Joe Lensman of Playboy chaired the panel of industry notables that included Tony Morgan of NationalNet, Ron Cadwell of CCBill, Jeff Taylor of Epoch, Joan Irvine of ASACP and Mitch Farber of Netbilling.
The seminar began with a rundown on the business implications of 2257 record-keeping inspections. Across the board, the panelist spoke with one voice on the issue, telling webmasters to get sound legal advice and to professionalize their operations in light of the changing legal and political atmosphere.
Addressing the technology front, the discussion next turned to so-called web 2.0 products, namely the proliferation of sites imitating the likes of YouTube and MySpace. While several panelists noted the threat of the new business model, they were quick to point out that sites that focus on building relationships with members will always prosper.
Lensman next turned the panel’s focus to the changing content distribution model and making the computer the new home entertainment center, something many of the speakers said will be the “next big thing.”
Caldwell told the crowd he believed more and more of the world’s hunger for entertainment would be served over the Internet.
Before opening up to questions from the crowd, Lensman asked the panel for their thoughts on the recent election.
Irvine told the crowd that she believed the results of the mid-term election would mean an easing of the attack facing the adult industry. She then used the platform to plug ASACP’s new Restricted To Adults (RTA) label, which she said is a free, voluntary and easy to use system the industry could use to head off potential legislation that would mandate labeling.