XBIZ
A Look at the Evolution of the Mobile Adult Internet
As we approach a decade of (usable) mobile Internet access, it is worthwhile to explore the history of this dynamic adult entertainment market segment, as well as its current and future profit potential. Christian Kreul of Visit-X and VX|Cash (www.vxcash.net) has a long history on the mobile Internet, dating back to 2005, long before the explosion of Smartphones, apps and tablets. He explains that while phone calls and plain text messages were the killer apps back in the early days, today, eight years later, the mobile Internet has come out of its infancy and is here to stay.
Sex & Censorship to Hold Public Meeting During XBIZ EU
Sex & Censorship has slated a meeting open to the public in London to discuss opposition to censorship of the Internet and other media. The event will coincide with XBIZ EU.
XBIZ Poll: Will Google Glass Be a Game Changer?
Is Google Glass hype or not? That's what XBIZ asked this summer after Google rolled out for developers the wearable computer that houses an optical head-mounted display.
2014 XBIZ Awards Categories, Pre-Nom Dates Announced
XBIZ is pleased to announce the official awards categories and pre-nomination dates for adult entertainment's biggest industry awards show, the 2014 XBIZ Awards, presented by Fleshlight, to be held on Jan. 24, 2014, at the Century Plaza Hotel.
Drugstore Invasion: Sex Toys Go Mainstream
Look over your shoulder. The sex toys are coming! The sex toys are coming! Many of us in the adult industry already know that several kinds of toys have made their way into bricks and mortar general merchandise stores such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and the ever-conservative Walmart. Yep, Walmart.
Critical Processing: Mobile Billing Offers Low-friction, High-impulse Sales
In the ever-evolving adult entertainment industry, being open to change is not only important — it’s downright crucial. And that includes changes in adult billing. Credit card billing continues to be the dominant payment method for online adult entertainment in the U.S., but a successful adult entertainment company is likely to have many customers who don’t live in the U.S. and prefer other payment methods. One of them is mobile billing, and trends in the mobile billing sector are something that adult companies need to stay on top of.
Dev Depot: Kraken, Boilerplate Mobile Magic
According to its developer, Chris Ferdinandi, Kraken (cferdinandi.github.io/kraken/) is a lightweight, mobile-first boilerplate for front-end website developers seeking to satisfy today’s audiences on the go. “Frameworks are awesome, but they often include a lot of stuff — way more than you might use on a typical project,” Ferdinandi explains. “Boilerplates provide a great starting point, but they’re often missing things you need.”
Jenna Jameson Named Master of Ceremonies for 2014 XBIZ Awards
XBIZ is pleased to announce the incomparable Jenna Jameson as its master of ceremonies for adult entertainment's biggest industry awards show of the year, the 2014 XBIZ Awards presented by Fleshlight, on Jan. 24 at the Century Plaza Hotel.
XBIZ EU 2013 Show Schedule Announced
XBIZ is pleased to announce the official show schedule for the 2013 XBIZ EU international digital media conference.
Traffic Is Where it's at in the Mobile Market
On June 19, the British market research firm Juniper Research released the results of an in-depth report on mobile commerce. Juniper reported that by 2017, commerce transactions taking place on mobile/wireless devices will exceed $3.2 trillion — which is more than double the $1.5 trillion figure Juniper reported for 2013. And while Juniper is a firm that reports primarily on mainstream market trends, Juniper’s latest study has implications for the adult entertainment industry as well: the mobile/wireless sector continues to grow significantly, and adult companies that fail to maximize their mobile capabilities stand to miss out on a lot of potential profits.
XBIZ EU to Host 'The War on Porn' Panel
XBIZ is pleased to announce the addition of "State of the Industry: The War on Porn" to the lineup of XBIZ EU, the international digital media conference to be held Sept. 22-24 in London.
Upstart Novelty Companies Stake Place in Crowded Market
It’s not only the adult novelty “household names” that have benefited from the recent sex toy and pleasure product market frenzy. There’s a new “Doc” in the game who’s identified an electro stimulator niche, a line of new toys are now being marketed with color as their central selling point, and there are even products that make stainless steel their marketing hook.
Dev Depot: Make Better Decisions With A/B Testing
When it comes to optimizing your adult website’s user experience, traffic and revenue streams, nothing can take the place of formalized testing: comparing one specific approach to another by splitting visitors between two variations of a particular element; such as images, design features or call to action, in order to determine which is the most profitable. It is not something that a webmaster can effectively do manually, however, due in part to issues such as fluctuations in traffic sources, which will prevent a “try this one day, try that another day” approach from obtaining reliable results.
When Worlds Collide: Lubes/Edible Products Build Brand Awareness
Just as vinyl seems to have made a kind of comeback in the music world, so have tried-and-true methods of marketing pleasure products—particularly lubes and consumables—in the still relatively new 21st century universe called the Internet. More conventional, but no less effective approaches to promoting one’s products have included in-house training of novelty store employees (to educate the consumer at brickand- mortar outlets), as well as print ads, trade publications, television, radio and plain old word of mouth. Of course, the Internet is still an incredibly powerful tool to make retailers and consumers aware of lube products.
XBIZ EU to Host Controversial 'Porn Studies' Session
XBIZ is pleased to announce the addition of a special “Porn Studies” session to the XBIZ EU lineup, slated for Sept. 24 from 3-3:50 p.m.
Toy Stories: Retailers Keep Consumers Engaged
Vibrators. Ben Wa Balls. Romantic games. Cuffs. Lingerie. It doesn’t matter what pleasure product you’re talking about, in this crowded, ultra competitive marketplace, the products don’t sell themselves. That’s why retail store owners and wholesalers continue to evolve with creative methods to move product from the warehouse to the shelves to the cash register.
Future in Focus: Toy, Novelty Market Growth
What trends—current and future—drive the pleasure products market? How important is penetration into mainstream retail? What business strategies can be used to capitalize on sales opportunities?
DeV Depot: Faviconer, Update Your Site’s Favicon
For many web designers, the migration towards higher resolution displays brings with it a range of challenges and opportunities, some of which are small and pesky while some others form the well crafted details that separate one site from another; such as the site’s favorite icon, or “favicon” — the small, customizable graphic that is displayed near a browser’s address bar, or by the site title on a browser window tab and bookmark list bar — a nicety and perfect branding opportunity that draws user attention to your site or app.
Dev Depot: Userium Easily Improves Usability
While the early days of the adult Internet were littered by seat-of-the-pants attempts at website production, today’s finicky audiences demand a higher standard; requiring at least the most basic of user testing as well as developer evaluations prior to user testing, in order for any acceptable level of excellence to be achieved.
Dev Depot: Ramping Up for Retina — Retinajs.com
2013 could be considered the year of the tablet as an increasing number of consumers are turning to the powerful but portable form factor as their computing platform of choice — combining clear, sharp graphics with impressive multimedia capabilities to become a preferred viewing portal for everything from web pages to first-run movies.