WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — XBIZ 360 Digital Media Conference’s first full day of seminar sessions, business networking and special events on Wednesday drew a large and enthusiastic contingent of business leaders in the online adult entertainment space.
From speed networking to the numerous seminars and workshops to the keynote, as well as the Winter Wonderland Rooftop Party and a “webmaster rodeo,” XBIZ 360 went non-stop on Wednesday at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood.
The XBIZ 360 Digital Media Conference’s seminars, sponsored by NETbilling, included the visionary keynote by Brian Shuster, a longtime Internet innovator who launched XPics.com in 1996 and continued on in adult with RedLightCenter.com and 3D browser Curio, as well as the Adult Entertainment Virtual Convention.
Today, Shuster is focusing on another project — creating content for the upcoming launch of the virtual reality platform Oculus Rift, which he says might be ready by this coming winter.
“This is the re-invention of sex; not just porn,” Shuster said to wide-eyed attendees who witnessed a video showing how compelling Oculus Rift could work in porn. “Absolutely, this will amount to a revolution in the porn biz."
Shuster brought home examples why Oculus Rift will be important for those seeking sex without an actual companion.
“It is increasingly more attractive than real life; some find real sex unappealing,” Shuster said, naming the pluses and minuses of real sex versus virtual sex.
“With real sex you have to consider unattractive partners; there is the question of using condoms, unwanted pregnancy, performance anxiety — perceived and not perceived. And it may be viewed as expensive and too much effort for having to troll for sex,” he said.
“But porn is always there; it’s always available for premium delivery,” he said. “I can see how 25 percent of men and 40 percent of women say, why should I bother.”
Shuster said that in combination with haptic devices, Oculus Rift will eventually provide a new outlet for the porn industry, leading to growth.
"When you view porn through Oculus Rift for the first time, it will blow your mind," he said. "'There is so much opportunity for this industry to look forward to."
Earlier in the day, the “Traffic Trends: State of the Landscape” seminar led off Wednesday’s seminars. Greg Dumas of Fuckbook.com, Nigel Williams of AdXpansion and Bako of Etology discussed how to optimize all aspects of traffic, especially mobile, in finding profitable techniques for buying and selling it.
In another session, longtime adult professional AK of Madzuma moderated the “Interactive Adult Entertainment: The Future Is Big” discussion, which focused on trends in the live cams as well as dating space. Panelists included Nancy Roberts of Adult FriendFinder, Jeff Wilson of Flirt4Free, Shay Efron of ImLive, Yuval Kijel of Streamate and Justin of Cam4.
The seminar, “Mobile Mania: Making the Leap,” brought another lively group of panelists who discussed how traffic is king when it comes to their operations. Each one of them pleaded the audience to send their traffic to them, and each also noted that Europe and LatAm is where the real money is at.
The mobile seminar featured speakers Remi Saint-Maur of TrafficStars, Stefan of Brokerbabe, Joey Gabra of Affil4You, Andy Wullmer of Sex Goes Mobile and Miguel Ribeiro of Mobidea.
Longtime cams marketer Douglas Richter of CamsPower moderated the panel, which discussed takes on new solutions, whether responsive design matters and how to deal with the continuing algorithm changes in the Google search engine.
Another seminar, “Webmaster 101: Learn The Basics And Get Answers,” brought together seasoned industry veterans Stewart Tongue of EngineFood.com, Lauren MacEwan of 7Veils.com and Colin Rowntree of Wasteland.com and adult search engine Boodigo.com who discussed the basis of web development, social media, SEO, content creation and marketing.
Workshops, held on the mezzanine at the Andaz Hotel, included one by Webstream, a U.K.-based software company. The company’s Ben Clark explained how his product can offers studios and models the power to build and run their own live cam, clip store and phone chat operations.
Adult Centro reps also were on hand in a workshop to show how to leverage top brands to create one-click upsells with your company’s own billing.
After dark, XBIZ 360 attendees migrated next door to the Saddle Ranch Chop House for BrokerBabe’s “Wild Wild West Bash” where many had a chance to ride a mechanical bull.
Later, in a jam-packed exclusive pajama and lingerie party at the rooftop pool of the Andaz Hotel, XBIZ 360 attendees, as well as some of the top stars in the biz, came with appropriate attire, or barely any attire at all, for the event sponsored by Mr. Skin in association with CammingCon.com and local talent trade association LATATA.
Today, XBIZ 360 resumes with another full slate of activities and symposiums, including those on the future of paysites, the state of billing and a forecast on the future of online adult entertainment. There also will be seminars and workshops on age verification and the future of monetizing content through Roku, as well as a workshop showing off Oculus Rift’s capabilities.
In the evening, XBIZ 360 attendees will gear up for the 2015 XBIZ Awards, presented by Fleshlight and hosted by adult performer James Deen.
The annual red-carpet gala will host industry A-lists from around the world at the JW Marriott LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. The biggest stars and industry luminaries will celebrate the top achievements of the past year and honor best of the best.
