Yesterday brought us word that Cnet's Webshots division has cut a deal that will allow Webshots' photographers an option to offer photos on Corbis' new SnapVillage microstock site.

As our microstock site, Stockxpert.com nears the 1 million mark of accepted photos, I have learned a great deal about quality concerns and what sells and what does not sell. Based on my experience, I doubt that the Webshots deal is going to do much for SnapVillage. One blogger whacked the Cnet-Corbis deal yesterday. My reaction is tamer, but I would have to agree with Melcher.

The microstock business looks easy to run. However if one is going to have an excellent site and a long lasting operation, one really has to pay attention to quality control. The competition in this niche area of the stock image industry is fierce. Quality and great software are going to be the keys down the road for economic success.