The 1999 ia2000 convention, October 1-3, is a convocation of the tribes for the adult Internet and audiotext communities at the Radisson Deauville Resort. Located right on Miami Beach, about a 12 minute ride from Miami's famed South Beach Art Deco district, this seaside resort was reopened last November by Radisson, following a multi-million dollar facelift that completely refurbished the 465 room, 17 floor property. The event at the Radisson Deauville, which has ample space and facilities for trade shows and the like, is the second of the twice-yearly AVN Online confabs that combine business and pleasure for the adult Net industry, with a series of seminars, exhibits, and parties.
Cybererotica President Jonathan Silverstein, who has attended most of these porn powwows, says: "ia2000 has always been very good for us. It's a great part of our business. We enjoy doing the show, it's always good for business, and everybody always has a great time."
Comprehensive coverage of all the activities, companies, personalities, et al, participating in ia2000 could take up an entire issue of AVN Online. Here are just a few of the highlights of this unconventional convention.
Exhibitionistic Exhibits
More than 100 companies have registered for the show floor. Exhibit time is from 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., October 1-2, and 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. October 3. Booth sizes range from 8' x 10' up to 16' x 20'. Strictly Hosting, Inc. is providing free Internet connectivity for all booths.
Cybererotica's exhibit typifies the ia2000 display booths, and includes: giveaways, live models, and computers featuring the company's programs for Webmasters. Cybererotica fwill occupy four booth spaces combined as one, which is only fitting for a company that has what Silverstein calls "the largest pay site on the Web."
VS Media, Inc.'s acting president, Gregory Clayman, says his company's exhibit will include "three monitors, keyboards and mouses, and three Internet connections built right into the booth." These will enable conventioneers to experience live, free samples of Video Secrets' video streaming, as well as its brand new private channels, debuting at ia2000. Clayman says, "Our whole philosophy is: live, and what you see is what you get, and we even bring that all the way down to the shows." Models who appear live in VS Media's content, such as Princess, Rea, Sugar, Logan, and Jasmine, will make personal appearances at the booth. Clayman says shortly after ia2000, users can log on and see the models they just met in Miami Beach.
iGallery, a content provider which also offers traffic programs for Webmasters, is a sponsor of ia2000, and according to company President Greg Dumas, will have its logo and products peppered throughout the show floor. Dumas declares: "The ia2000 show increases exposure and credibility to the Webmasters out there. As a result, we want to upgrade our booth and image." Dumas says iGallery's new booth is very expensive, and will include the company's full staff, product samples via computer, live adult entertainment talent, and in addition to typical giveaways such as hats and T-shirts, iGallery plans to offer high-end freebies. (At a previous trade show, iGallery gave away quality DVD players along with 10 adult DVD packages.)
One of the most unique booths will be manned by five attorneys from the L.A.-based intellectual property law firm Brull, Piccionelli, Sarno, Braun & Vradenburg, which specializes in legal issues pertaining to the adult Net industry. Greg Piccionelli says the lawyers will dispense "free legal education" at their one-of-a-kind booth.
Seminal Seminars in Seminole Country
A dozen panel discussions on cutting edge issues for the industry are scheduled to take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at ia2000. The seminars cross the spectrum of topics of interest for the adult Net community, ranging from constitutional to technological subjects. And as befits an industry known for its interactivity, audience members will be able to ask panelists questions.
Netpond (formerly Condom Project), a Webmaster's resource which, with 3,000 members, is one of the largest Webmasters organizations on the Net, is participating in several seminars. Three year hosting veteran "Cone Puppy" is a panelist for the October 1, 11:00-11:50 a.m. "Choosing a Host" discussion, regarding selection of the network system where Webmasters keep their sites.
2:00-3:15 p.m. that same day, Netpond's Bruce Kaiser says "Rowdy" is a participant in the "Generating Maximum Traffic To Your Site (And Using It Effectively)," where experienced Webmasters will elaborate on traffic generation via free hosts, link lists, link trade, etc.
Netpond's "Serge" moderates the October 2, 2:00-2:50 p.m. "Effective Use of Clickthrough Programs & Search Engines" panel. This will assist Webmasters in understanding how to balance sponsors to their sites, and pay site owners in running a successful marketing program, in order to gain sign-ups and traffic. Netpond's Kaiser adds that his group will also participate in ia2000 with unscheduled, more informal networking sessions with Webmasters, which are a hallmark of these trade shows.
iGallery President Greg Dumas is participating in two panels. He says the October 1, 2:00-3:15 p.m. "Generating Maximum Traffic To Your Site (And Using It Effectively)" seminar "discusses how we go out there and get traffic to our Websites, and once it gets here, how we convert it into revenue." The second panel Dumas speaks on is "Content II - Video (How To Buy, What To Buy, How Much To Pay)," which is scheduled for October 3, from 10:00-10:50 a.m. As a top adult content provider since 1995, Dumas says it's important for iGallery to be represented in this panel and to discuss changes in the market. "Last year it was amateur, this year, it's niche talent, Asian, black, fetish, and older women," he says. "We try to teach our Webmasters and other Webmasters similar to us - you may call them competitors, but we call them our community. We go out there and try to teach them how to make their sites convert better, and how to maximize their Websites. We're not in this alone, and the stronger we are as a community, and as an industry, we'll be that much stronger overall in the world."
