Now in its 9th year, the Cybernet Expo exuded a low-key ambiance, combined with informative seminars, and ample opportunity for one-on-one interaction with major players and decision-makers.
The show began on June 8 and culminates on Sunday with a Free Speech Coalition Meeting at 11:30 a.m.
While scheduled events like White Trash Basketball and a poker tournament were cancelled due to insurance concerns and increased hotel security, it didn’t dampen showgoers’ spirits.
During the afternoon, attendees were able to mingle and network on the grounds of the Kona Kai Resort, located on the shore of San Diego Bay. On Friday, the outdoor patio buzzed with talk over exclusive content, website design, increasing conversions and getting traffic, among other important issues.
The expo featured an ambitious slate of seminars that catered to both newbies and seasoned webmasters alike. Moderated by Marc Womack of CJ Traffic, the lively Marketing & Branding panel played to a standing room-only crowd and raised many thought provoking issues.
“Branding is a function of marketing that builds an identity,” Q. Boyer of NicheBucks said. “Create a brand that’s recognizable or something people can easily identify, then people can build your brand for you. Successful branding creates in people the actions you want them to have upon seeing your logo, product or website.”
Boyer said a great example of this is when Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” mentioned “MILF hunting.” Boyer immediately thought of the Nasty Dollars website. “That’s how you know your brand has arrived,” Boyer said of mainstream mention.
The Adult Broker Lori Z. agreed with Boyer, and also added that for a brand to have staying power in the marketplace, it can’t deviate.
“A good brand stays consistent throughout,” Lori Z. said. “While marketing campaigns change depending on the company’s specific goal, branding stays static because that’s how you are initially identified.”
Halcyon of FlashCa$h concurred with his fellow panelists and asserted that surfers and consumers are becoming more savvy. This makes it important for companies to take a fresh approach to marketing and always focus on the individual, he said.
Aly Drummond from TheBestPorn.com relayed a story of viral marketing at its best. When Gary Kremen owned Sex.com, he hired a plane to write his URL in the sky above the Burning Man festival, no doubt leading to tens of thousands of viewer impressions.
The Dealing With Content seminar was slated next, and dealt with a number of topics ranging from producing content, hiring talent and DRM protection issues to finding locations and startup costs.
The self-described “oldest man in porn” Dave Cummings said his advice for newbie content producers is to “find a niche.” Pornstar Brittany Andrews, who runs the Niche Bitch network of micro-niche sites, agreed.
“Everyone should have an idea of what they want to shoot and how it will look on camera before they do it,” Andrews said. “I found a niche and now that’s what I’m known for.”
One amateur content producer in the audience set off a spirited discussion when he asked where the panelists find their models, detailing his woes of finding reliable, fit girls to film.
Dirty D. of HowIGotRich.com said that sometimes it can be as simple as hiring two girls to go to the local mall and pass out business cards, reasoning that most females will be more comfortable talking to another girl than a guy. Southern California-based Cummings and Andrews advocated using adult modeling agencies because the girls are more professional since they shoot regularly and know what to expect.
All panelists decided that word of mouth also was key for generating new leads to girls that want to appear on camera.
“If you make a model comfortable on set by keeping everything clean and acting professionally, I’m going to want to tell my girlfriends how much fun it was shooting for you,” Andrews added.
Moderated by YNOT’s Connor Young, the Security Issues seminar played to a small crowd, but raised serious concerns. Mike Pearson of ScannerX, Mark Pace of Bondage.com, Matt Peterson of VideoBox and Brian of Netpimp Services detailed how hackers spot vulnerabilities in program code to hijack websites and eat up bandwidth. They suggest checking bandwidth usage daily to quickly identify hackers or bot-net programs, and reporting any immediate concerns to your hosting company.
After the seminars ended, showgoers participated in Corridor Cruisin’ where companies set up tables to greet attendees, promote their program and give out show swag. T-shirts, pens and DVDs were popular freebees. TheBestPorn.com table featured a random drawing to win a GPS navigation system.
“This was a productive show for us,” TheBestPorn.com’s Drummond told XBIZ. “We want to have as many website owners as possible submit their paysites to us for review. We have four full-time reviewers on staff and new reviews are added daily.” Drummond also cited the increased conversion ratios for sites her website gave positive reviews to.
“We’re always happy to come to webmaster shows, sponsor a few things and just generally meet new people and have a good time,” HotMovies.com’s National Director of Business Development James Seibert told XBIZ. “There are decision makers here at the show so it’s been productive for us.”
Sugar DVD’s affiliate program DVDDollars.com also sponsored Corridor Cruisin’, giving out pens that doubled as buttplugs.
“It was good to be here, meet affiliates and get their feedback on our program,” Christina from DVDDollars.com told XBIZ. “Since our site features video-on-demand, retail purchases and rentals, webmasters can make money in a variety of ways from our program.”
Even controversial adult industry figure Rob Zicari, aka Rob Black, attended Cybernet, looking to learn more about the Internet and affiliate programs. Black recently hired Dave Guru, formerly of Prodinix, to beef up Extreme Associates’ web presence and implement a new affiliate program. Black was scheduled to speak at the content seminar, but freeway traffic kept him from arriving on time.
“I don’t know shit about the Internet,” Black told XBIZ. “So I’m here to learn all I can.”
Other show highlights included the NichePay Volleyball Bash, The Players Ball and WebcamCash’s guided tour of the U.S.S. Midway.
Noted adult models lingering on the hotel’s outdoor patio included Martina Warren, Aria Giovanni, Lia 19, Rachel Aziani and porn stars Leah Luv, Mia Bangg and Sunny Leone.
Corporate sponsors of the Cybernet Expo are PussyCash, FTV Cash, SilverCash, TextBill and Eric M. Bernstein & Associates.
The Cybernet Expo was founded in the 1990s by Fay Sharp and Dave Gould.