Mardack has a knack for striking up conversations. When he started a thread on GFY.com about nurturing newcomers in the porn industry, for example, the thread drew 700 emails in three days and exploded into an entirely separate website called ImpoverishedNoobs.com, featuring lengthy viewpoints on everything from feminism to 2257 to homeland security.
Clearly in reference to the political maelstrom brewing over pornography of late, Mardack said some degree of change is inevitable in the adult entertainment world, but describes most venues for industry conversation as “little boys putting stuff on the wall and pounding their fists.” His new blog, said Mardack, is meant to erase what he calls a narrow-minded reaction on the part of the industry to the political and cultural forces trying to change it.
“We are not participating in a new wave of business,” he said. “People are not taking advantage of alliances and associations that could benefit them. Instead we have this habitual posture against censorship, but with very little dialogue.”
The answer, he said, boils down to improving the image of the industry, something he said will not be achieved simply through repeated references to free speech and the First Amendment, which he said tend to be the legal and political reaction to anything that befalls the industry.
“So in this new blog, I am trying to provide some kind of answer,” he said. “Intellectually the industry needs some kind of reformation. It is foolish of us to be happy simply with ideological allies.”
One of the points of Mardack’s new blog is to erase what he perceives as an exclusionary attitude in the industry. He argues that most people in adult entertainment haven’t been receptive to new talent from different walks of life. The industry should embrace, for example, the single mom who wonders what she might do with her computer in the evenings. Hold out your hand, he urges, to the newly minted MBA who sees opportunity.
“It is my hope with the blog that I will create a place with greater neutrality,” added Mardack. “I want a more democratic forum where people can enjoy the benefits of new networking, but I also want at place where people can look at the facts.”
In its early stages, Mardack’s blog is more of a content aggregator than anything else, currently hosting copies of correspondence from Internet visionaries like Vincent Cerf. The latest post, as of this writing, is a simple reference to the latest version of a GNSO review. It features no comments from Mardack or anyone else on the site.
“ICANN and GSRO are at all times involved in the standards of the registrations of domain,” Mardack said of the post. “These are intelligent outspoken idealists who are trying to impart ideas and are trying to push the medium in directions. I am hopeful to try and see who they are directing.”
Mardack said as the blog grows he will always as fair as possible with the content he chooses to post, offering up the industry a platform without spin or hidden motive.
“Look at the documents I post and draw your own conclusions,” he said. “This is an invitation to our industry to revisit a question that we spend a lot time thinking about and no time engaging.’
