Quality / Innovation
My lovely wife Dawn and I watched a television show last night on "The Travel Channel" that focused on "adult fun" in Las Vegas, and showed video clips of a fair number of Sin City's raciest adult revues. More works of performance art with ultra high production values than mere "striptease" acts, these sensual extravaganzas are held in some of Vegas' finest mega hotels and casinos. While extremely softcore, they were seriously compelling, and it wouldn't take too much of a tweak on the ol' porn-o-meter to develop some hardcore variants that would be truly in a league of their own.
While I'm not suggesting that everyone switch to shooting softcore fantasy content, I am saying that too many content providers are "lazy" about their craft, settling for an "anything will sell" attitude, and producing content to match...
Experimenting with lighting, simple settings, backgrounds and props, paying attention to audio – and a whole slew of other factors involved in going beyond the status quo in order to provide something different and of a quality that consumers will happily pay for will help you to succeed.
Legal Compliance
There's been a lot of talk on the boards lately about the uncertain status of 18 USC '2257, issues surrounding the challenges of compliance with the statute, and the statute's applicability to "offshore" webmasters and content providers.
I'm not going to rehash any of these arguments here, but I will say that regardless of the outcome of any '2257 issues, all serious and responsible content providers should consider the possibility of increased records keeping regulations, and govern themselves accordingly; by maintaining (and making available as required) all documents necessary for publishers to be in compliance with the law.
For those taking a public "don't worry, anything goes" posture, I have to say that your doing folks a serious disservice by confusing those who do not have the wherewithal to hire a competent attorney. I pity the person who stands in front of the judge and says "I wasn't in compliance because some pornographer in Swaihililand posted that 'I didn't have to' on a webmaster message board."
Respect For Models
One thing that has always bothered me is that some content providers feel the need to abuse and humiliate their models, with an "if the bitch's makeup isn't running, she hasn't had enough" attitude. There's no need for a sophomoric approach to your business, but "since anything sells" – and since you can always find a girl who really will do "anything" – I doubt that this situation will ever change.
As the legitimate operators in our industry further clean up their acts in an effort to build strong businesses with an eye on the future, more emphasis and greater demands will inevitably be placed on those who supply the fuel that feeds our vast pornographic machine. Content providers who are up to the challenge will no doubt thrive in our increasingly competitive marketplace, but those who are unwilling – or unable – to step up, will face increasingly hard times. Take it to the next level! ~ Stephen
