Future of Adult Trade Shows

[Cyndalie]

The future of trade shows in the adult internet industry is pretty easy to predict at this point... I think we are down to 3 - Internext, Cybernet & Xbiz, although I've never been to an xbiz - do they have a trade show?

We are pretty much an industry of gatherings and events at this point, and I think we will ever see the heyday of consumer foot traffic at these events again - unless there is a new technology revolution to market on a new platform as with what happened in adult. For now I think internet companies will have to merge with the fray of general adult shows and look at them as exposure rather than the B2B side of doing business - but there is something to be said for presence and doing business alongside of other vendors.

What are your thoughts on the future of adult trade shows for the internet side of the biz?

With more events than ever are you considering or even attending as many as you once were?

[Evil Chris]

I'll never attend as many as I once did. I doubt any of us will because you're right on the money. There will never be as many as there once was.

But with that being said, I think there is still room for shows that are fairly local, that cater to the actual webmaster or affiliate. Recently at the Phoenic Forum (awesome show, by the way) I noticed that there was barely any actual webmasters in attendance. These big shows are now frequented by business people and company owners. No new affiliate traffic to be found for the most part.

[Rochard]

Shows have changed. I remember when I first stared in this industry they were entertaining and productive.

I remember my first show in LA where three chicks just suddenly started going at it on the couch next to me. It ended up with all three of them naked and fucking each other.

At the same time, shows used to be productive. Yeah, we would party all night but at 9am we were showered, fresh, and ready to start work - meaning business meanings.

The parties used to be huge and entertaining. Now...... It's a lot of wannabes who want to see some boobies and grab some free booze.

[lulu]

astute Cyn. i think you're right we may see the merging of "mainstream" adult with online adult. given the economy many companies do not want to send their employees to shows.

phoenix forum is a good one for sure. for us, attending a european show is important due to the nature of our business. aside that, i'd say 1 maybe 2 more max a year. internext florida is a good one for me.

i wasn't there back in the day, sounds to me like the shows you talk about Roc are about 5 plus years ago.

[Elli]

yes, the foot traffic is much depleted. Instead of pitching programs and services to newbies with grand ideas of "I heard there was money in porn, so I want to start a website," the businesses at shows seem to focus more on cementing relationships and deals with each other. To do that, you don't need to send 8 employees across the country or around the world and you don't need to host elaborate gatherings. Those days sure were fun, though... *sigh*