08-26). "500px Acquired by VCG, the Getty Images of China". PetaPixel. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  18. Galang, Jessica (2018-06-05). "500PX announces distribution partnership with Getty Images". Betakit. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  19. "500px will no longer allow photographers to license their photos under Creative Commons". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  20. Liptak, Andrew (2019-02-13). "Personal information of 14.8 million 500px users leaked in security breach". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  21. Muchmore, Michael (2012-02-28). "500px Review & Rating". PC Mag. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  22. Burrard-Lucas, Will (2011-07-23). "500px Review [and Giveaway]". Digital Photography School. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  23. Chen, Yi (2011-10-05). "Photo Sharing Website Review 500px.com". Photoble. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  24. Lodi, Erin (2012-11-28). "500px releases iPhone app". Digital Photography Review. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  25. Rehm, Lars (2015-08-07). "500px launches redesigned iOS app". Digital Photography Review. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  26. Henry, Alan (2011-10-18). "500px for iPad Is a Gorgeous Photo Browser and Slideshow Creator". lifehacker. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  27. Banerjee, Ankit (2012-04-23). "500px app for Android now available on the Google Play Store". Android Authority. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  28. Lewis, Rob (2012-04-19). "Toronto's 500px Continues Tear, Launches Android App". TechVibes. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  29. Sabri, Sam (2013-12-19). "500px officially comes to Windows Phone". Windows Central. Mobile Nations LLC. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  30. LeBlanc, Brandon (2013-09-24). "500px for Windows 8 now available in the Windows Store". Windows Blogs. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  31. Ali, Khurram (2015-05-01). "Here is why 500px ended support for Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps". Tech Prolonged. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  32. Garber, Megan (2012-04-11). "Behold, a Terms of Service Agreement That Is Actually User-Friendly". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  33. Bourne, Scott (2011-07-12). "500px Mini Review". Photofocus. Archived from the original on 2011-10-23. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  34. Thomas, Knowlton (2011-04-12). "Toronto Startup 500px Ignites Controversy Over TOS: Is it Helping Users or Tricking Them?". TechVibes. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  35. Joanna, Stern (2013-01-23). "Apple Removes 500px Photo App From App Store Over Nudity Complaints". ABC News. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  36. "500px back in Apple app store after 'porn' complaint resolved". CBC. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
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