50 Most Influencial People in Online Adult

[gonzo]

I had someone ask me this question a couple of months ago.
But they put the restriction of 40 and under on it.

Im interested in hearing everyones thoughts.

Ill start out with saying my number one pic would be Larry Flynt.

Lets hear yours and why.

Without Larry Flynt none of this would have been remotly possibile.
And if you dont think so I suggest you rent a copy the movie and see why I think this.

I got into all of this years ago as a freedom of speech exercise.
The dial up bulletin board gonzoland was one of the first adult systems availble in Atlanta.

While everyone was talking technical issue . . . we were sharing nekkids.

This was just a few years after Larry was shot in our lovely city of Lawrenceville for trying to sell his magazine.

[Jace]

Tony Morgan would be up there in my book

[LAJ]

We are talking strictly online adult, right?

And are we talking influential right NOW or in general? Cuz there are a lot of people who overall would probably be in that list even tho they aren't in the biz anymore or perhaps have fallen from grace a bit over the years.

[gonzo]

We are talking strictly online adult, right?

And are we talking influential right NOW or in general? Cuz there are a lot of people who overall would probably be in that list even tho they aren't in the biz anymore or perhaps have fallen from grace a bit over the years.

Im thinking in general. We wont know about now until several years down the road. I have some notes around here somewhere Ill post. But Im more interested in what others have to say.

[spazlabz]

Influential?
GreenGuy
Tommy (From Tommy's Bookmarks)
The Hun
The Shemp

all of them for obvious reasons. These guys know how to make themselves and others money.

And of course for smoke blowing reasons there is my wife who lets me do this and gonzo who inspires me to work deals.


spaz

[Forest]

still active in the biz or pioneers

i can think of a bunch of people but most of them have retired

[gonzo]

still active in the biz or pioneers

i can think of a bunch of people but most of them have retired


Im probably thinking the same people you are. THose that have made a lasting impact regardless if they are retired or not.

[Hell Puppy]

You can go alot of ways with this. Alltime influence...lots of those are retired or scaled back. Currently active. And you also have to limit it to adult only otherwise I'm gonna put the guys at Google, Visa, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc on the list as they all influence how we do business, what we provide and how we get traffic.


Off the top of my head... Sticking with adult online active:

Christie Hefner -- they are determined to be players in "new media"

Ron Cadwell -- along with paycom, these are the guys that keep the cash registers ringing.

whoever is at the helm at Epoch these days, Clay and Joel would definitely be on the "alltime" list if not going current.

Scott at AEBN -- the 800 pound gorilla in VOD and the one who brings most of what's at the local video store to the net.

Tony Morgan -- i would argue that NatNet sets the standard for hosting in our biz. And Tony Morgan himself sets the standard for how to run a business in this industry segment with class instead of sleaze.

Bang Bros -- Showing us all that quality original content pays mightily.

Jon Albright -- Fighting the shave and bringing a quality affiliate program to the masses.

Farrell Timlake -- lots of behind the scenes stuff with business and fighting the good fight, but even before that he brought John Q. Public's naughty home movies to the masses.

Joe Lackey -- although now most of the pieces of his business are owned by Playboy and he has bosses, there's undeniable influence still there and even more importantly he showed it IS possible to have a big time buy out of an adult business. Most normal web entrepeneurs go into it with the plan to be bought by Google, News Corp, Microsoft, etc...no such exit plans in adult, but he pulled off a multimillion dollar deal.

Kevin Blatt -- one of the very few non-business owners I would include. the guys ability to get himself on TV and radio and plug away is unmatched.

Jenna Jameson -- until someone unseats her she is the most well known star in adult and has crossover media coverage. what she does is largely how the outside world perceives all adult stars.

Paul Fishbein -- AVN is the largest industry news source and promoter of large shows that were the forebearer of the other shows we have seeminly weekly now.

Andrew Conru -- Love 'em or hate 'em, AFF is influential...not all influences are positive.

Gary Kremen -- I list this active simply because he's still in the media. But his past influence is huge. Without him being suckered by Steven Cohen and losing his domain during the most profitable years of it's existence we may have never really had true "ownership" of domains established in a court of law during the formative years.

