• Online Adult Laws – Privacy Policies

    Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: General | Response: 0

    To many webmasters and companies working online the fundamental basics of their business is to turn a profit through effective online marketing campaigns and promotions however, within all of this profit making there is a side of business that is so often overlooked or, forgotten entirely, what is this business practice? The law.

    In this brief article we will take a look at one such law that comes into effect in California on the 1st July 2004 namely, that all ‘web sites that collect any personal information from consumers to post a privacy policy’. Whilst this in itself is the first law of its kind in the United States it is worth mentioning that this is only a State law that affects California however, that said, where one state starts, others are sure to follow especially considering the huge potential left for the growth of the internet.

    Privacy Policies – How Does This Effect You?

    The main factor that you must take into consideration with this new law from California is that, because the Internet is truly global, you have no way of telling where one of your surfers are coming from thus, a surfer entering your site from California, may be making you break the law by not displaying a privacy policy should you collect their information. Incidentally, this new privacy policy law does not state what ‘collected’ information requires you to post a policy however, it would seem that personal information such as addresses, phone numbers and email addresses would be the primary target of this new Californian online law.

    Privacy Policies – The Basics.

    So what is a privacy policy, in essence, it is a document informing your site visitors / customers that any information you collect from them, including user submitted information will be used in a specific way, this might be a case of solely being used by yourself or, specifically if you rent out this information you need to tell your surfers / customers exactly who you are renting this information to.

    Privacy Policies – Overview.

    Whether you collect personal information from you site visitors or not the one thing that makes sense is to have a page created ready for the 1st July 2004 so that you can have it online for when you need it, perhaps storing this page on a central domain and linking to that page from all of your other web sites would be the best method to go as far as ensuring you are covered from prosecution or, perhaps creating a keyword rich privacy policy which you can get listed in the search engines is the way to go after all, just because this will become a legal requirement for you it does not mean that you cant profit from the potential traffic going to that page.

    Article written by Lee

  • Building A Surfer Trap – Stage 7

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Traffic | Response: 0

    Here we go with Stage 7 in this Surfer Trap tutorial.

    We should by now have a rather complex looking surfer trap, pop up consoles and blur consoles on all of the pages within it, all of these same pages interlinking each other indefinitely.

    So, we are starting to get some traffic to this beauty from our existing sites and the counters we implemented but, how can we get some more traffic for FREE?

    What I suggest we do next to this little baby is to add a banner exchange code to EACH of the FPA’s we have and also, onto the larger table console we created.

    You should sign up for one banner exchange code for this trap, you might like to search around for a banner exchange that lets you have a decent ratio of impressions.

    Once you have signed up for your banner exchange code, you now need to copy this coding into the BOTTOM of all of your FPA HTML pages including the Multi-Site FPA.

    Now you have the banner exchange code on your site you are earning credits. Your account may not be activated for a day or so but, what this means is you are earning credits the entire time you are showing banners on your Surfer Trap.

    Now we have the banner exchange code on our sites we only have one further step to take in order for this project to be completed.

    Making sure it works how it is supposed too along with fine tuning this little beast.

    If you have any further questions or comments please post on the forums here and one of us will be able to help you.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Anime vs. Cartoon – What Is The Difference?

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Content | Response: 0

    Over the past three years I have written articles, been a guest on radio shows, and even been part of panels, all discussing the wonders and bewilderment of anime and hentai content. In that time, I thought I had covered most aspects of the niche, the content, the market, the huge underground following, the money making potential etc. Yet I am still being asked on a regular basis questions about the niche and especially about the confusion of what is anime vs. other toon type content. So I decided to re-visit the issue in this article.

    One of the newer occurrences that seems to have confused many a webmaster, is the recent surge of content providers now offering images that they have titled as anime. Many of these images are computer generated images (CGI) in 3D like format, which tend to portray almost life like images. While others are cartoon images in various styles, that while they do have their market, are certainly not anime.

