opinion

Staying Connected in a Distanced World

Staying Connected in a Distanced World

We’ve all been feeling the squeeze, so to speak, of social distancing, though each of us is experiencing it differently. For some of us who are single, life can be lonely. For those married with kids, juggling life, work and finding new biz may feel overwhelming. Yet, we endure and continue finding ways to stay connected, and even thrive during this time.

Virtual Tradeshows

For many of us, the loss of live trade shows has been very difficult, not only for business, but because we just miss seeing our friends. Luckily, many conferences have been offering virtual programs. Most recently, XBIZ Miami proved to be awesome, and next up is XBIZ Berlin in October. Most shows have dedicated lounges or rooms for networking. Panel discussions are often in a Zoom-like format, so you can still enjoy the educational component of shows. Virtual programs are fun and productive, and many times, free or inexpensive. I think they are definitely worth the time to attend, if you’ve been on the fence.

Online Collectives

There are many collectives for people in the different verticals of the adult industry. If you are a performer, consider union groups such as APAG, which has virtual meetings every other Sunday. For those in tech, retail or research, try Sex Tech Connect, which also has virtual events every other Sunday. If you’re Black, indigenous or a person of color, check out the new BIPOC Collective; they’re hosting some very cool discussions. And finally, if you’re female-identifying, Women of Sex Tech could be a good place to link up with others too.

SFW Adult Social Media Groups

In addition, there are lots of groups and pages on social media for people in adult. For those in retail and products, there is Pleasure Professionals Place and SPAM (Sex Professionals and Manufacturers) on Facebook. For people on the web side of things, many of the shows have Facebook groups including XBIZ, The European Summit, QwebecExpo and others. Look them up, and join. It’s super easy, and many of the members are very active!

Adult Industry Social Media Networks

Consider participating in social media network alternatives to the “mainstream” ones. For example, a community is growing on Pleazeme.com. The censorship we experience on mainstream platforms is non-existent on Pleazeme, which is really exciting and liberating. Brands, thought leaders, experts and artists can fully express themselves while exploring sexuality and/or promoting their products or services. Businesses can sign up to have a “channel” to reach current and new customers, as well as network with other companies and professionals in the industry.

Adult Forums

Like social media groups, forums are a fantastic avenue to chit chat with others “in the biz.” For instance, XBIZ.net has an awesome forum with lots of members conversing daily. It’s a fun way to talk about business, news … and some very random topics, here and there.

Slide Into Those DMs

Something that is very simple, but could be tough for people who are shy, is simply reaching out to others on social networks. People are on Twitter and LinkedIn to network, right? So, more likely than not, they’ll respond positively. Hey, the worst thing that can happen if you DM someone is they won’t respond. And to that, I say, oh well – it’s their loss. In my experience, the vast majority of people in the adult industry are friendly and open. I bet if you reach out, usually you’ll get a friendly reply. You can then go from there with where the convo flows.

Podcasts, VODcasts, and Webcasts

Have you ever wanted to explore creating your own show? People are glued to their computers these days, and they are looking for good content. Hosting your own show is an amazing way to get to know others and for others to hear about you. You’ll learn about your guests (and vice versa) through their interview, and the audience will get to know you by listening in or watching. Put up quality work, and soon enough, people will be seeking out your show and requesting to be a guest because of your growing following!

As you can see from this list, there are a ton of ways to stay in touch and get business done, even while sitting at your home office computer. Take advantage of these opportunities and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals, both during and after; yes, there will be an “after the pandemic.” Until then, see you in cyberspace!

Disclaimer: The content of this article constitutes general information, and is not legal advice. If you would like legal advice from Maxine Lynn, an attorney-client relationship must be formed by signing a letter of engagement with her law firm. To inquire, visit Sextech.Lawyer.

Maxine Lynn is an intellectual property attorney with the law firm of Keohane & D’Alessandro, PLLC. She focuses her practice on prosecution of patents for sex technology, trademarks for adult business brands and copyrights for porn and other creative materials. Through her company, Unzipped Media, Inc., she publishes the Unzipped: Sex, Tech & the Law blog and the Sex Tech Patent IndeXXX bulletin at SexTechLaw.com.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

profile

WIA Profile: Patricia Ucros

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Ucros graduated from college with a degree in education. She spent three years teaching third grade, which she enjoyed a lot, before heeding her father’s advice and moving to South Florida.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

Creating Payment Redundancies to Maximize Payout Uptime

During the global CrowdStrike outage that took place toward the end of July, a flawed software update brought air travel and electronic commerce to a grinding halt worldwide. This dramatically underscores the importance of having a backup plan in place for critical infrastructure.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

The Need for Minimal Friction in Age Verification Technology

In the adult sector, robust age assurance, comprised of age verification and age estimation methods, is critical to ensuring legal compliance with ever-evolving regulations, safeguarding minors from inappropriate content and protecting the privacy of adults wishing to view adult content.

Gavin Worrall ·
opinion

Account-to-Account Payments: The New Banking Disruptor?

So much of our industry relies upon Visa and Mastercard to support consumer payments — and with that reliance comes increased scrutiny by both brands. From a compliance perspective, the bar keeps getting raised until it feels like we end up spending half our time making sure we are compliant rather than growing our business.

Cathy Beardsley ·
profile

WIA Profile: Samantha Beatrice

Beatrice credits the sex positivity of Montreal for ultimately inspiring her to pursue work in adult entertainment. She had many friends working in the industry, from sex workers to production teams, so it felt like a natural fit and offered an opportunity to apply her marketing and social media savvy to support people she truly believes in and wants to see succeed.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

Understanding the Latest Server Processors

Over the last decade, we mostly stopped talking about CPU performance. Recently, however, there has been a seismic and exciting change in the CPU landscape, due to innovation by a chip company called Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Brad Mitchell ·
opinion

User Choice, Privacy and the Importance of Education in AV

As we discussed last month, age verification in the adult sector is critical to ensuring legal compliance with ever-evolving regulations, safeguarding minors from inappropriate content and protecting the privacy of adults wishing to view adult content.

Gavin Worrall ·
opinion

Maintaining Payment Processing Compliance When the Goalpost Keeps Moving

VIRP is the new four-letter word everyone loves to hate. The Visa Integrity Risk Program went into effect last year, and affects several business types — including MCC 5967, which covers adult and anything else with nudity, and MCC 7273, dating services that don’t allow nudity.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Making the Most of Your Sales Opportunities

The compliance road has been full of twists and turns this year. For many, it’s been a companywide effort just to make it across that finish line. Hopefully, most of us can now return our attention to some important things we’ve left on the back burner for months — like driving revenue.

Cathy Beardsley ·
profile

YourPaysitePartner Marks 25-Year Anniversary Amid Indie Content Renaissance

For 25 years, YourPaysitePartner has teamed up with stars and entrepreneurial brands to bring their one-stop-shop adult content dreams to life — and given the indie paysite renaissance of the past few years, the company’s efforts have paid off in spades.

Alejandro Freixes ·
Show More