The Phoenix Forum Special Report: Day 2

TEMPE, Ariz. – Day two of the Phoenix Forum got a gradual start as attendees slowly made their way to the courtyard buffet, sluggish from spending all night celebrating the show's 10th anniversary.

The day kicked off with a bang, however, when attendees lined up in the courtyard to sign up for XBIZ Speed Networking, vTPF, which took place in the Abbey during an hour of rapid-fire networking, business card swapping, and a lot of chatter.

Those who were not able to make it onto the Speed Networking list can look forward to an expanded and recharged version of the XBIZ-style event at the upcoming XBIZ Summer Forum.

Two tracks of seminars began with an instructional session for companies looking to design and develop better members areas.

Following that was a discussion about emerging technologies, where high-definition content delivery and CDN were two topics of note, with a how-to for developing profitable video-on-demand stores scheduled right after.

The most notable panel discussion today was held in Salon F, where the heads of several of the largest and most successful adult companies spoke to a curious crowd about adapting businesses to fit the current economy.

Among the panelists were XBIZ President and founder Alec Helmy and AVN founder Paul Fishbein, who at opposite ends of the panel table discussed the importance of marketing during tough times and the various noneconomic factors they feel are negatively affecting the adult business.

Webmaster Dodgeball kicked off this evening with a flock of attendees looking forward to watching solo models strip down and get hit with foam balls, while the rest of the crowd headed to the dance-tastic Cock and Tail party, held just below this reporter's hotel room.

Tonight's lineup of events includes the Desert Splash Poolside Bash, held by MetroContent, PrideBucks and SexKey, Poker After Hours held by Smashbucks, and the Amateur Bash, sponsored by SpunkyCash.

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