Wanna be interviewed for an adult blog?

[GayGeek]

Hey folks,

Many of you know me, but a few many not. I run a gay adult website review site called GayGeek.

Today I premiered a new feature of the website -- the GayGeek Blog. I haven't 100% decided what all I'll blog about, but one of the things I want to do is to conduct an ongoing series of interviews with people in the porn business ranging from porn stars to webmasters to cameramen to affiliate reps to whomever.

I figured a good place to start looking for people to interview was on GWW. Y'all are a friendly folk, and I can use the blog to give a (very minor) burst of publicity for you and/or your projects.

The interviews should be easy enough. I'll write 5-6 questions tailored to your experiences and how they are interesting to the porn surfing public. I'll e-mail 'em your way and you can answer them at your leisure. You can use your real names or "nom de porn" as per their preference.

If you're interested, reply with a few sentences briefly outlining your experience in the porn industry.

Thanks!

--Aaron

[Bec]

This sounds to be of more interest to peers than to porn surfers? Is that the audience you are trying to attract ... other webmasters, and other adult porn industry professionals?

[Lee]

This sounds to be of more interest to peers than to porn surfers? Is that the audience you are trying to attract ... other webmasters, and other adult porn industry professionals?

I agree, im not so sure surfers really want to know the 'truth' about how their porn is made, it will take away from the whole 'fantasy' aspect.


I think this is a great idea for a wm related blog though, but i think this is something to put in the same grouping as politics when it comes to porn surfers... Itll just negatively effect sales.

Regards,

Lee

[GayGeek]

I'm trying to attract porn surfers as they form the bulk of our business, although I don't mind attracting webmasters as well since a review site benefits from having a good relationship with the larger adult webmaster community.

But since porn surfers are our primary market I planned to angle the questions toward things they might want to know.

For example, if I'm talking to a webmaster, I might ask him how his company has changed their approach toward customer service and interaction over the past few years. Or I might ask him how he envisions his site(s) changing over the next few years?

Or if I'm talking to a porn star, I might ask about particularly difficult or fun experiences in front of the camera. Or how he has handled the decision of whether to come out as a porn star to his family.

Or a cameraman could talk about what it's like filming porn -- does he get in on the action behind the scenes? Or is it a serious job in which the crew doesn't get laid? And what are some of his more memorable experiences filming porn?

Even someone whose sole job is to promote an affiliate program to webmasters would be interesting to interview. How do affiliate programs work? What sorts of adult websites make up the bulk of an affiliate program's business? What sorts of con artistry does he have to watch out for when someone joins an affiliate program? What ethics does he use in marketing his affiliate program, and how does a lack of ethics among affiliate marketing negatively affect the customer experience on a website?


Overall, I'd like to have a combination of "fluff" and "in-depth" questions. Doing so will ultimately, I believe, make for a better blog.

--Aaron

PS, The above questions are ones I threw together off the top of my head. I'd do a bit of research and give the matter more thought before sending questions to an interviewee.

PPS, While I used the word "he" in all the examples above, I think interviewing a few women in the business would be interesting. There's definitely a few good interviews to be had regarding the role and impact of women in the gay porn business.

[GayGeek]

I agree, im not so sure surfers really want to know the 'truth' about how their porn is made, it will take away from the whole 'fantasy' aspect.

I think this is a great idea for a wm related blog though, but i think this is something to put in the same grouping as politics when it comes to porn surfers... Itll just negatively effect sales.

People said much the same thing when I wrote my first book, Suburban Hustler: Stories of a Hi-Tech Callboy. Many of my friends predicted it would kill my escort business to write exactly what I thought of many of my clients, and what sorts of "psychological tricks" I used to keep the customer happy.

In fact, the opposite occurred. People became fascinated with how the industry worked and wanted to get to know me as a person. I believe the same principle holds true here. I would go so far as to say that the interview series could increase sales overall.

I agree, it may change the distribution of sales between sites a little, with some sites getting more or less sales because of the interviews (say, if a webmaster comes across as highly ethical or a total asshat), but I think overall it would go up.

