Above from left, photos by JFK of the Merchant Connection Cocktail Party, the House of Slam party and the Big 6 Bourbon Bash at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club.
NEW ORLEANS—When it comes to picking a city to host a convention of professionals from the adult online industry, you know it has to be a town where people can have some adult fun. So why not go to America’s first party town? Vegas has the Strip and Florida’s got the beaches. But New Orleans has Bourbon Street, America’s most Bacchanalian boulevard—and the home of the oldest continually occupied bar in the United States (Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, founded circa 1722).
So that’s the city where AVN decided to throw its first summer Internext in four years. The nation’s oldest bar isn’t a good enough reason to host our show there? How about this: that storied stretch of street in the French Quarter in home to not one but four establishments owned by industry giant Larry Flynt.
It was at one of those spots—Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club at 225 Bourbon Street—where the last scheduled event of Internext New Orleans took place on May 30. It was a raucous, flesh-filled end to a three-day show that attracted many power brokers in the online skin trade.
The winter Internext show, held in Las Vegas before the January AVN Awards Show and Adult Entertainment Expo, is a staple on the webmaster circuit. But Internext in New Orleans? Hasn’t been one since September of 2000, when the event then known as ia2000 took place there—and was reborn as Internext.
Those 14 years melted away like ice on a muggy New Orleans afternoon as many veterans of that show began to arrive May 28 at the New Orleans Downtown Marriott, located across from the Convention Center. Seminars and business meetings weren’t scheduled until the next day, but there were two good reasons to arrive early: a welcome reception sponsored by AVN (see photos here) and a cocktail party hosted by Merchant Connections (see photos).
Inside Wolfe Restaurant at the Marriott, a robust crowd gathered by the hosted bar. Two types of po’boy sandwiches (shrimp and beef) and mashed potatoes (both regular and sweet potatoes) with all the trimmings were served, the better to pad stomachs for a night of drinking. Some of the same companies that were around back in 2000 were represented, such as FriendFinder, Mojohost, CCBill and Epoch, as well as many that have joined the industry since then, including Affil4You, PussyCash, Sex Goes Mobile, Star Advertising, Paxum, Juicy Ads, Grand Slam Media, BrokerBabe, EroAdvertising, Amateur Community, Payze and Mobidea.
After fueling up on food and drink, many headed over to the Ritz Carlton and upstairs to the penthouse suite for the Merchant Connections party. The company specializes in global payment processing—both direct and third party—for high-risk businesses around the globe, including adult.
Aside from the topless cocktail servers at the hosted bar, there was plenty more eye candy to enjoy. Those lucky enough to get inside the lavishly decorated apartment found such curiosities as a stuffed ostrich in the living room and a porcupine in the screening room, as well as artwork and antiques scattered throughout. Outside, the massive outdoor patio provided a 360-degree cityscape. Alas, the rain kept party-goers indoors—which meant that once the head count hit 100, the hotel stopped letting new arrivals upstairs and the proprietor made noise about shutting the festivities down. But in a town where the bars are open until 4 a.m., that didn’t mean the party had to be over.
Despite a late night for many, the registration desk was open for business at 9 a.m. Overnight, the hotel lobby had been completely transformed (see photos). Since Internext took over the whole hotel, it was possible to fill the first two floors with all manner of banners, posters and floor decals. In between all the signage on the second floor was a station with coffee, tea, beignets and pralines. Fueled by sugar and caffeine, badge-holders filled the Speed Networking room, sponsored by Star Advertising. As it had been at Internext in January, this session put a spin on the traditional speed networking. Rather than talking to individuals one at a time, each participant gave an “elevator pitch” and passed out business cards, leaving more time for individuals with parallel needs to make their own connections.
Immediately following Speed Networking was another ice breaker: the GFY Wet T-Shirt Contest (see photos), held at the Marriott’s small pool area. GFY.com zookeeper Eric Matis served as emcee; he had the responsibility of drenching each curvaceous contestant with a pitcher of water. Andy Wullmer of Sex Goes Mobile livened things up with servings “Pussy Juice” for contestants as photographers snapped away.
Then it was on to the meat of Internext: the educational seminars. Click here for a roundup on the seminars, each of which covered a different aspect of the business.
Following the seminars, attendees could check out a workshop on WebcamWiz’s “Fly to the Moon” contest, which is continuing through 2014. The top winner will receive a round-trip ticket to Earth’s only natural satellite, while other prizes include a BMW Mini Cooper and a seven-day Caribbean vacation. In addition, affiliates who send more than 250 sign-ups will be eligible to win lodging for two and admission to a Full Moon Party at which the top winners will be announced. Webcamwiz is the white label for ImLive’s live cam network, which hosts some 100,000 models.
At the same time in the hotel bar downstairs, Affil4You’s Joey Gabra played host at a cocktail party, getting the crowd warmed up for the afternoon Meet Market. And for those who were too busy setting up their booths to attend Affil4You’s two-hour confab, three bars were set up inside the Meet Market (see photos) to serve a selection of regional libations, among them Sazerac, Hurricane, Pimm’s Cup and a New Orleans-style Bloody Mary.
