This installment of the XBiz Industry News takes a look at iBill's newest feature, XBiz PostShow industry albums, and the latest gossip in the ongoing Extreme Associates case...
iBill Offers A Stand In
Addressing the needs of Webmasters wishing to complete site subscription transaction processes as quickly as possible, regardless of network conditions or the status of the merchant bank, iBill's new stand-in processing system speeds up transaction approvals. This allows member area access while the customer is still 'hot' – reducing complaints and charge backs by providing immediate site access, rather than instilling worry that somehow the process went astray, or worse yet, making the customer feel that he was 'ripped off' after entering his credit card information into a now inactive site.
According to iBill, "Stand-in is a process by which transactions are initially approved (given the purchase passes our fraud scrub) due to the inability to get the proper response from the bank in a timely manner. This may result from timeout issues or system maintenance by our processor."
Addressing the question of drawbacks, iBill responded that "The potential drawback of this process is temporary access for consumers because all transactions are initially approved. Once the banking network connection has been restored, the original transaction will be automatically resubmitted for approval (a maximum of 4 times in a 12 hour period). Upon receiving the proper response, the transaction information will be moved to CMI." Since all of iBill's site subscription accounts have the ability to disable stand-in processing, the downside is minimal – especially given the fact that 'catalog sales' of tangible goods are not included in the program.
PostShow™ A Winner!
XBiz, The Industry Source, has launched a new service called PostShow that allows members to upload both individual images as well as complete albums of 12 or more photos – and even short video clips too! Create your own albums to share personal, company, and / or event pics and videos, and then send your friends and associates to your own PostShow URL. Site visitors may add their comments about your submissions, and since the post page displays links to both your personal profile and ‘home page,’ the added promotional possibilities are an attractive incentive to post more images, and to post them more often!
According to XBiz Editor in Chief, Stephen Yagielowicz, "PostShow provides adult Webmasters and others within the online adult industry to see and be seen. Being able to put faces to the names you deal with on a daily basis is a new and valuable function of our site, and dramatically enhances networking opportunities." XBiz Lori added "The name PostShow says it all. It's a great addition to the XBiz offerings. PostShow adds entertainment as well as an opportunity for a person or a company to create additional exposure for themselves. A little free advertising never hurts." If you're ready to add your favorite photos and videos to our growing collection, sign up for a free account today!
Associations in the Extreme
I’ve been following the Extreme Associates obscenity case, and have been hearing quite a few tales and a bit of unconfirmed gossip about this developing situation. All of the attention that this case is getting is not limited to chatter on the various adult message boards, either.
Earlier this week on Fox New’s popular magazine show, "The O’Reilly Factor," noted adult industry attorney JD Obenberger was caught spinning in "The No Spin Zone" as host Bill O’Reilly unsuccessfully attempted to find a chink in the first amendment crusader’s armor. JD, as always, proved a formidable bulwark against the harsh, ratings-seeking assault launched by O’Reilly, who tried to balance a personal belief in the validity of ‘wholesome’ porn as opposed to the degrading and allegedly obscene content produced by Extreme, and took the stance that increased obscenity prosecutions were a good thing. Kudos to O’Reilly for maintaining as much ‘balance’ as he could, but outright applause is due to JD who stated "The Statue of Liberty’s light burns a little dimmer every time an obscenity case is brought…" Amen, brother.
But back to the gossip: stories are circulating that "the complaint" which started the initial investigation was actually filed by the husband of a former porn star who claims to have been raped and abused during the making of a video for Extreme Associates. Furthermore, additional attention was given to the case due to the company’s ownership of ‘Xtreme Professional Wrestling’ – a controversial wrestling operation apparently targeted (as are most wrestling programs) to children, and any ‘porn + children’ link will always get a level of increased scrutiny when the ‘go / no go’ decision is made regarding any federal prosecution. What if any influence this connection had on the prosecutors is pure speculation, still the speculation persists.
Stay tuned for more news from The Industry Source ~ Stephen