Mark Tiarra is CEO of Tiarra Corp., a turnkey operation that develops Websites for clients as well as publishing its own sites. Tiarra Corp. is also one of four board members of United Adult Sites, an umbrella group that represents the interests of the adult Internet industry. As UAS President, Tiarra sets up discount plans and the like for members, and acts as a liaison with legal contacts and the American Civil Liberties Union. Tiarra is slated to participate in two discussions, both dealing with the law as it relates to the adult Net. Tiarra is on the 10:00-10:50 a.m. October 2 "Legal Update: Washington and the Web" seminar, and the show's final panel, October 3, 1:30-2:20 p.m. "Intellectual Property and Piracy on the Net." Tiarra told AVN Online that, among other things, he expects the latter to deal with the perception of public domain and actual copyright laws. In addition to these formal panels, Tiarra expects impromptu "break-out sessions" with UAS members, focusing on their specific concerns, as has happened at previous ia2000's.
Brull, Piccionelli, Sarno, Braun & Vradenburg partner Greg Piccionelli, a co-panelist with Tiarra on both the piracy seminar and the "Legal Update: Washington and the Web" panel, which he hosts, says the latter will deal with issues such as the Federal Trade Commission's growing examination of online trade practices, "especially regarding the adult Net industry, and offers that may not be free." Piccionelli expects chargebacks and the $49 million Netfill swindle of 900,000 credit cards to be discussed as well.
Piccionelli's partner, Bob Sarno, is speaking in the show's kick-off discussion 10:00-10:50 a.m., October 1, on "The First Amendment: Your Rights and Responsibilties." Topics will include five major free speech areas: child porn; synthetic child porn; obscenity; harmful matter to children; and 18 U.S.C. Section 2257. Piccionelli adds that in the final panel on piracy, he will stress how patents can revolutionize the Internet.
Party On, Dudes and Dudettes!
After a day of hard work at seminars and exhibits, ia2000 's wild and crazy nighttime parties promise to be good fun - conventioneers will do a lot more than run around with lampshades on their heads. But this is to be expected from the resort where none other than the Beatles played in the 1960s.
Who knows what eros lurks within the hearts of men? The Shadow Lounge - site of the Player's Ball - knows! Back by popular demand (previously attracting up to 1,500 party animals), the Player's Ball takes place October 1 at the Shadow Lounge in South Beach, from 10:00 p.m. to about 2:00 a.m. Rapper Ice T is scheduled to emcee, and Long Beach Dub All-Stars are scheduled to play, the party that includes erotic dancers and requires everyone attending to dress up as a pimp or ho (putting a contemporary spin on costume balls). VIPs will be transported via limo buses and vintage Rolls Royces from the Radisson Deauville to the Shadow Lounge. Sponsored by NetPond, Pornholio, Amateur Footage, SexTracker, Ynot Network, SIC Cash, Gamma Cash, and Epoch Systems, the Player's Ball will be broadcast live on the Net by iemedia, and should be a ball.
Jonathan Silverstein calls the Saturday, Oct. 2 Cyberotica Pool Party from 5:00-10:00 p.m at the Radisson Deauville's sizeable pool "a Cyberotica-style party (staged in collaboration with Pornholio and Tri-Tech)... people in the industry know what to expect... We're gonna bring the best of Miami: girls, drinks, live music, and a pool party. What more could you ask for?" (Hmm... world peace maybe)?
Other parties scheduled as part of the ia2000 festivities include the September 30 JMR Creations Party; the October 2 iemedia Gentlemen and Ladies Club; and the Cyber Entertainment Network & RJB Telcom Webmasters Cruise on October 3. These parties are sure to give a whole new meaning to the title of the 1941 musical starring Betty Grable and Don Ameche called "Moon Over Miami"!
As you can see, ia2000 promises to bring the adult Net industry together in the flesh for three days of business, seminars, samples, giveaways, networking, schmoozing, cruising, and evenings of unADULTerated fun, with an educational, profitable, and good time for all the conventioneers in the Sunshine State.