    Anime and Bishoujo (also known as Hentai) images are very unique in their style and characterization. If you know certain key points about the art work, you will know if what you are looking at or purchasing can truly be termed anime. And believe me, your surfers or members definitely know the difference! Here are some of the key things that you can do to assure yourself of what you are getting:

    Eyes: The eyes are one of the most important features of anime style characters; they are the most expressive parts of the face, and are part of what makes each character different and recognizable. Large eyes are of course the one feature that most people associate with anime, but just making the eyes large is not enough. Anime characters’ eyes should always have at least some sort of shading. Anime females in particular tend to have really heavy shading and lots of shiny areas. Male characters have light glares in their eyes, too, though they often are not as large or obvious.

    Nose and Mouth: Anime style noses and mouths are pretty straightforward, they consists of three basic simple shapes: a wedge for the nose, a long, thin line for the mouth, and a shorter line to define the lower lip. You will rarely see teeth on an anime character, even when the character is seen with the mouth wide open.

    Hair: Hair styles of Anime characters are stylized, unique, and sometimes impossible to have in the real world. Any hair color is possible, be it blond, black, sky blue, light green, orange, pink, all the colors of the rainbow. Hair length is also unusual as most males have shoulder length hair and most females either have really short hair or their hair is at least four feet long.

    Now this is obviously a generalization as there will be some variance in images depending on the style of a particular artist. But in general, this is what the anime/hentai surfer will look for. The other key to authentic anime is the style itself, the art is hand drawn and until recently always hand inked or colored as well. Though some artists now draw the sketches by hand and color via the computer, it is still very easy to notice the difference in quality of hand drawn art.
    I am not saying that other artworks do not have their market, they certainly do! I just want to make sure, if you are promoting images as Anime that you are truly using anime images, otherwise your sales or sign ups will not be near what they could be.

    Now let’s visit toons shall we? Cartoons, toons, sexy toons, erotic art, erotic illustrations, what ever you want to call them, are also very popular with many surfers. Toons are just what they seem to be, illustrated drawing depicting various characters in an exaggerated form. These images are fantastic for use on or for promoting the mired of Toon sites out in the market today. Toons, like Anime can fulfill fantasies that cannot be realized in real life or with real people. If you can think of it, it can be drawn! There is high demand for quality sexy toons because the loyal surfers out there cannot get enough.

    There are things to watch out for however even in toon content. Copyrighted characters, this has been a popular debate among those of us that deal and make our living from anime and toons. A copyright is a copyright is a copyright! Whether it be created or shot, the characters belong to the creators. Even if the character has been modified to blur the identity, if it is a recognizable character, ie, Batman, Flintstones, Sailor Moon, DragonBallZ etc. then you can be opening yourself up to prosecution from the copyright holder. Many a webmaster can tell you about hearing from Nintendo, Disney, Marvel and many other companies on this issue. Some providers feel that since such images are a parody of the copyrighted characters, they are protected, and in some cases they might be. But unless you have very deep pockets or a rich uncle to help you win that court battle, I would strongly suggest you steer clear of this type of image.

    As with any content you purchase it is important that you do your research and know your provider! Just because some one is selling something, it does not automatically make it legal, nor does it indemnify you, if it is not illegal. Unfortunately, as in all business there are a few bad apples out there that are willing to risk their reputations and their business to make a few quick bucks. If a provider tells you that the anime/toon images they offer come from Japan, and it is ok to use them, because the Japanese artists do not care, run, do not walk from this provider because that is simply a lie. Japanese artists are very aware of the theft of their artwork and many are now utilizing the Bourne Convention (http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html) to actively prosecute offenders throughout the world.

    I hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion about anime vs. cartoons, and as always I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject. You can always find me through my sites.

    Article written by Bestat

    http://www.exclusivecontent.com

  • Marketing to European Surfers

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Promotion | Response: 0

    Marketing to European Surfers.

    Today we’ll try to answer couple of questions regarding dialers and how to market them to European traffic.

    How to get traffic to your European market targeted site?

    Pretty much the same way as for all the other sites, lets German market for example (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) use SE’s, German link-lists, TGPs,… feed site with your own traffic, and don’t forget to use exit-consoles.

