Stagliano, of course, was recently indicted in federal court on obscenity charges, and Kink.com is the BDSM producer that made a bold statement in 2006 by purchasing the huge San Francisco armory, attracting national attention and protest in the process.
Ending the show with Stagliano and Kink underscored the strong points of the event, which is trying to reinvent itself during a difficult economic time for the industry, and paved the way for a viable future for a show that has crossed the country twice in the past three years.
Stagliano spoke not only about his personal and professional history in the industry but also his current situation running one of the most well-known companies in the business. He spoke openly about the downturn in business, and was refreshingly candid saying that for the first time in his career he doesn’t quite know how to counter the economic and market forces currently impacting the industry.
"We did very well up until a few years ago, and now we're trying to do the Internet," he said. "But the skills are complicated; we're doing our best."
As far as the obscenity case against him, Stagliano expressed some concern but added that he looks forward to defending content that he certainly does not believe is obscene, and poignantly expressed his intention to remain a positive role model for the industry.
“I hope to represent all of you correctly,” he said, to a hushed room.
Following the Stagliano address, which ran half an hour, show attendees scattered to their rooms to prepare for the Kink.com party. Shuttles ran throughout the evening from the hotel to the armory, where they entered stealthily though a large metal door that raised slowly as the bus approached, opening into a massive hangar-sized room that Kink plans to turn into a community center.
In addition to an open bar and a huge spread of food, courtesy of CoreMetrics, special tours provided Cybernet attendees a look at the impressive sets downstairs used to shoot content for the various Kink.com websites. Visitors were also treated to naked wresting and a live sex show that lasted a few hours, featuring a very submissive Stephanie Sin, Dom Claire Adams, John Strong and two amateurs.
The shoot was part of a new website, conceived by director Princess Donna around the theme of public humiliation. The idea is to stage creative set pieces where public happenings are also taking place, such as dinner or cocktail parties, or Thursday night’s industry party. The audience is on camera and definitely part of the show.
This evening, Sin was subjected to a variety of public and physical forms of humiliation by Adams and the audience, including being strung up by ropes and fucked mercilessly by Strong and the other performers. Sin also got to jerk off a well-endowed midget in a suit, who came in a prodigious burst on the stage, after which Sin was forced to get down on all fours and clean the mess up. She obeyed dutifully at all times.
Consummate professionals who knew exactly what they were doing, the performers provided the webmaster crowd with an impressive performance that succinctly showcased the Kink-com oeuvre.
Also on the last day, two models from SoloSlutCash.com won the finals of the XXX Iron Man Beer Pong Tournament. Their names were not available, but YNOT VP Jay Kopita said the final matches were of a very high quality, verging on the professional.
"It was awesome," he said. "The girls were so good."
