LAS VEGAS - Farley Cahen, AVN Media Network's corporate sales director, moderated the Internext seminar "The Disruptors," which focused on the changing nature of adult entertainment and its consumption.
At the seminar, which drew more than 100 attendees, panelists Matt McKee of XillianTV, Michael Stabile of GayPornBlog.com, Peter Goldstein of VideoBox.com and Kevin "Stroker Serpentine" Alderman of Second Life weighed in on technologies and online social networks that are changing the industry by melding reality and virtual reality.
After the panelists' introductions, Cahen called on Alderman to discuss virtual erotica, his evolving business models built around voice and text interaction, and websites that focus on instant gratification.
"Our business model is built around interaction," Alderman said. "Virtual erotica is taking off really well, with the advent of new technologies and social networking sites. There is a large opportunity for direct revenue here and high conversions through marketing video clips through our viewers and their social networking sites. We can also share our URLs to help cross-promote with traditional adult content providers."
Alderman pointed out teledildonics - the remote manipulation of devices via USB wireless or direct connections - as an example.
"Through a virtual sex machine," he said, "we will be able to incorporate sex toys, virtual animation and voices to help make the virtual erotica experience as indistinguishable from real people as possible."
According to Alderman, universities and major companies like Microsoft are striving to develop this technology.
Stabile added that his company has noticed a tremendous demand for feeling immersed in virtual fantasy and involved in shaping content through feedback in forums, blogs and social networking sites.
"Stars are dealing directly with consumers now through MySpace and Facebook to obtain that valuable feedback from consumers that allows them to provide the best material possible," he said.
"In a meaningful way, we can track users by monitoring their networking sites and blogs to see what they say about our products," Goldstein said. "We also work to collect data from users of our sites, so we can direct that information to our producers. Furthermore, with the increase of bandwidth in the home and the increase in the download speeds, users are more drawn to our high-resolution options."