--Aaron

[Rich]

well when i surf for porn i dont like seeing stuff like vote for obama on porn sites so i think there is something to the idea that surfers donnt want to know about real life stuff

[GayGeek]

I agree, Rich. Hence why I intended to stay away from campaign-style postings. When there's a significant election going on (say, in 2012) I may do an article on the Democrat vs. Republican presidential candidates and how they'd effect the gay porn industry. But more as an informational piece rather than an attempt to change anyone's vote. Not many people use gay porn as their #1 voting issue.

So back to requests for people to interview, who wants to volunteer? I gotta admit that I'm surprised I haven't had more takers. I'd have thought a few of you wouldn't mind getting a little bit of publicity for one of your pet projects.

--Aaron

[derekt]

I agree, im not so sure surfers really want to know the 'truth' about how their porn is made, it will take away from the whole 'fantasy' aspect.

Actually Lee..... Hot Desert Knights has MakingGayPorn.com where it shows the behind the scenes of exactly how a film is made.

We set up one video camera, we point it into a large mirror so that it captures EVERYTHING. It shows the entire behind the scenes of each scene we produce. It is never edited. What happens in a shoot is displayed in that video. It shows everything. Now before each scene starts the models are lectured about the camera and what it is used for. They are fully aware of this and one slip up will be on film. We stress that and stress that and stress that. We even have an adendum agreement that goes with the model release just for the behind the scenes video.

Here's a link to our series: http://theater.aebn.net/dispatcher/m...heaterId=51272

We send that off to all of the VOD providers we work with. We offer the DVD for DVD purchase. And we own a couple domains:
ProducingGayPorn.com
FilmingGayPorn.com
and we plan to turn those into membersites within the next 3-4 months.

This film is also considered "bonus footage." It really sells.

So no, I seriously doubt it would not hurt any.

[Lee]

Actually Lee..... Hot Desert Knights has MakingGayPorn.com where it shows the behind the scenes of exactly how a film is made.

But it isnt an 'interview' and surfers still get to see naked men.

Id actually be interested in seeing stats for how well that site converts too, when we did DILF we had some 'extra' footage shot and used it on a behind the scenes type site that was privately promoted, it bombed... Surfers just werent interested in it.... Which is also the reason why there are no successful 'blooper' sites which was a popular way for producers to use their out-takes a few years back $0.02

Regards,

Lee

[derekt]

But it isnt an 'interview' and surfers still get to see naked men.

Id actually be interested in seeing stats for how well that site converts too

ZBuckz.com has MakingGayPorn.com and my understanding is that MakingGayPorn.com shows the members how it was produced, the behind the scenes of everything. And it also shows the finished product.
So yes, they do see sex and naked guys and the whole 10 yards I'm guessing.
You may want to talk to Danny or CJ at ZBuckz.

We actually started the "Behind The Scenes" series and footage because we were getting a lot of offers from our members to allow them to come watch a scene. And we've used various online means for casting. You get a lot of guys that want to watch what goes on, how it's filmed, etc. So we gave it a shot and it has truthfully done well for us. And we will continue to do this. If nothing else, we've made a profit on it. The mirror cost us $380 (Custom made so that during transport it wouldn't break.) and the cost of the tapes to film on.
The camera made it's money. it's a Hi-8. First camera we used to film about 4 years ago. So the camera has definately made it's money. The only overhead is the tapes. Those are about $2 each, we buy in bulk wholesale. The overhead cost is minimal.

Now we have bought a new video camera that will be here on the 18th. Our next shoot is in mid August. We will be retiring the Hi8 Camera. But yet keeping it. Just not using it. And we will be replacing it with a MiniDV camera.

[GayGeek]

But it isnt an 'interview' and surfers still get to see naked men.

Well, the interviews I planned to do aren't exactly "Barbara Walters quality". I figured I'd ask things that porn consumers would find interesting.

I actually did my first interview with a porn webmaster yesterday. I sent him seven questions tailored to his site/experience and he said he'd write back with the answers today. I'll be curious how it turns out. Hopefully better than Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman. (Watch it -- it's funny).

--Aaron