Well there are a few things that are new. There are some I should mention. Like using multilingual sites and foreign/local payment solutions. I have never ever seen a solution of SMS payment on US based paysites or prepaid payment solutions and stuff like that on "big dog" US sponsors. Well this is changing but it's happening outside US.

If you only knew how many non-US signups I get at places where non-US customers can be billed and that's only using credit card solutions. Now talk about other payment solutions. That's a whole new era of new payment solutions and a whole new market out there. So much money just waiting to be collected. While there my be new types of paysites invented, what good can they do if the majority of world-wide market can't pay for it and it's not because they don't have money!

There are many BS stories circulating around european payment options it makes me sick and everyone is pointing on the dialers. Fucken dialers. Europeans like them as much as US customers. Europeans having no credit cards? DUH! Ya right. And what about Asia?

There is a company called Sex Money that saw this gap and saw what ibill, ccbill and all other most common used processors didn't.

I see this as a new thing that will shake and connect the net even more in the coming years than all the paysites with a twist that are coming out each year.

There are so many things yet to be discovered. Internet is at its roots and I feel very good about it, because there are so many opportunities just waiting to be exploited and so much more money to be earned.

yes, and they seem to be in love with the idea of imposing extremely strict rules on any site to be called "tgp2" or at least the handful i have met

they also seem to spend so much time parroting each other, if you meet 4 in one place just talk to 1 of them and you can hear what they all have to say

imagine night of the living dead, only instead of moaning "brains, BRAINS" they are saying "tgp2, TGP2"

all the anal retentive bullcrap that the diehard tgp2 people spout is what throttled tgp2, imo

Hello All:

Great thread Chris....

All points above have merit, however, I think billing and legislation will always be determining factors as to the fate of this industry.

With billing being a prominent factor for all of us, I see new revenue streams (eg Cross Sells/Up Sells) as additional ways to make money and offset other costs to give the surfer a better product.

In respect to legislation, we are seeing laws changing and with one swift move in legislation, affilate models may have to make numerous changes to adapt to the market. From the affiliate model, I believe success is coming in the form of adapting quickly to change and diversfying your billing and products.

Living in the "Here and The Now" sometimes reaps the immediate rewards of profits, but if you don't plan for tomorrow, those profits twindle quickly. There is a big difference between leadership and management.

Platinum Albert
Platinum Bucks

full page ads in every link. much less annoying than popups. people say popups sell, personally i never saw it, and most people i know HATE the motherfuckers. these people arent rocket scientists either, they are real life typical moronic americans who think that wrestling is real and porn is glamorous

Re: Trends in the business...
 

Good Topic Chris !
I haven't read everyone's replies so i may repeat some stuff, but i think Free Trials from Sponsors is a good comeback . Higher incentive Bonuses given from sponsors. Since there is sooooo much competition now, for webmasters including Higher Webmaster Referals , Higher Payout , Almost All Affiliates now have Free Content, Hosted Galleries .
Webmasters are spreading into the microniche fetishes vs. the mainstream sites. Due to Better Conversions . Higher Traffic Ratios for free sites are increasing .
Hmmm... Adult Industry is getting more publicity and becoming more acceptable in society. :D

Nice thread EC,

Many peeps are looking into same areas of trends and I agree about REALITY stuff. There's also many new ways to maximise traffic and many new tools and good programs... LONG LIVE PHP.

Also agree with Bobby R in regards to mainstream vs adult.

I could go on with many new ideas and trends but why let the cat out of the bag ;-)

The trend that is the most important is that if you keep all your time reading boards and posting the get new tricks and make new friends and contact, you will not get things done.

Boards are the best tool for adult webmasters but the bad thing about them to is that they stear webmasters away from the focus of doing new things to make more money ;-) Loads of newbies posting shit as well that are time wasters ;-)

I love boards and spend most of my night time/free time there because it's sooo usefull in information and keeping good bonds with people/friends.

Wow I see so much stuff here. I think RocHard, Cyndalie, and LAJ are right. But here are my calls:

First, Billing is and will continue to be the single most important aspect of the industry. Someone in the know told me they heard rumors of visa plans to prohibit adult recurring. Not to make anyone panic or anything, but this is GOING to suck if it happens.

Second, the surfers are getting more sophisticated. You can't just fling them like poop at a wall and see what sticks. You have to have compelling paysites or they won't recur. Take my word on this one, they're getting smarter daily and more are finding that elusive cancel button. If you want to retain them you have to pay attention to each one of their specific perversions and give them exactly what they want. If you do they found a home. If not, they're going somewhere else to look for a home.

The days of three page tours are gone. Surfers want to see exactly what they're going to get when they join.

I hope trials go away completely. I have not had trials on any of my main sites since like 1998. I still convert, and I get at least one month up front. This means I can pay out my webmasters more than a trial site, because more money is coming in.