Many of the exhibitors from the January show were on the show floor, making their pitches and offering swag. Near the entrance was Carole from PussyCash, who was doling out ImLive-branded flip-flops. Wizzo offered up sugar cookies with a JuicyAds logo printed on the frosting as well as packs of gum. Netbilling had earbuds in a branded case, Stephen Winyard of .xxx was surrounded by flashing pens, OrbitalPay served up shot glasses, and BrokerBabe gave its visitors a choice of flip-flops, hand fans, lip balm and pens. And then there were the giveaways cooked up (literally) by Eddie of X Industry Jobs: mushroom-filled pastry puffs and bacon-wrapped scallops.
Scott Walley was on duty at the MojoHost booth, offering a variety of the company’s classic promo items, including a sunglasses case with a photo of CEO Brad Mitchell and a caption: “The day after after MojoHost buys drinks, everyone needs their glasses.”
Included among the swag at each table were piles of Mardi Gras beads, part of an AVN contest designed to promote the January show and add a festive touch to the Meet Market. But the strands, which were tagged with company logos attached by thin metal wires, kept snarling up. So although the contest got some attendees to build up a stockpile of beads, it became apparent that this was one idea that needed to go back to the drawing board. Fortunately, exhibitors were good-natured as AVN staffers circulated around the room, offering replacement beads.
There were some new exhibitors as well as others that were celebrating new logos or new campaigns. Nova Media founder Bako Kaye launched the brand-new Etology ad network for digital publishers and advertisers. Staffers were at the Meet Market to hand out business cards and lighters, the better to spark attendees’ memories later.
Another industry veteran, Judy Shalom, debuted a new company at the show along with COO Diederik van Schaik. Adamo Advertising, a self-serve platform for publishers and advertisers, was offering 100 percent payouts for early adopters.
After six years in the biz, Grand Slam Media is not a new face, but it did have a new look for the show. In addition to their enthusiasm for new branding with a redesigned logo, the Grand Slam team was also pumped up about their big party, which was taking place later that night.
After exhibitors finished packing up their gear it was time for the Traffic Dinner (see photos), where invited guests found a hearty but healthy spread that featured plenty of veggies and salad along with the meat selections. Providing a feast for the eyes were the burlesque dancers of Fleur de Tease, who did various numbers throughout the night, including a trio doing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and a lithe dancer stripping to 1920s-era jazz instrumental.
But the main event was the House of Slam party, hosted by Grand Slam Media (see photos). There to help embed the company’s new branding in memory was an array of go-go dancers wearing the logo on midriff-baring tops—a full 40 of them, a fact jubilantly announced by Kevin Blatt, who along with webcam star Sarah Peachez was there to rev up the crowd. Not that they needed much revving, with headliners Mobb Deep and Too Short on the bill. The dance floor at Republic New Orleans was packed and the crowd was ecstatic. The club, a 150-year-old venue with exposed brick and high ceilings with exposed beams, was just around the corner from the hotel, within staggering distance at the end of the night.
The next day, Grand Slam Media’s bash was the talk of the show. Alex of Star Advertising admitted he was feeling the effects of the long evening as he introduced the Speed Networking session. But Internext attendees are seasoned revelers, so there was a respectable turnout for the 11 a.m. event. (See photos from Day 2)
Helping to heal any lingering hangovers was the GFY Networking Lunch, with a buffet set up in the lobby of the hotel. Wraps, sandwiches and salads were served, along with a local brand of potato chip and mini cheesecakes for dessert. Then it was on to the afternoon seminars.
Right after the last seminar, many headed for the Affil4You Happy Hour and the Affiliate Cocktail Party. Those who stayed behind in the seminar room were pleasantly surprised by the high level of discourse at a workshop titled How to Hire and Manage Programmers. Domenic R. Merenda, aka Edgeprod, gave the presentation, which was supplemented by excellent questions from the audience. Entrepreneurs looking to bring an online business to market gleaned many pearls of wisdom on how and where to find programmers and developers, how much to pay for a new website, what performance benchmarks to use when overseeing a project, and whether to hire a system architect.
Some Internext guests gathered for an invitation-only dinner, while the rest made their own plans during the brief break before the last party of the show. Since the hotel was situated in the Warehouse District and was but a short cab right from the French Quarter, dining options were bountiful. As a cab driver promised one group, it’s almost impossible to find bad food or bad music in New Orleans—there’s simply too much competition. (See photos)
The final act of Internext New Orleans opened at the aforementioned Hustler Club (see photos), with most of the trade show folk gathered in the VIP area upstairs—the better to get a bird’s eye view of the main stage, where 2015 AVN Awards co-host Alexis Texas shook her prize-winning rump (she received AVN’s 2014 Fan Award for Hottest Ass) and muscular champion feature dancer Christina Aguchi climbed effortlessly up the two-story-high pole. Other guests sat by the other stage upstairs, slipping dollar bills into the g-strings of various Hustler girls, while a crowd gathered out on the balcony to watch the passersby and throw beads, hoping to convince willing amateurs to show off their racks. We didn’t see any takers—other than a couple of guys who were happy to flash their pecs—but it was a long night, so who knows.
As for the rest of the revelry, it was left up to individual choice how to best explore New Orleans. (We hit the aforementioned Lafitte’s and venerable tourist trap Pat O’Brien’s before an essential stop at Café Du Monde, the beignet mother lode.)
By the time most of the crowd was up and about the next day, the Marriott had reverted to its natural state. Gone were the banners and pop-up screens, the artwork plastered onto the elevators, the floor decals. All that remained were sexy ImLive-branded “do not disturb” signs hanging on some doorknobs—perhaps those attendees who were wise enough to extend their stays and enjoy a couple extra nights in the city.