    Is your site translated into specific language?

    Yes, of course you won’t get far using English template on German/Spanish.. sites… You can always contact Adult Site Translation if you need help with translations.

    What sponsor should you use?

    That is pretty hard to say. Practically since almost every European based sponsor offers dialers so it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. It’s the same with per sign-up sponsors: It depends how good you are in sending traffic to them. And as always try couple of them and see which one works best for you. Most of the sponsors will offer to your surfers to pay by CC, bank account and dialers.

    Me personally, I don’t really advertise dialers. I go for sign-ups because most if not all European sponsors are recurring and it brings more money in the long run. But if a surfer wants to pay the (admittedly) high phone bills – that’s fine with me In fact, sometimes I get more money from a 0190-number (dialer number in Germany starts with 0190) than I’d get if the surfer would sign-up with his CC and would cancel his membership after the first payment.

    Why are dialers so successful in the German/European market?
    Well, I can think of 3 reasons for this:

    1.) 0190-numbers are very common in Germany. Many support-hotlines use them, you can download logos for your cell phone via 0190, you can get health-tips via 0190, fax-numbers, etc… Germans see those numbers everywhere and get used to them. Of course they know that they are expensive but I think they tend to forget this because they are so common.

    2.) Much of my income from dialers is from Swiss and Austrian people. Especially surfers from Switzerland LOVE dialers (Some of them spend hours/nights with dialers and in the end if i get 50% of that for me is not bad, isn’t it? :) I think they love dialers because they hesitate to give out the information on their CC (if they have any) and they can’t/don’t like to transfer their money via bank transfers. So dialers are actually their only way to get into the members-area.

    3.) Credit cards are not very common in Germany. I would guess only some 30% have one and many who have one don’t believe that CC transactions on the internet are secure. So most of the surfers have only 2 options left: Paying by bank account or using a dialer. The bank account has 2 disadvantages in the eyes of the surfers: 1st “The sponsor knows my name, my account number, where I live and that I’m a greasy little wanker who pays for porn. -Maybe this sponsor is going to tell my neighbors about it-” 2nd “How can I explain this to my wife?” On the other hand the dialer has advantages: 1st It is anonymous. Nobody knows who and where the surfer is. 2nd The dialer is faster than typing all the necessary information needed for a bank transaction. A few seconds for a 35kb download and the surfer is ready to go. 3rd You can always find a reason why there’s this 0190-number on the phone-bill. “Well darling, you know, I had problems with my new graphic card and I had to contact the customer-support. Those damn bastards are on a 0190-number what what can I do?”

    Well, that’s about it on dialers. One warning at the end: If you like to give them a try beware of those that do auto-downloads and auto-installations. Surfers don’t like them. Use dialers where the surfers needs to click somewhere to download and install them.

    Article written by Lee

  • Whats A Twink

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General | Response: 0

    I think you would be surprised at the number of times I have been asked, “What’s a Twink?” Or my, personal, favorite “So how do two men have sex?”

    If you know me, you know I am never really bothered by questions – I never mind people’s candor. What does bother me, though, is the bulk of the people who ask are trying to work the gay market. Unsuccessfully, I might add.

    So, let’s expand our webmaster knowledge. Don’t worry, I am not about to explain how two men have sex (that I will save for my story site LOL)

    I have decided, however, to give you a Gay Glossary of sorts. There are many terms that can be included here. But, I thought to start off, we will hit the basics and add to it as time goes on. Keep an eye for future articles and additions on Gay Wide Webmasters.