Content is becoming more important. The members areas of many major sites are still crap, but they're getting better. If you don't have good complelling content in your members area, the more sophisticated surfers who have been around the block will see that and they will hit that cancel button before you can even get that confirmation email out.

Broadband feeds will contine to propogate. The high speed surfers will not tolerate crap. They have more money, they pay more money for their connection, and they expect to see better content.

The TGP will continue to dominate the adult traffic game.

More people will buy my content because it really is the best. If you don't buy it, your surfers will not stay yours. You will email me at mike AT virtucon.net for a password.

I see more consolidation in the future. People buying each other out.

Europe will become significantly more relevant to American webmasters. They have strange ways of doing things but their currency is worth more than US dollars.

Geotargeting is the way to go with custom multilingual tours and dynamic billing predictions.

My favorite food will continue to be Thai and I will still be single for a while.

I will be launching a new reseller program in the next couple months that will take into account all factors in the future as I see them. I am known for predicting the future, just wait until you see my visions. You'll be surprised what we can pull off if we know what to do and what to avoid.

Interesting threads, EC...and some very thought-provoking points raised.

I think many of the new "trends" have been mentioned by others here.

The rise of more 'reality-based' sites as we see the merge between mainstream media and adult continue. The rise of 'niche' specific sites. The need for diversification in terms of billing options. The need to monetize on as much of our traffic as possible.

One of the major ones that I think we'll see emerge, most especially with the ever-increasing problems of converting traffic from lower quality sources, is that people will become more open to the option of actually buying their traffic as opposed to simply relying on traffic trades.

Beyond which is the issue Vid raised -- we're going to see ever-increasing state intervention into how the adult online biz operates.

hmm, very interesting threads.. here are some trends I have noticed:

an increase in:

Adult Webmaster Boards
Hosting Companies
Content Providers
etc.

Much much more webmaster-related services - I remember back in the day everyone posted on Netpond :) with a few here and there, now there are so many boards I cannot keep up with them!

Also, I've noticed an increase in cheaters - granted there were always cheaters, I find nowadays much more people doing deceiving things, I guess its a sign of times where things get harder to make money and people want to take a short cut..

Either way, when it comes down to it - if you are creative, smart, and have good marketing skills, you should be fine making $$$ :)

Let me expand on the increase in webmaster-related services:

The increase in boards I couldnt really care about, for the most part, posting on boards doesnt make me money :)

But an Increase in Webhosting Companies and Content Providers I feel is making the industry more efficient -

-unused content is cheaper since there is so much more
-webhosting is MUCH cheaper than even what it was a year ago, prices 3-4 years ago were around anywhere from 500-900/megabit and $3-4/gig.

the adult net is becoming more efficient.

hey J-man,
Yeah All these New Webmaster Boards have Popped up Recently .
(there's a trend i noticed)

I agree with VirtuMike that Thai Food is an excellent choice for lunch or dinner and that trend will most likely continue.

That was EXACTLY, almost word for word, the argument of Hugh M. Hefner back in the late fifties...

I'd wouldn't call it "a takeover", but more simply, "a consequence of human nature".

Hi all,

Please allow me to be a pessimist for a minute.

I personally think we are less than 1 year away from the shit REALLY hitting the fan, re: 3rd party billing. The recent crash-and-burn of WebsiteBilling (and IBill?) are only the beginning. I'm talking about the wholesale termination of websites that Visa deems are not in compliance with regulations.

Visa did not start collecting webmaster names, addresses and URLs so they could just sit on them. They are compiling data and examining websites right now.

Paranoid? I hope so.

B

I disagree about the Credit Card processors. Get to know who you process with, and become good friends with them. I knew about the Visa crap long before it became public, so I didn't freak when it came out.

I already know of one CC processing company that is taking steps to move away from Mastercard and Visa in case they need to.

This has become the most interesting thread I have ever read on any board. Many different viewpoints, with nothing held back. That is the very best way we can communicate on these webmaster boards.

Many trends were mentioned multiple times.... ie. geotargetting of foreign (non credit card) traffic, reality sites is a big one and will most likely continue to flourish. Webmaster boards and resource areas I think will taper off and the serious will survive. ;)

I'm not sure either about Barry's take on 3rd party billing. But then again, this stuff comes without warning and surprises the most veteran webmaster.

I don't think iBill itself is in any real trouble but it does seem that iBill Europe is in big trouble. Much the same thing that happened to Websitebilling with their bank cutting them off. However that only affects the European companies that use iBill and their core US business is unaffected at the moment.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some consolidation happen in the IPSP market soon.

wow, what a great thread.

i have reservations when it comes worrying about big brother. while i do think there will be some shuffling around to dodge any new obstacles that may get thrown our way. The power guard is changing, we are now starting to see people who are a bit younger and perhaps more liberal coming into positions of influence and power.

