With BizJam barely two weeks away now, Lara and I and Amanda are in high gear with event planning and organizing. And every time we rent another table or hire another contractor to to handle the thousand and one tasks associated with producing an event of this size, we’re reminded how grateful we are to the sponsors who stepped up to make this event possible. We’re thrilled that one of those sponsors is iStockphoto, because like Biznik, iStockphoto is a site that relies heavily on the involvement of community members for its success.

I interviewed iStockphotos PR director, Karla Udziela, to find out a little more about the company and their story. Karla manages global media relations for iStockphoto, monitors coverage about the company and executes creative tactics. If you’d like to meet her and learn more, you’ll have a chance to do that in two weeks at BizJam.

Q: Tell me the short version of the iStockphoto story.

iStockphoto democratized access to terrific imagery and video, by offering stock photos and videos starting as low as $1. Prior to iStock, small businesses had no options for low-cost imagery other than to do it themselves. iStock also functions as a community, a virtual home to more than 50,000 artists worldwide, who make a royalty from every image or video sold at iStockphoto.com.

Q: Why is your service competitive today?

iStockphoto is localized in 12 languages and offers the freshest collection. We also offer advanced search capabilities for our customers, so they can search by color or even for space for copy. Finally, each image or video file is hand-inspected for technical quality and legal sale, so that trademark issues and model releases are doublechecked, saving buyers worry.

Q: What’s compelling about iStockphoto for independent business people?

Great imagery and stock videos from the world’s leading destination for royalty-free stock. Pay once and use multiple times. Now you can add style and substance to Web pages, marketing collateral and presentations without breaking the bank.

Q: iStockphoto has been incredibly successful at tapping into the power of community to build the business. Are there lessons in your success that you can share with others who are building businesses of their own?

Listen to the community, even when it hurts…The community is your heart and soul. When you welcome criticism and share your dilemmas, the community respects that.

Q: Why is iStockphoto sponsoring BizJam?

iStock is sponsoring BizJam because Seattle is a thriving independent business community. 75 percent of our three million-member customer base is small businesses. We believe in supporting their growth. BizJam is doing the same, so it is a perfect match.