With a name like LinkMeAllOver.ca, everyone knew that a little pizzazz was missing, and an eventual rebirth just had to be in store. Sure, the site — started in 1998 — was successful, but when it was purchased in 2003, the ball got rolling.
“It was started by a guy up in Saskatoon, Canada. We kept the name, but we knew it was atrocious even though it had nice traffic. In June of 2004, we renamed the site JustUsBoys.com, which we felt emphasized the growing community we had on the site,” says Shannon Prewitt, JUB Media, LTD, co-owner/ publisher.
The site started as a link list of free gay adult sites, but one of the first things JUB Media did upon taking control was add message boards and profiles so members could interact. Today, the community is one of the most active around — the extensive content gives fans not just a taste of adult entertainment, but also serves as “a portal where gay men start their day,” notes Prewitt.
“The site has become much more than a list of porn sites. We’re able to help people connect with each other and join in a genuine community. That’s really the beauty of what the site has become. We’ve done some other interesting things over the past year, including the launch of a print magazine to complement the website, and even more recently, a new DVD magazine to reach consumers in an entirely new way.”
Prewitt says that the site has become bigger than they ever imagined. After starting with a shared hosting account, it now takes 13 servers to run everything, including three database servers. “We’re often awed by how things have blown up and how many people consider our site a part of their daily routine.”
The site has a directory of porn sites, as well as site reviews and “Eye Candy” sections that guide members to the best erotic sites. The message boards serve as a forum for members to talk about everything, from the erotic to the mundane, while user-generated content has also taken off with members creating their own blogs and photo albums to share their lives. The front page of the site also offers a blog that deals with online erotica, and is updated at least eight times a day.
“You can’t be all things to all people, and we are the first to recognize that,” he says. “We’re fortunate to have our community of ‘Jubbers,’ who create content day-in and day-out by blogging about their lives, sharing their thoughts and opinions, and interacting with one another. We’ve experimented with different things, but we always come back to the community. That really is our niche.”
The company ventured into the print world with the launch of JustUsBoys.com magazine, a free quarterly publication that covers erotic websites, online dating, and gay adult news. Each quarter, 75,000 copies are sent to gay bookstores and clubs throughout Canada and the United States. (“We plan to double that figure over the next twelve months, as well as take the magazine to a more frequent publishing schedule,” Prewitt says.) Each issue can also be downloaded online.
“There is no question about the power of the brand,” he adds. “Over ninety percent of our advertisers are signing multi-issue commitments, and the feedback we’re getting from them is really exciting. Many of our current print advertisers have also signed on for our new DVD magazine project. This is yet another outstanding way to reach out to an even larger customer base.”
In addition to expanding their reach through both the website and magazine (and event appearances each month), Prewitt notes that JUB Media will be releasing a new version of the site over the next few months that will give members even more ways to interact. They are also gearing up to create new video content, intended to be different from everything else out there.
“When you have an active community of over a hundred thousand gay men, the feedback comes very quickly and very frequently. We have a whole host of member requests that we’re incorporating into the next version of the site, some of which we may never have come up with on our own.”
It’s that community base that has kept the site thriving. Prewitt notes that members are even organizing meet-ups (affectionately known as JUB Meets) across the world, and the company is happy to send a little care package with some free JUB T-shirts and other goodies.
“Members are just as likely to discuss a new job or a new boyfriend as they are to talk about a new porn star,” he says. “Many of our members would tell you the site is the best place to meet and interact with real guys. We aren’t really a hook-up site, although we’ve had our share of community romances. We are a full-fledged community of men who initially came for the erotica, but stayed because of each other. Thousands of guys from all over the world visit every single day to check in with their friends and keep tabs on this incredible little world they’ve created.”
Contact Info: JustUsBoys.com; JUBmag.com.