An Open Thread To AVN & Internext...

[Chop Smith]

Originally Posted by DangerDave

Especially when success is achievable without ever attending Internext

This is very true.

The best money I ever sent in this business was the trip to Surfn and Dr B's first Chicago meeting. Small enough to remember who you met.

Right after then carried a shit load of shirts and hauled ass to Vegas. I spend a couple grand to go to Vegas specifically to meet some GG&J board members. Never regretted the cost of the trip because doors started opening for me. I am not that successful but the Chicago and Vegas trips sure moved me closer to my goal.

However, small regional shows might be the place to do business and Vegas might be where you go to gamble

[Surfn]

Thanks Chop I know that was my goal. Make everyone comfortable and do some bidness


Look for an announcement from me on or about January 15th for a spring gathering

[Linkster]

Far-L - you know I respect you and always have, that said I know that your view on this is based on your niche and "thrust" of business with the cross-jumping into the AEE and other opportunites that are provided with the current show format - it makes sense for you to fully support the show the way it is developing - heck I sure would. there are two points that I always have stinging in the back of my mind though - the first being the "deals" that you are able to make for your amateurs - which although I fully respect you for being able to do so - kind of grates on quite a few amateur site owners that read this - I'm pretty sure they aren't going to post their thoughts, but it kind of stinks for them as they don't have the recognition or background to be able to negotiate anything with AVN. Again this is not to take anything away from you - it's just one symptom of a system that is broken.

Second - over the last 4 or 5 shows, I have seen and heard over and over on boards like this (and you know as well as I do that this is not the only board with threads like this), that there are a huge majority of webmasters that are the people trying to eek out a living just barely, who have no interest whatsoever in crossover to the video side of adult entertainment, who are the trench webmasters trying to find a way to network with their peers, but are flabbergasted by the prices, the locations and times that generate those prices, and the general apathetic responses by the creators of the event. These are the 80% WMs - the majority that cannot go to these shows because of the prices, that although they would love to network with their peers, are relagated to listening to the sponsors talk about the parties they went to, the 20% that can afford (most just barely) the cost of the show talk about the great networking that went on and (the worst of all) the total silence from AVN about any changes that might be made to give the "trench WMs" a chance to take part in their industries premier annual show.

Just my opinion again but its based on a hell of a lot of conversations with those "trench WMs"

[furrygirl]

Originally Posted by Linkster

there are two points that I always have stinging in the back of my mind though - the first being the "deals" that you are able to make for your amateurs - which although I fully respect you for being able to do so - kind of grates on quite a few amateur site owners that read this - I'm pretty sure they aren't going to post their thoughts, but it kind of stinks for them as they don't have the recognition or background to be able to negotiate anything with AVN. Again this is not to take anything away from you - it's just one symptom of a system that is broken.

As an amateur site webmaster, I thought I'd reply.

I actually take no offense to AVN not trying to work around me. I don't expect to have the clout of a top adult company, that's silly.

It's my decision to spend the $2500 or so for the experience, or stay at home and read webmaster board archives for a week, for free, in my pajamas. Or it could be my decision to be pro-active and positive and organize a local adult webmaster gathering in my own city that best suits the needs of that group.

I just don't feel conned or ignored, although OF COURSE I'd like it to cost me less. And OF COURSE I'd like it if more people attended, but you can't put on a large-scale business event that is cheap enough for *anyone*.

Seriously, how inexpensive does it have to be to be inclusive of the tiniest "webmasters in the trenches"? $1000 for the whole trip? $500? That's where regional conventions and local webmaster hangouts come in handy, in my mind.

If I wanted to bitch about other businesses not listening to my needs, I'm more inclined to be pissed off that credit card companies charge us exorbitant fees for processing because they encourage customers commit fraud against adult sites.