    Here is a list of the most common terms on the Gay Adult ‘net:

    • Twink – A buff and lean young man; a 20 something. Age and leanness make the guy a twink. The best example is your typical bar room stripper.
    • Teen – This is the same thing as in EVERY market, hot young and under twenty – but LEGAL at 18.
    • Hunk/Stud – Beautiful, built and beefcake. The guys commonly posing for calendars and such.
    • Chubs (or chubby) – Just what it sounds like, a larger man. Not just muscular weight, most often heavy set.
    • Bears – This is a HAIRY man. Not a young guy, most often over thirty, sometimes with a husky build (but not always). You will probably see this niche sold as “Real Men”.
    • Cub – This is a YOUNG hairy guy. Sort of a HAIRY TWINK…
    • Daddies – Daddies are men over thirty, who like younger guys. (Just a side note here to clear up some misconceptions, not all gay men want to do young guys!)
    • Sons – the young male counterparts to Daddies. The young of the two can be a twink, cub or teen – makes no difference. This term is based on the visual couple. For our non-gay friends think of this as an example: the businessman who goes away for the weekend with his NEICE. See the comparison? LOL
    • Transvestite – is a man who dresses as a woman. Whether it is simple underwear or all our female attire. A lot of webmasters confuse this with Transsexual.
    • Transsexual – is a person who has decided to make the complete change and have a sex change.
    • Trans Gender – this is a more general term for people who live life as the opposite sex. They are in the process of, or have completed, a sex change.

    So know go have some fun. Try to classify your friends and lovers in these terms! I enjoy it when a webmistress comes up to me and says, “I heard your interview and I think my husband is a bear. But he’s a little twink-ish. What do you think?” This just makes my day! I have to laugh at the look on their husband’s face when they think I’m going to ask to examine them or something. “Turn you head and cough – OH! You’re a Twink…”

    Along with what works, I have to offer some terms that DO NOT work. If used incorrectly or out of context, then your attempt at marketing to gay men can be dreadful.

    • Faggot – I hate this word, personally. This is a word that is as derogatory to the Gay Community as other words are to a race.
    • Nancy boy – a typically non-US term that basically is used as a derogatory manner.
    • Lil Boys – a derogatory term used primarily in the Southern and Mid-Western US. It’s derived from the negative connotation that gay men are pedophiles.
    • Gay Owned and Operated. Allow me to be blunt – If it is not true, do not say it. This is probably the most OVER used phrase in the gay adult market. So much so, it is relatively meaningless today.

    We all need to remember from time to time, the key to success in any business is knowledge. Whether you are up selling to a sponsor or designing sites, knowing some of the more common terminology in the gay community can only help your ventures in the gay adult market. And remember, do not be afraid to try and NEVER be afraid to ask.

    As always, good luck!

    Article written by Gary-Alan

  • Cell Phone Porn – Closer Than We Think?

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: General | Response: 0

    Cell Phone Porn – Closer Than We Think?

    From dialup to broadband, from standard to reality, from multiple pages to single magazine style tours, one thing is for certain adult pornography is constantly evolving and adapting to the both the marketing savvy of the surfer and, more importantly the technological advances hitting the web and, with the sudden impact of PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistants) and Cell Phones able to connect to the web could cell phone porn be the next big thing? This is what we will take a brief look at in this article.

    What Is Cell Phone Porn?

    Cell phone porn is a method of displaying not only images but streaming video feeds to a surfers portable cellular phone many companies (specifically in Europe) at the present time are starting to roll out 3gsm network cell phones this means that the surfers we get to our sites may not only be using a computer or a PDA to visit our sites but, in all reality they may already be surfing our sites on their cell phones.

    Building Cell Phone Porn Sites.

    In order to profit from this newly evolving cell phone porn market we have to diversify the methods in which we build our sites for example, we need to use WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) on our sites in order for them to be readable easily by the 3G cell phones for starters and then, we need to ensure that not only do our pages flow but, they load quickly and further still, how easy is it for the surfer to fill out the required join forms in order for them to actually access the cell phone porn they are being offered?

    Cell Phone Porn Statistics.

    Currently, if you head across to http://www.google.com and type in ‘cell phone porn’ as your search query you will find a total of 173,000 pages listed in the search results, now, combine this number with the amount of cell phones currently in circulation across the globe that are able to use WAP, 743 Million, those 173,000 sites in Google have an advantage that you don’t, they are already most likely getting cell phone traffic.

    Mobile Porn – An Overview.

