Remote webcam broadcasting is rapidly becoming quintessential to adult amateur sites as surfers clamor for sneak peeks into the sexual life of the intriguingly just-out-of-reach "girl-next-door." What this means for adult webmasters is good news: Webcams have positive influence over member retention rates, and ultimately, the bottom line. And for webmasters who may just now be jumping onto the adult bandwagon, hardware and software costs are becoming less expensive, thereby making entry into the market more affordable.
"The webcam is becoming almost a standard tool on amateur sites," says Carol Cox of Wild Rose fame (www.carolcox.com). "It's getting to the point that if you don't do cam shows, people aren't interested. With faster Internet connections, people are expecting more and better quality shows. I see the future of the webcam as almost Internet TV."
Although Cox's vision of future webcamming hasn't arrived at the depot yet, it does seem to have gathered enough steam to be on its way. "A good search of the Web will reveal that even the largest flat-photo adult sites are incorporating video streaming within their sites," says Videosecrets'(www.videosecrets.com) President Gregory Clayman, whose company is a leader in video-conferencing technology. "Video streaming, whether it be amateur or professional, most often increases conversion rates of new members and helps with the ongoing quest for longer member retention."
And so a recent visit to Metacrawler (www.metacrawler.com/index.html) confirms - run a search on term "webcams," and pages of results pile up, including hardcore and amateur XXX sites. The breadth of hits is broader, though, and includes webcam portals leading to seemingly countless webcam sites, webcam indexes, to streaming media broadcasting and encoding service companies.
Through the Lens
So how exactly does one get started?
"You will require six things," says Moe Jo Rider of The Peeping Moe (www.peepingmoe.com). "A computer to suit your needs, a connection to the Internet, an Internet server for your web page and webcam image, a camera, webcam image upload software, and a website."
Rider's site does more than just offer curious peepers links to "girlcam" and "guycam" sites; it offers resources to those who are looking to fine-tune their own webcamming sites. For instance, Peeping Moe's webcam FAQ offers surfers information ranging from the psychology of webcamming to technical guidance on equipment; and the webcam clinic covers topics such as lighting, archiving, and video compression.
But according to Wild Rose's Cox, not just any equipment will do. "The first thing you need is a proper video capture card for your computer and a good video camera. Forget about inexpensive webcams, the image quality is poor and they tend to be stationary cameras and not good for a proper show."
Husband-and-wife team Bruce & Anna Miller of 4Realswingers. com (www.4realswingers.com) agrees with Cox. "We've always used an actual 8mm video camera that is connected directly to an ATI All-In-Wonder video card and we have found that there is much better quality with a video camera versus a standard webcam plugged in through a USB port."
"Once you have [a video camera]," Cox says, "you will need software in order to get your image from your computer to your server and onto the Web. A great and inexpensive solution is to get the WebCam32 software from www.surveyorcorp.com/webcam32. It's only $25.00 to register and works great. I still use this for some of my static and rerun cams. It isn't true live video, but it can be set so that it's pretty close to live. It's easy to use, and set up on your web page so your members can watch. I would recommend starting with this to see if webcamming is right for you, before you spend more time and money."
Certainly, more expensive video system solutions are available, but they are best left to websites that have demonstrated the ability to support the associated costs. The last thing a novice webcammer needs is to buy expensive equipment before building a site that requires high-end production.
"If a webmaster is running a full amateur site," says Clayman, "they may want to broadcast their own feeds by utilizing their own camera and computer. Your local computer super store now offers cameras for less than a hundred dollars, a good video card for about a hundred dollars and your existing or new computer, and you're ready."
Let's not forget that a few intangible qualities are necessary, too - a healthy attitude toward exhibitionism, an outgoing and interesting personality to keep viewers entertained, and a whole lot of time to work at keeping your website fresh.
Is it time to start your show?
