Excellent post ! Stock is such a tricky one as its hard to assess how much time is worth investing. Some people do it well; but it can become a full time job in doing so. The key is getting the right balance as you say. Having shots with people in them (and releases) is also important and overlooked by most people. I am also not sure Getty is taking new photographers directly anymore. I think they push everyone now though iStock and select the better images to go up on Getty.
I haven't looked into whether Getty is accepting new contributors because I'm already in. I think it's also important to realise what photos are worth spending the time on. If you waste time on uploading and keywording just any old photos that probably won't sell then it's not worth it. The better quality the images are the more time you should put into making them searchable.
I rarely have people in my shots, and if I do it's probably my wife. Properly thought out and planned stock travel shots with models do a lot better than just ordinary photos, but they can cost money to make as well, if you have to pay the models.
Yes all good points.
I think they are actually accepting offers to getty again (or at least they now have a joint istock/getty application page rather than directing you to the istock one)