It looks like the people in power right now in the states are trying to pull the typical wag the dog, and go after anything that doesn't fit into the 2.3 kid family that they envisioned for the nuclear era, as they have seriously fucked up the economy again. Most things seem cyclical to me so once the power is switched back to people who actually paid attention in Economics, they will focus attention to where it is critically needed and away from our industry. Although i expect as most people pointed out...there will be a bunch of new rules and laws open to interpretation.

plus there are many new ways to get at peoples money...i think the attitude over at VIsa/MC will likely change in a couple years once they see their share of the pie going elsewhere.

I'm sure we are going to see some sort of crackdown on Internet Porn in the coming years but in no way will it pull our Industry under.

I can still go to the Asian market down the street and choose from 100 different magazines with hardcore porn, 18 only, etc...

How much Money does Yahoo, AOL/Turner and MSN alone make from Porn each year? Every search term and click is bought and sold.

I read a poll a couple months ago that stated 1 out of 2 registered guests in hotels that offered adult movies rented at least 1.

Think of all the bandwidth bought and sold from backbone providers just to support porn.

The governement is eventually going to brownbag Internet porn but it ain't going away. We just need to anticipate and adjust with whatever the new laws may be. That might mean the end of Free Porn. That might be a good thing.

Seriously? Jeeze... maybe I do have some potential after all :D

But what about Sushi :confused:

JMan, you're turning into a Vancouverite already I see. :p

The trend? how about this?

People we all know going underground, making boatloads of cash and not let anyone know what they're doing.
It's happening all around you right now gentlemen.

WOW...what an awesome thread..

As I was reading I was very impressed to see so many webmasters touch on geo-targeting and global traffic. We have ignored the world for far too long. I think it's great that webmasters are becoming educated on the tastes and preferences of their International surfers.

They DO have credit cards - they just don't USE them the way we do here. Sincerely - many Europeans think it laughable that we use our credit cards the way they use debit cards for little purchases, daily expenses and Internet use.... They use cards more for travel purposes like hotels, car rentals, airfare, etc... and of course they think we're awful silly for paying off one credit card with another. :bonk:

Anyway...aside from the whole geo-targeting thing - one trend I really see is an actual INTEREST in learning more about our traffic, what to do with it, how to properly target it, sell to it and cater to our surfers' needs. I think gone are the days of "F*CK the SURFER* - now we're finally down to the professional tactic of properly servicing and accomodating the customer.

I think this says a lot for our industry - on many levels. Sincerely...we've come a LONG WAY baby!!!!

:cool:

I will be calling George Dub-ya today to discuss what he needs to do
about Internet porn. Hell, we may even conference call Ashcroft and let him throw in his $ .02. Then i'm driving over to VISA headquarters, taped from head to toe with plastique explosives, and marching directly into VISA CEO Carl Pascarella's office...

I'll get it all worked out. Don't worry.

Damn right on that one :cool:

Reality, Free, email, spam (cleaning up)

Alot of good things are happening in the industry I see a trend moving towards cleaning up the industry.

Which is good to see,

Since everybody else got they're rants in, I'll add mine ..


Reality Content .. lately it sucks .. and the reason is simple .. too many newbies that wanna fuck on tape are buying a digital camera and callin themselves a Pornagrapher .. the footage is pure crap, no lighting skills, no color balance and best of all Audio is from the on camera mics (the cheapest mics you'll ever find) ...


I've shot lots of reality tv for broadcast (on tv) and yes we use lights and do set things up .. it's only normal if you want a decent image and some what of a good story line, u need to prepare this .. So in atticipation of this trend ... My next site is going to zero in on production values and show people that Pro shooters and pro Content producers make a difference! ... Look out for this site launch right before Cybernet .. next week some time :D

Ok my rave and plug are over .

Wow, some great insight here! So that I don't repeat what has been said, one thing that has truly taken off and I don't think it was mentioned, is MPA2. I am not just plugging for Oystein, even though he is a sexy tall Norweigan...hahahaha j/k.

Seriously though, their program has performed well and really taken off. For those who don't know about MPA2, in a nutshell it is cascading billing.

t'is true... it's why you don't see owners at their booths or at conventions at all much anymore. It's why you don't even see some booths...

it's also why you don't see the "players" posting much.. they lurk, but don't post much.

Time is $$ and these parties that people call conventions and the drama on the boards just isn't worth the time.

The people we'd all like to meet and model ourselves after (or at least, our successes).. they're getting harder to find.

Sorry but that was the biggest spam post I have ever seen. Not saying it is not a great program, but there are many other great programs out there as well. This thread was about trends in the industry, but way to throw out a nice pure spam message.

Hopefully that is something that will change in the future when these stronger message boards survive.