    Will cell phone porn become a thing of the past as quickly as it is emerging as a medium of the future? Quite possibly however, until you start attracting your share of cell phone porn surfers you will not realize the benefits to this new source of traffic, in fact, even 12 months ago when the PDA Porn was a huge thing, many webmasters neglected to cash in on the latest craze and were surprised at the figures others were reporting to them. There is one thing that will always remain constant in the adult industry, the latest fads and crazes change as quickly as the arrive and, webmasters have to be quick off the mark in order to cash in on these new crazes. Will cell Phone Porn be a craze that you cash in on?

    Article written by Lee

  • Saving Time Online – Shortcut Keys

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General | Response: 0

    The one thing that i have started to do just lately is use shortcut keys. These are actually very easy to get used to and, will save you a lot of effort over a period of time.

    Below you will find a list of the more common shortcut keys in both Windows and Internet Explorer.

    Even if you get used to using one or two of these shortcut keys you will notice the time you start save over a week, hell, i don’t even type the whole domain into my IE address bar anymore!

    Here are the shortcuts for Windows along with the description of what they do:

    Alt + F – File menu options in current program.
    Alt + E – Edit options in current program
    F1 – Universal Help.
    Ctrl + A – Select all text.
    Ctrl + X – Cut selected item.
    Shift + Del – Cut selected item.
    Ctrl + C – Copy selected item.
    Ctrl + Ins – Copy selected item
    Ctrl + V – Paste
    Shift + Ins – Paste
    Home – Goes to beginning of current line.
    Ctrl + Home – Goes to beginning of document.
    End – Goes to end of current line.
    Ctrl + End – Goes to end of document.
    Shift + Home – Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
    Shift + End – Highlights from current position to end of line.
    Ctrl + Left – Moves one word to the left at a time.
    Ctrl + Right – Moves one word to the right at a time.
    Ctrl + Backspace – Delete word to the left of cursor.
    Ctrl + Del – Delete word to the right of cursor.
    Alt + Tab – Switch between open applications.
    Alt + Shift + Tab – Switch backwards between open applications.
    Ctrl + Esc – Bring Up start button.
    Alt + Esc – Switch Between open applications on taskbar.
    F2 – Renames selected Icon
    F3 – Starts find from desktop
    F4 – Opens the drive selection when browsing.
    F5 – Refresh Contents
    Alt + F4 – Closes Current open program.
    Ctrl + F4 – Closes Window in Program
    Alt + Enter – Opens properties window of Selected icon or program.
    Shift + F10 – Simulates right click on selected item.
    Shift + Del – Delete programs/files without throwing into the recycle bin.
    Holding Shift – Boot safe mode or by pass system files.
    Holding Shift – When putting in an audio cd will prevent CD Player from playing.

    The following list are shortcut keys when using Internet Explorer:

    Alt + Left – Back a page.
    Alt + Right – Forward a page.
    F5 – Refresh current page / frame.
    Esc – Stop page or download from loading.
    Ctrl + Enter – Quickly complete an address.
    Ctrl + N – Open New browser window.
    Ctrl + P – Print current page / frame.

    Hopefully this list of shortcut keys will get you saving some time even if its just a few minutes a day. After all, we all know the one thing webmasters need more of is time.

    Article written by Lee

  • Online Billing Alternatives – Token Payment Systems

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    In this article we will continue our look at the various payment solutions that are available to webmasters for use on a global scale and, this time we will look at the ‘Token’ system of generating income to our sites.

    Token Payments – What Are They?

    Token payments, as they name suggests is a way by which your surfers can access your members area by using pre-purchased tokens as a cash alternative. These tokens are available in a variety of values ranging from US$1 to US$5 and above.

    Token Payments – What Are The Costs?

    The cost to the surfer (as mentioned above) can vary from solution to solution however, on average the tokens which are redeemed for payment are bought in amounts ranging from US$1 to US$5 and above, these tokens then grant the surfer access to any of the sites that uses the specific token system the surfer purchased ‘credits’ for.

    Token Payments – Price Comparisons.

