500px Launches ISO For Showcasing Its Members, Easier Bulk Upload And Editing

Flickr-competitor and photo-focused startup 500px is launching a trio of new things today, including a new blog called ISO that’s designed to build stories around member photos, revamped upload and management tools, and new collections which are curated photo groups that are designed to provide members with more sources of inspiration.

The ISO blog and the Collections initiative are both designed around the idea that 500px can continue to grow its audience and increase engagement by providing its users with more beyond the photo portfolios that members themselves create for their collections. Highlighting member content in a way that puts choice photos in front of more eyes is a necessary step as the 500px network increases, making it more difficult for any single artist to stand out on the basic Featured images discovery pages that have been part of the network since the start.

The other big change is with backend management tools for users, which mostly make it a lot easier to do bulk upload and editing on the platform. This should help make 500px even more friendly and optimized for professional use, which is a key category for the network since its monetization efforts so far revolve mainly around turning its top content into material that buyers can purchase in physical or digital form and license.

500px previously told me that it would be focusing a lot on the consumer side to spark more network growth, but instead it seems to now be doubling down on supporting pros and aspiring pros with new and upgraded features. It’s a smart strategy given their revenue goals, but we’ll see if this use of more internal content promotion satisfies that want for exposure 500px has clearly identified among users.