AJ

Have you seen a video called "Erotic Survivor"? It's a softcore take-off of Survivor and it's very cheezy (two girls are searching in the forest for food and find a Tappioca Bush and proceed to rub the pudding all over each other and then lick it off). But it's a lot of fun. Sorry, this is off topic, but you reminded me of this. :topic:

Oh I have seen much worse spam many many times before buddy ;)

Poppy just told me about this link and he is not affiliated with my company at all, so all I can do is thank him for the nice post and thank you for making noise about this. :D

Cascading Billing is a definately a trend in this Industry and the Mansion Productions software is leading the way. So...I'll help continue making noise.

Poppy just likes to give credit where credit is due...

Triplexcash is using MPA2 now.
In fact we just started, and I am still playing with the admin area.
It's pretty impressive.

I wouldn't call the use of such software a trend though. This kind of thing has always been done. The major difference now is that when we go to a 2nd or 3rd processor because of decline, we are no longer permitted to carry over the credit card information. Everything else (name, etc..) is fair game, but they have to fill out the CC info again.

Still, it's well worth it to use such a system and can immediately increase your sales by 20%.

A trend is only a trend when more than one is doing it.

From Dictionary.com:

"trend ( P ) Pronunciation Key (trnd) n.

1. The general direction in which something tends to move.
2. A general tendency or inclination. See Synonyms at tendency.
3. Current style; vogue: the latest trend in fashion. "

:bonk:

Before Mansion Productions made cascading billing ready and available for the "masses" this was considered an anamoly and very expensive to implement. Now that more than just a few use it, I will go as far as to say that cascading now is one of the the latest trends in the adult entertainment internet industry for sure...

Great thread!...and excellent discussions.

Oystein is top notch in my book! - and if Poppy comes out on the boards to say some good things about someone, I for one will listen.

Regarding the 'marketing people' in our industry...I feel that some get a little lost along the way and are just trying to make a buck (thus jumping from one co. to another) instead of focusing on customer service and helping fellow webmasters increase their income...thereby, increasing the marketing persons income too (that is, if they are in any way on commissions).

IMHO, the best marketers are webmasters who attend shows with 'business first' always in mind and understand that at the strip clubs, at the after-hour clubs, at the black-jack tables and even at the private fuck show...they are representing a company and how they act will always be a direct reflection of that company, period.

You don't see most of the big boys fucking around on pissing match boards (XNations NOT included...this board ROCKS) because they are busy working and making money. 12clicks, I think you nailed it (pun intended ;>).

And before I finish my little bitch session...I want to share that I think the BEST marketers are first and foremost *successful webmasters in their own right that choose to stand behind a program, product and/or company because they themselves know the people involved and promote/use the program through their own sites. Who would know better which programs are the best than seasoned webmasters who have promoted the sponsor program prior to them working/marketing for them.

Of course, there are some exceptions to my rule; but in the seven years I've been an adult webmaster...this philosophy has worked well for me anyway.

And that my friends...is all she wrote. :D

TGP2 is trying to do a number of different things, not just sell more memberships. Every TGP reform thread I've seen has 95% to 99% of WM's bitching about various aspects of the model, including the insane number of rule combinations.

TGP2....the reformed TGP2.... ;) , has one rule set for all. Of course, it's up to site admins to use those rules, but most have seen the advantage of having a central rule set.

WM's can read the rules ONE TIME, build ONE GALLERY, and submit to ALL SITES within the network, and the pool! Try that with TGP and you'll be out of the submission business inside of a day. TGP admins complain about WM's not reading the rules, but their rule pages look like the city dump, take forever to read and are essentially addressed to cheaters and newbies who probably aren't reading the damn things anyways!

As it was, one of the major gripes that TGP2 burnouts had was the rule variations that cropped up. If we go that route again, it will die again.

We would probably all tweak the rules a little differently if we were king, and there's nothing stopping us from running with our own individual projects, but 'TGP2' *needs* to provide the structure that TGP lacks. Fortunately, this structure allows plenty of room for the WM to make sales. The freedom it provides is like a breath of fresh air compared to TGP, so most {edited here} seem willing to compromise and play ball when they otherwise might not.

Perhaps in the next few years, there will be a number of variations that will spring up and be successfull. If it sells better than TGP, it can't be all bad, so I say go for it! But just as many TGP'ers work CJ and AVS, it's a good idea to put a little time into TGP2 as well. Supporting TGP2 now will help to spawn similar projects in the future.

Here's some TGP2 info links.

http://sexhornysex.com/sexy/tgp2-info.htm

Which was simply my point, MPA2 in itself is not the trend, cascading billing is. I dont have a problem with MPA2 myself and I have looked at it, they did a good job on it thats for sure. Just simply looked like a spam in the middle of a good Industry Trends thread.

Moving on...

Here's the test: can you picture yourself wearing pajamas and with 50 bunnies around you? :D