    Okay so based on our previous articles we will again say that access to your members area costs an average of US$30 for a months access, now, using the token payment method, you are now able to set certain ‘restrictions’ immediately on the level of ‘access’ your new member can have although, the reality of it is, these restrictions are set by the token provider themselves.

    Lets say a surfer has gained access to your site using a US$5 token, what can they get actually have access too – not a lot. Your surfer only has access to as much of the content in your site that his ‘credits’ or ‘tokens’ will allow him to, in fact, the token system itself is much like the current pay-per-view model only, IMHO, not as satisfying to the surfer.

    back to the issue at hand, how much will you make from this surfer with the US$5 token who has just accessed your site, well, if your members area is good and you have enough content to keep the surfer there until their tokens run out of credit, then, you will make upto 95% of the initial US$5 token purchase.

    The good thing about this payment solution from a webmasters perspective however, is that YOU can actually set how much time each token will last on your site. Therefore, the reality of it is, you could have a surfer join your site with a US$5 token and only see one movie file whereas, a surfer who joined with a Credit card for 30 days access, could in effect strip your site of its content and move onto the next paysite.

    Token Payments – Overview.

    All in all, i strongly feel that there is a place in todays adult industry for the token payment solution after all, webmasters have to limit access to the amount of content surfers are able to see for free (or cheaply) and start to ‘educate’ todays sufer that they need to spend some money in order to access ‘the good stuff’.

    By allowing webmasters to control the content and value of the token payments on their sites this payment solution could, somewhat start this education process for the surfers. Whether this will be a good or, a bad thing however, will depend entirely on the amount of use these relatively new payment solutions get from both webmasters and, ultimately, surfers.

    Article written by Lee

  • Cleaning Up The Myths On Scrubbing

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    Time and time again on message boards I see the same old topics regarding scrubbing usually preceded by some company being accused of scrubbing their webmasters surfers to much and the webmasters sales being lower because of the sponsor ‘scrubbing’ their surfers however, the reality of this is, it isn’t the sponsors who control how much or how little the surfers credit card transactions are ‘scrubbed’.

    The E-Commerce Dilemma.

    Irrespective of whether you are an online bookmaker, bakery or adult pay site owner the fact of the matter remains that only credit card fraud is on the increase and, in addition to the rise of online credit card fraud the methods in which the perpetrators of these crimes carry them out is also changing often combating the methods put in place by the online transaction processors to stop this happening luckily however, this is where ‘scrubbing’ comes into effect.

    So What Is Scrubbing?

    Scrubbing is a method used by the credit card processor that the companies who’s site you are sending a surfer to uses. Scrubbing is in effect, a method of calculating the probability that any single transaction (or group of transactions) could be fraudulent. That is to say, is being carried out by someone other than the true owner of the credit or debit card.

    Scrubbing is probably the single most useful tool provided to our sponsors by the credit card processors to ensure that every transaction that gets sent to them is credible and, once the transaction is allowed (or not) a part of the information contained with the transaction is sent to a central database to help other clients of that processor guard against receiving unlawful transaction purchases.

    How Does Scrubbing Affect Me?

    As a webmaster, believe it or not, scrubbing is actually a good thing for you. You know that each transaction processed is first of all a legitimate one and, secondly, you know that the sponsor who you are using is not going to go bankrupt due to excessive illegal transaction. This means that the sponsor can improve the services they offer YOU as a webmaster to assist you in making more money.

    In essence, the scrubbing of credit card transactions at a sponsors level increases the amount of money you make long term not only with that individual sponsor but, with every other sponsors who uses the same transaction processor.

    Article written by Lee.

  • The Death Of The AVS – The Birth Of The AEN (Adult Entertainment Network)

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General, Promotion, Sponsors, WebDesign | Response: 0

    Well after a long and tedious few months of speculation, rumors and facts being presented to those of us in the adult industry working on AEN sites (Formerly known as AVS sites) it seems that Visa has put a strain on AEN companies to start re-working and, renaming their sites to fall under the ‘Adult Entertainment Network’ name. What does this mean to us as webmasters and, more importantly to the industry as a whole? This is what we shall address in this article.

    A Little Visa History Lesson.

