TV star Jimmy Smits was there. Well, he wasn’t exactly attending the Webmaster Access West show; rather, he was on location filming a scene in the lobby for the TV show “The West Wing.” Upon entering the hotel one might think an adult production had broken out in the center of the lobby lounge, what with all the lights and crew and director shouting orders. But alas, it was only the actor who famously played Bobby Simone on “NYPD Blue” and a few, relative unknowns filming a scene to a show most people said they had never seen.
Still, with Smits on the scene it added even more star power to the day’s activities, what with the likes of Aria Giovanni, Jason Tucker, Ahn Tran, Mitch Farber, Gary Kremen, Eric Matis, Mike Hawk, Sunny Leone and ASACP’s Joan Irvine (amongst numerous others) already wandering the grounds of the Universal Sheraton.
“Shows like the Webmaster Access West are a great opportunity for me to meet my affiliates,” said Ahn Tran, co-founder of WantedList.com, as the doors to the billing seminar opened and attendees began walking out to the sunlit foyer. “It’s a casual atmosphere, and I can set up deals…see what new stuff is happening.”
After lunch was served, the noon Content is King seminar began; attendees who awoke in time from a hedonistic Thursday night at the Xbiz Awards sat down for a lively discussion about the cornerstone of the business, which is, of course, content.
“It’s about the different mediums to sell it,” said Jon Berg, VP of sales and marketing at WorldWideContent.com. “Now it’s becoming about matching up tours and videos and really giving the people what they want.”
He added, “People are shooting their own stuff now. You don’t have to be a Vivid to do content nowadays.”
Between the Processing discussion and the State of Industry confab, attendees relaxed by the pool, chatted up “West Wing” production folks, and chilled out – no doubt discussing the evening's party itinerary; the always pleasant Women In Adult cocktail party, bowling at the Lucky Strike lanes in Hollywood and the big enchilada, the VIP Playboy Mansion party.
The Webmaster Access breakout sessions continued to be a popular feature to the show, which allow webmasters to talk to the panelists one-on-one.
“The Godsend for us is that we’ve had like a triple threat this week – the show, the Xbiz Awards and tonight it’s the Playboy party,” said an exuberant Eric Matis, the event organizer and GFY marketing director. “We’ve brought in a lot more companies and some different sponsors…and there’s just been a lot of new ideas we incorporated into the show.”
