Each year on this day, the entire population of this country – and perhaps a few others – comes into the city to party day and night in the streets. Indeed, the festivities have been slowly but palpably ramping up over the past few days as millions of tourists and citizens have thronged into town. Unseasonably warm and cloudless weather has certainly boosted this year’s numbers.
Though many AOE show attendees have already departed for home, many have remained to enjoy the holiday, which will include one last official show event, the daily “Carnal” Cruise and City Tour provided by Private.com.
This year’s show was a sort of hybrid event that included AWMOpen, a small adult webmaster event begun in 2003 by Russian entrepreneur Alex Xe. About 100 Russian webmasters traveled to Amsterdam for three days of seminars and interaction with other online professionals that officially ended Saturday.
Many have also stayed through the remaining days of AOE, and the general consensus has been that, despite the language barriers between the Russians and others, their involvement with events such as AOE in particular, and the “outside” world in general, is a very positive development that augurs well for current and future business opportunities.
The AOE event once again had a focus on the mobile marketplace. All of Friday’s two-track seminars dealt with topics such as “Will Search Deliver All the Mobile Users Want,” “The Future of Mobile Adult Entertainment” and “Exploiting Community and User Generated Content,” to name a few.
If there was a buzz-phrase heard this year, it was user-generated content, which has already been shortened to UGC. One seminar panelist referred to the phenomenon as the most exciting development in mobile in ten years; one, however, that brings with it many lingering questions regarding monetization and liability. Still, UGC is perceived as far more than a trend, but rather as a “movement” of sorts that is here to stay in mobile wireless just as it is online.
On Saturday, AOE seminars focused on Internet issues exclusively, featuring panels on content, traffic and law and order in the US. Several well-known adult Internet individuals participated, including Ben Jelloun from Interclimax, attorney Joe Obenberger, Scott “TrafficDude” Rabinowitz, Bjorn Skarlen of CommerceGate, Derek Meklir of Adult Who's Who, Greg Dumas from GEC Media, Hugh Chambers from NOC, Colin Rowntree from Wasteland.com, Michael Herman from AEBN and Stephen Bugbee of XBIZ, to name but a few.
To no one’s surprise, there have also been a number of parties held at places with names like Opium and Amnesia. This being Amsterdam, the various revelries have continued throughout the nights and into every part of the city, usually starting at the official venue and then veering off to wherever. Sponsors of parties and dinners included Cybersocket, Private, Commerce Gate, AWO, NakedDollars, Epoch, CamSense, Energy Factor, Awem, GayGreenBacks and ManiaCash.
Additional sponsors of the event included NetCash, PinkSim, Strictly Broadband and Streaming Group, with several other companies also exhibiting or supporting the show in other ways.
