There’s something about the city and the Webmaster Access guest list that seems to be an intoxicating combination.
Those who weren’t nursing a hangover on the opening day of Webmaster Access Europe were in the minority. Of course, this is a porn convention, and goddamnit if we won’t do business anyway.
The festivities opened Thursday evening with DieselCash’s warm-up party, of which the highlight, or lowlight depending on your perspective, was the human pincushion who took the time to staple himself and hang a bowling ball from his penis, among other things, for attendees’ enjoyment.
Photos are being emailed to mothers everywhere this morning. But Webmaster Access Europe isn’t all about booze and torture. There are also coffee shops.
Really though, the meaty portion of the show began on Friday with two seminars: mobile and traffic.
Ironically, the seminar room is located in an old church adjoining the Renaissance Hotel in which the convention is being held. No one has been struck down by lightning as of this writing.
Friday’s highlight was the mobile panel, during which insights into the European mobile market, which is several years ahead of the U.S. market, were shared.
“Mobile is just another distribution model. You should start to think of offline as well as online,” Mooobile.com and PasswordbyPhone business development manager Marc Jarrett says. “It’s another way to promote your website.”
NoCreditCard.com business development director Bjorn Skarlen urged webmasters interested in the mobile space to choose a knowledgeable partner. There are, after all, a variety of handsets, mobile carriers, and countries that have varying capabilities. “It’s a little bit of a jungle out there,” he says.
The key, he continues, is not to overextend on your first mobile offering: “Start in your own country, do it well, and then move to other countries.”
Some of the interesting elements on the mobile horizon, according to the panelists, are an increased willingness of mobile carriers to work with the adult industry and mobile search technology similar to Google or Yahoo, which Jarrett says several companies are in competition to deliver.
The traffic seminar was essentially TGP 101, featuring SleazyDream’s Scott Hjorleifson, Pierre from WorldSex, Patrick Terwee from The Hun, Cybercat’s Mark Galione, and Gallery Traffic Service’s Mark Hurson. Throw in XXX Jay and you’ve got a stew.
The most interesting element of the panel was Hurson singling out high-definition movies as the next movement. He pointed to Mayor’s Money as an example, opining that the more powerful computers entering today’s marketplace will make such content not only desirable, but also commonplace.
At the end of the day, it’s all about entertainment and dollars, as Jarrett alluded to in the mobile seminar.
“The joke about 3G is that [the acronym stands for] girls, games, and gambling, but that’s what’s going to drive the market,” Jarrett says.
