MIAMI — The 2016 XBIZ Miami event was in full force Wednesday, bringing attendees a wide variety of leisure, learning and networking opportunities.
The summer’s top industry event, XBIZ Miami takes over the luxurious SLS Hotel on Miami’s world-famous South Beach, from May 31 through June 3. This year’s show coincides with CamCon, where access to the hotel is restricted to registered attendees, delivering a scenic and uncensored “adults only” arena for the summer’s top event.
The day’s XBIZ Miami experience kicked off with a tour of MojoHost’s high-end Miami data center, while Chaturbate’s Early Morning Java Jam revved up attendees with complimentary coffee and networking.
Next, XBIZ Speed Networking took center stage, serving as the front line of attendee’s interactions — with more tailored introductions made via XBIZ’s Connection Advantage, a new service that leverages XBIZ staffer’s own connections with the needs of attendees. This personal introduction program was an immediate success, bringing top decision makers together — while employers and adult job seekers united through the Career Corner sponsored by XBIZJobs.net.
Centered around SLS’ Hyde Beach, things heated up in the hotel’s pools, where the CAM4 Pool Party and networking sessions were punctuated by complimentary massages courtesy of OrbitalPay; and popsicle paletas from 2000Charge; plus an Epoch sponsored volleyball tournament and more.
One new event this year was the SegPay Regatta Boat Race, which pitted SegPay against Quantox in a race between remote control boats in the Hyde Beach pool, with the captains competing for maritime glory in a race that was determined to be a tie.
Preparing for the afternoon Mix and Meet Happy Hour, sponsored by SegPay at the Hyde Beach Garden, SGM’s Andy Wullmer said that XBIZ struck the perfect balance between work and play with this event, attracting the company owners and decision makers that add true value to the show.
Fetish Hits’ Afternoon Glow Energy Hour, ReviveAds’ Jumbo Jenga Challenge, and other specials added to the afternoon’s fun.
Next up, Chaturbate hosted Women In Adult’s latest event — a “ladies only” networking roundtable, which welcomed all female industry operators regardless of their business role. Although WIA has been around for many years, some women are only now beginning to enjoy its benefits.
For example, CherryPimps’ Nancy Moore, a well known industry veteran, told XBIZ that while she was initially a bit reluctant about attending the roundtable, she was pleasantly surprised by the congenial atmosphere and made at least one valuable connection that made it all worthwhile — saying that she would like to participate in future WIA events.
Beyond its relationship with WIA, XBIZ Miami’s strategic alliance with CamCon opens up new markets and brings in a fresh pool of players and groundbreaking new technologies now sweeping the industry, putting the event at the forefront of a widely expected renaissance in industry income.
For example, the virtual reality demos offered by VRinnovation, an end-to-end B2B technology provider that offers full service hard- and software solutions for delivering VR video on the web, showcased the future of interactive adult entertainment. The company enables content creators to stream live VR feeds (rather than requiring users to download large files before playing them — ideal for live VR camming), and offers a custom VR player and advanced compression tools.
VRinnovation’s Lead Developer John Clagg told XBIZ that the system provides a 2D fallback for playing video through any browser, while company CEO Nick Koulouvaris says that several top cam companies are already using this groundbreaking technology to deliver live VR cam feeds today — a move he says will rejuvenate sagging sales.
Talking to other attendees revealed an overwhelmingly positive response to this year’s XBIZ Miami, with luminaries ranging from CamCon’s Clinton Cox (a master at hosting parties); to FUBAR Webmasters’ JFK; to noted First Amendment attorney Larry Walters, all complimenting XBIZ on the show’s unique, upbeat vibe and productivity. Universally, most attendees this author spoke to opined that this was the best industry event to take place during the past several years — and represents an optimistic uptick in their expectations for adult’s future.
Flirt4Free’s Jeff Wilson commented on the comfort and elegance of the host hotel, SLS South Beach, while F4F’s Jamie Rodriguez echoed the sentiment, and noted the abundance of new opportunities for recruiting affiliates and models, all while making profitable contacts.
One hallmark of XBIZ excellence is its NETbilling sponsored seminar series, which brings innovative education, information, strategies and tactics to industry operators the world over.
For example, the day’s first session addressed the intricacies of acquiring new customers online in 2016, with “Traffic: Working With Ad Networks Today,” which revealed how Big Data allows advertisers to get a handle on audiences by segmenting prospects based on a wide range of demographic data.
Moderated by Gunner from CAM4, the session’s panelists included JuicyAds’ Alex Lecomte; Madzuma’s Alfonsus “AK” Kusuma; Daniel Rand from Adult AdWorld; Lee Bond of AliceX; Mistral’s Trevor Lakier; and TrafficStars’ Remi St-Maur, all guiding attendees through an in-depth introduction to ad networks.
Next up, the fast evolving live cam arena came under the spotlight, with “Cams: Conquering the Booming Market,” moderated by adult superstar Vicky Vette and featuring a panel of seasoned experts that included Eric Wexel of FreeWebcams.com; Jeff Wilson of Flirt4Free; CAM4’s Nikki Night; Shay Efron of ImLive; Chaturbate’s Shirley Lara; Steve Hamilton of Cams.com; and Streamate’s Yuval Kijel. This all-star panel led an invigorating discussion for an audience that went beyond “standing room only” to pile several rows deep, for one of the year’s most highly anticipated sessions.
Finally, the day’s last seminar, “Mobile: Making More Money,” examined the rise of mobile devices as the dominant form of internet access and the new opportunities this technological shift enables. With moderation by Gamelink’s Jeff Dillon, the panelists included SGM’s Andy Wullmer; Ariel Goode from Spearmint Rhino; Joey Gabra from Affil4you; 7Veils’ Joe Evans, and yours truly.
These sessions provided a masters-level education in three of today’s most vibrant industry segments, with many insider insights that will undoubtedly boost attendees’ bottom lines.
Kicking off the evening, the “Miss XBIZ Miami” Bikini Contest, sponsored by CherryPimps and Fetish Hits, and the “Mr. XBIZ Miami” Mankini Contest sponsored by Mr. Man, provided entertainment and eye candy for attendees. Cleo took the honors as “Miss XBIZ Miami,” while Pepe was named “Mr. XBIZ Miami.”
Later, the event’s Official Welcome Reception & Sponsor Appreciation Social got underway, acknowledging the generous support of XBIZ Miami’s sponsors and friends.
The evening’s flagship event, XBIZ and CamCon’s inaugural Neon Nights Party, upped the brightness of the previous night’s Havana White Party with a vibrant splash of South Beach color, gathering sparkling show attendees in their finest white or brightest neon fashions, and capping another exciting night, fueled by a seductive black light neon glow.
XBIZ Miami accelerates into high gear on Thursday, with another full slate of activities for attendees, with exclusive seminars and workshops, executive networking opportunities and off-the-hook parties, helping XBIZ Miami 2016 go down in internet history as one of the digital media industry’s top events.
Stay tuned for XBIZ for more daily coverage of this groundbreaking event…
