Well at least they finally came forward with an explanation. They could have continued bullshitting us.
I don't know how they expect to grow their program with no affiliates. I'm predicting that Amateur Straight Guys will be up for sale within the next six months.
Michael
It's been my experience that this business will push TONS of money in your direction if you manage things with even the barest of skills.
All you really have to do is PAY YOUR BILLS.
Of course, to do that you can't spend all your money on personal entertainment, putting up an image, or vices.
I'm absolutely fidgety with curiousity about what really went on behind the scenes this year...
As far as "closing the program," I wonder when they are planning on letting affiliates know officially - I still haven't received any email from them.
Gotta Run,
Ray
Here's a good way to grow the program without affiliates... someone has been running Google Adwords for ASG.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dzinerbear
If it's an affiliate, someone should tell him/her. If it's Doug & Jay, someone should slap an injunction on them. http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...+straight+guys
Untangled Web, Inc., better known as www.bananaguide.com, filed a civil suit against the sponsor program Amateur Straight Guys October 13 at Maricopa County Court in Phoenix Arizona. The suit claims that ASG has failed to pay Untangled Web its affiliate payments and that ASG manipulated its Affiliate Stats to show that unpaid amounts were shown as paid. Untangled Web claims that ASG owed $24,291.38 as of September 30, 2006 and payments were behind by several months. The suit asks for all affiliate payments and rebill amounts that are payable, costs of the suit and attorneys fees.
Untangled Web Inc is represented by Chad Belville.
Oh Good Lord! $24,000!!!!
That is crazy they had such a huge presence and were very well known. We know a couple of their models that did some shoots with them in Arizona. This is why taxes should always come first then your needs then your wants. You don't pay your taxes and you are screwed.
Mark
Guys -
I recently moved from AZ, after living there all of my adult life and most of my childhood.
One of the reasons I left is because a certain recreational substance, commonly cooked-up from over the counter cold medicines, is running rampant, and has been for half a decade.
Please note, this is not an accusation and I am not trying to start any rumors. I don't have any first-hand information. I don't know any of the parties personally.
But I've known other people who managed to completely "tank" their lives because of this substance, and those examples are - remarkably - similar to this particular story.
"Great presence" - lots of $$ flowing in - success and growth seem inevitable - "right on top of the world" is a good description, until the money starts vanishing like magic before the bills are paid.
Then everything folds like a tent minus its poles.
I'm not out $24k, but I'm not happy about the few hundred $$ I'll never see.
On the other hand, if what I suspect is the root cause of this problem actually is the cause, I feel extremely sorry for everyone involved. The mess is not going to be only financial, it will pervade all of their lives.
Now, why did I even bring this up?
Virtually everyone reading this needs to be careful, because we're all in the business of peddling fantasies.
It's very easy to become detached from reality.
Regardless of the exact mechanics of ASG's downfall, the simple fact is that they became disconnected from the real world enough to turn any minor problem into one that's going to cost the farm.
And it could happen to any of us, should we suffer that same detachment.
So, guys, be careful. Always keep one foot on the dock while climbing into the speedboat...
Sincerely,
Ray owner@realamateursproject.net
Check it out:
http://avnonline.com/index.php?Prima...tent_ID=277383
Great article! One little thing... That should say "Untangled Web President." :)Quote:
"They started to pay back the old stuff, but in the meantime they weren’t paying [the] current [earnings], so I let them know that they had to get their act together by the middle of July, and they did not,” Digital Ventures President Trevor Hennig tells AVNOnline.com. “So, we stopped promoting them at that point, and we filed suit last Friday."
OMG! Thank you for that! Totally missed it!Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJohn
The story has been edited to now include a quote from AmateurStraightGuys' lawyer.
We work with models from all over the US and Canada, and as far as I know, crystal meth is rampant almost everywhere. We've had models in Kentucky, Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, and pretty much all the more populated states talking about how it's overtaking the gay scene in all of those places, so I don't think that Arizona has any special claims to its presence.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramp
Anyone who's been to an industry convention knows that a significant portion of webmasters, program and studio owners and others in our industry are pretty open about their use of various addictive recreational drugs -- including people who have some very large programs or sites -- so I don't think we can blame their downfall on drug use or living in Arizona, just on stupidity. (I don't have any knowledge at all of what's happening behind the scenes, so my comments are general.)
I couldn't agree more Chip there is alot of drug use. It also seems like the US is more concerned about gambling and porn while kids and adults are losing their lives because of this drug and others including alcohol. When I was paralyzed when I was 12 over 90% of the people in my group were paralyzed because of a drunk driver or drinking and driving themselves. Not sure if it is any better now but it seems the people who do get a dui are still on the road. I think if the government was more concerned on things that really matter maybe this problem would not be getting out of control.Quote:
Originally Posted by gaybucks_chip
Mark
That's exactly what you're doing. If you have no first-hand information, why bother drawing the lines? Talk about kicking people when they're down.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramp
I'm owed money like a lot of other people and I'm not happy about it, but good lord, put your brains back in your head before you start to type.
Michael
looks like the two dorks got laid and got paid
and when money was plenty pulled the plug and decided to go it alone
good for Bananaguide not rolling over
It's no secret that I have issues with Bananaguide after one of their reps had me make a bunch of time consuming changes to my site about a year ago to have my site listed, only to drop the ball. Then Trevors emails in June 2005 to make amends and make promises, that he ended up not keeping... as I never heard from him again. I'm sure they are nice people but it seems almost karmic that they allege to now be the victims of someone not meeting deadlines or keeping promises.
However it sucks that they, along with the rest of us, are owed money. The Scott and Vern I knew did not do business this way. They neglected to return my calls as well (non affiliate related) so I know they're dealing with a lot right now. I still have faith they'll make it all good at some point, if they don't sell the business.