    This whole mess started in October of 2002 when, jointly, CCBill, Epoch and, iBill issued a new set of operating guidelines that had been passed onto them by Visa. In effect, this meant that 3rd party credit card processors had to be re-classified as an ‘IPSP’ or ‘Internet Payment Service Provider’ this also in turn meant that webmasters needed to start paying ‘fees’ to Visa (via their IPSP) in order to continue charging their surfers for access to products and services by using Visa issued credit and / or debit cards.

    In addition to the initial $750 however, there is also a need to pay an ongoing fee of $375, two thirds of this fee goes directly to Visa and, the remaining balance goes to issuing banks and IPSP’s for administrative charges.

    Shortly after this announcement was made the industry then got dealt another blow by the processing companies, this time, in the form of Paypal announcing they would no longer accept any adult orientated payment through their system. This went into effect on May 12th 2003 and, after initial speculations as to what could and could not be charged to Paypal accounts, it seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for some of the smaller webmasters.

    However, the adult industry is strong and rallied together getting as much information as possible about alternates to both of the above situations and companies such as Stormpay and off-shore IPSP’s started to see an increase in revenues from adult payments.

    As The Waves Settled – The Next Blow.

    Given all of the financial troubles of the previous 10 months in respect of online adult payments the industry as a whole started to settle itself again, of course there was the usual posting on forums, conversion ratio and shaving discussions happening on the main forums as there always was but, in addition to these conversations more rumors started, this time, regarding the AVS business model.

    Almost as quickly as these rumors started however, they seemed to have fizzled out into nothing but a distant memory but, two months later after the first round of initial conversations on the adult industry message forums, the same AVS business model was dealt another devastating blow.

    It seems Visa has its sights set on AVS (Age Verification Service / Systems) with a press release being issued first by Sex Key, then by Free Age Card, which was followed by similar announcements from Global Male Pass and Gay Passport informing adult webmasters that they had 2 days to make their current AVS sites conform to the new requirements set down by Visa.

    These requirements were that.

    1) Adult webmasters can no longer use the term ‘AVS’ on their sites.
    2) Adult webmasters can no longer use the term ‘Adult Verification Service’ or ‘Age Verification Service’ on their sites.
    3) Adult webmasters can no longer state that surfers joining up to their AVS will have ‘Access to thousands of other AVS protected sites’.

    As usual Adult Webmasters started to question the reasons behind this sudden and apparent change of AVS rules on almost every forum and, whilst most questions went unanswered the one thing that was answered (honestly) was that these new rules had been set down by current AVS IPSP’s who, had had these rules issued tot hem by Visa.

    So, webmasters started to change out their tour page text to conform to these new rules and, for the most part, it seemed like that was all that was needed to be ‘safe’ working the AVS business model. Little did they know…

    One Last Blow To The AVS Webmasters.

    Several days after the initial press releases from some of the top AEN (Formerly AVS) companies was made it seems that in between all of the posting ont he boards yet another issues comes to light – That Visa is aiming to have AVS webmasters now pay a $750 fee for the benefit of being able to keep using this business model as stated by Craig Tant (Sex Key) ‘we believe is that every site will have to be registered and pay the $750.’

    This beleif, although somewhat vague tends to draw conclusions that, through no fault of their own, the AVS / AEN business model in the adult industry as we currently know it is changing and, changing for the worse. If webmasters are forced to pay Visa a $750 registeration fee per AEN system or per AEN site then a lot of todays industry leaders are going to come unstuck, especially those that focus solely on the AVS / AEN model for the primary source of income.

    Adult Entertainment Networks – What’s Next?

    This is the question that is currently being asked by many webmasters and, the truth of the matter is simply that nobody knows – Except for Visa, the next few days, weeks and months are going to be telling on the industry as a whole from what happens to current sites inside the AVS / AEN companies websites to what happens when surfers start to propagate back onto the adult internet looking for their fix of high quality porn, two things however are definitive throughout all of this, Visa is homing in on the adult industry and, every webmaster needs to be concerned about what will happen next.

    Article written by Lee

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