Steve Hamilton is the consummate adult entertainment exec — he’s always on his toes, and he’s learned to be fluid in everything he does in the biz.
Hamilton is the model manager for FriendFinder Networks’ live cam division, Cams.com.
Working in adult keeps you on your toes, that is for sure! I have learned to be fluid in all that we do.
With the slot, Hamilton’s day is divided interacting with his “little sisters” one moment and create new promotions the next. He always seems to have a pulse on what’s going on at Cams.com.
He says, “Working in adult keeps you on your toes, that is for sure!”
XBIZ recently chatted with Hamilton to find out how he helps steer Cams.com and what’s working at the live cam giant.
XBIZ: How did you get yourself the lofty title of model manager with Cams.com?
Hamilton: Well, honestly, I was looking online and I saw a post on Craigslist for FriendFinder Networks needing a tech support agent. I sent in my resume and got a call back. I interviewed and was hired on the spot. That was nine years ago! I spent the first seven years in customer service, so I know how our sites operate really well, but I transitioned to a community manager type role now.
I’m the model manager, which means I have to make sure that all of the girls on the site are taken care of, and I act as the voice of the models when we have internal meetings. I basically say it like this, I have 1,000-plus “little sisters” that I have to make sure are all taken care of.
XBIZ: Tell us about Cams.com’s history and where it is positioned in the marketplace today?
Hamilton: Well, Cams.com was one of the first companies out there to bring webcams to the market. It was led by Lars Mapstead back in the 1990s. He met up with the founder of FriendFinder Networks, Andrew Conru and they brought Cams.com into being what it is today.
In the marketplace today, we’re rebuilding. For a very long time, we were one of the only companies at the party, and things were great. Money was coming in and we were looking great. But we weren’t dynamic and fluid.
When more and more competition came in, we didn’t adapt, and we got passed up. In the last year, with our new leaders, Jon Buckheit our CEO and Scott Thompson, the director of marketing, the status quo that led us to drop off is being challenged. We are a phoenix rising from the ashes of complacency.
XBIZ: When it comes to live cams, what are consumers looking for these days?
Hamilton: I hope that models read this one. This is the recipe for success in our business. The consumers can go to any of the tube sites and get porn with sexy women for free. In fact, there are videos for all fetishes. You like feet? Cool! There are free videos for that. Are you into body builder women wrestling normal guys? Awesome! You can find that? Into cuckolding? Rad! That’s out there for free too.
The thing that separates webcam models from that is that you get to interact with the model. There are literally tens of thousands of webcam models on the various sites. Chances are you can find someone that is more than willing to do what you’re looking for, and it’s personalized for you. The thing is that the models are the value add.
Members can tell when the models are not interested, and that kills the vibe. What I always tell models is that they are there to sell the fantasy. Most guys don’t want to interact with someone that is upset and confrontational. Members want to talk to someone that is having fun, smiling and treats them well. Members are on cam sites to make a connection with someone that is attractive and open-minded. Anything that brings them closer to that is a win/win for everyone.
XBIZ: How much of a boost is it for Cams.com to team up with hot properties, such as Kendra Sunderland when she became famous as the “Library Girl”?
Hamilton: It’s huge to have big name models on the site. The models are able to give their fans a place to see them and interact with them exclusively. Kendra is fantastic! I directed our Connexions videos with her and she was amazing to work with. As awesome as Kendra is, we have so many other models that are huge outside of Cams.com — Nikki Delano, Lisa Daniels, Nikki Beez, Alena Croft, and we just signed Shy Love to do monthly shows with us.
All of these ladies have huge followings and Cams.com is the only place to see them. We have structured our payout for these models that have huge followings on social media to monetize their fan bases in unprecedented ways.
It’s also cool for us to have stars on the site. A while back, I had a moment where a friend said how much he liked Nikki Delano and Lisa Daniels. I told him that I talk to them almost every day, and his envy told me two things — I’m the luckiest guy in the world and that we are doing the right thing to do whatever it takes to get high level models on Cams.com.
XBIZ: How is consumer demand for Cams.com’s teledildonics Connexion service?
Hamilton: Our teledildonics program in general has been a huge hit. When we first launched Cams Connexion, we pushed for the two-way connectivity, and we’ve found that many of the guys love the one-way mode more than we thought.
Not requiring the guy to make an investment of a new toy, and still letting them control the model’s orgasm was huge.
There are still many members that bought the Lovense Max and use it on the site, but when we focused more on the one-way mode, it has been successful.
XBIZ: What are your thoughts on virtual reality’s future with live cams?
Hamilton: This is an interesting thing with live cams. I honestly think it is the future, but I don’t think the technology is in a place where we can say that our members can get the experience they are coming to see. I still think live camming is a year out before it can be utilized properly.
I know it’s coming, and we have had many vendors come in to show off the tech. I am excited to see the direction it goes, but for now, I think the infrastructure of the internet isn’t ready for the stress a VR experience can put on it.
XBIZ: What’s a typical work day like?
Hamilton: Well my next typical day will be the first. Every day is a little different, but on a regular day, I’ll be interacting with models one minute, working on new product the next, meeting with our CS team to get the pulse of the members and models, we just launched a model community YouTube channel where we do little tips, I do a bi-monthly community broadcast where we listen to our members ideas, and the same for our models.
This is between traveling to shows, meetings, etc. Working in adult keeps you on your toes, that is for sure! I have learned to be fluid in all that we do.
XBIZ: When you’re not thinking about business, what do you like to do?
Hamilton: Well, my head is in the game most of the time. In the times that I’m not, I’m a huge sports fan. I try and spend as much time as I can with my son, Jacob. A little known fact about me is that I love watching home improvement shows.
I also film content as well — a cheap plug here — but I won the 2016 LAL Expo award for Best Content Producer or Provider.
I come from a film background, and I filmed music videos as well as racing videos in the past. Film is a huge passion of mine, and I love using my film background in this business.