Faye Sharpe -- AdultDex is the first adult trade show I remember, that alone should be worthy of mention. She, now along with Jay, continue to be the ones who tinker with the formula for adult industry conventions.

The Hun -- Influential? If he likes your stuff and promotes it, he can make or break a program. You convert or die under the weight of the traffic. On the other side of the fence, he's still responsible for probably more free porn than any one man and all of the impacts that brings to the business. Including an entire generation of webmasters who think fresh galleries with 20+ pics are the only way to make money in this business.

Larry Flynt -- I cant not mention Larry. His involvement in online is almost like a toe in the water. But he produces a ton of content, and his media and legal influences trickle down to all of us.


That's my first wave. I'm not gonna try for 50.

You'll notice what I did NOT list are guys who simply work for a well known program or affiliate reps. Buying people drinks and being a "bro" at the conventions to get 10 hits from the newbies while also getting the handful of guys who keep your program afloat fed and laid is not an industry wide influence.

Ditto for the transient "consultants". You know the type, they typically are female, come in, shake their ass a little, maybe even puff the owners peter if it's a big company. They promise how much they can do for your business. And yeah, their rolodex will bring you some new traffic. It plateaus, then what next? They shake their ass out the door with your best clients also now in their rolodex.

And I'm sorry, a post count of 50,000 on GFY also does not make you someone who influences the industry.

[gonzo]

Now THATS what Im talking about.

Debate? Others?

Ill find my notes on this.

[gonzo]

My additons to this list for discussion and starters.
Ill will be adding to em are...

Ken Lawson
LAJ
Oystein from MPA
John Albright from NATS
Drinking Hard from GTS
Mike Wylde
Johnny V
Steve Lightspeed
Dean Capture
Meat and Aga
Hooper

[Hammer]

Tracy Lords. If it wasn't for her none of us would be dealing with 2257.

You didn't say they had to be influential in a good way.

[gonzo]

Tracy Lords. If it wasn't for her none of us would be dealing with 2257.

You didn't say they had to be influential in a good way.
:-pearl:

[sassygirl]

YnotBob for me...he has contributed and helped many webmasters, affilaites in the adult industry:okthumb:

[gonzo]

YnotBob for me...he has contributed and helped many webmasters, affilaites in the adult industry:okthumb:
How is that?

[D-man]

Well since its not most popular and online - some of the OG's not mentioned

Slick Rick
Ron Levy
Serge
DK
Jstyles
Darren & Kevin Blatt

[gonzo]

Well since its not most popular and online - some of the OG's not mentioned

Slick Rick
Ron Levy
Serge
DK
Jstyles
Darren & Kevin Blatt
Why are they all considered influencial?

[softball]

Paul Markham

[D-man]

Why are they all considered influencial?

Slick Rick - founding Y-not, if not the first adult resource site certainly the first influencial one!

Ron Levy - Well what can you say about ron, influencial was his middle name - CE set the bar at all levels of our industry

Serge - One of the first Traffic whore's id say serge "was" influencial

DK - Well DK and Flash Cash and the Rhino's - founding member of condom - One of the first major money programs

Jstyles - Head Pimp!

Darren & Kevin Blatt - Dmoney for players Ball and making us all pimps and Kevin for exploting the sex tapes!

I missed so many names - the 95 - 97 era guys/gals started all this - many have come and gone - some for better or worse - but some that left - left there mark and some stand to this day as influencial industry players!

I just mentioned some of the old school - certainly Lars, LAMike and a host of others are influential today

[Hell Puppy]

Well since its not most popular and online - some of the OG's not mentioned

Slick Rick
Ron Levy
Serge
DK
Jstyles
Darren & Kevin Blatt

I agree on Kevin as I said in my message. Though he's fading, he's actually held same job for a record length of time. ;)

Rick Meuyung -- What's he done lately? I might agree with that one as he seems to have a knack for popping up with something new about the time everyone has forgotten about him. BestPorn is last thing I knew of....

The rest have done much lately that I would consider influential on an industry level.

[Hell Puppy]

YnotBob for me...he has contributed and helped many webmasters, affilaites in the adult industry:okthumb:

Nothing industry wide there.

And Ynot withered on his watch.

[Hell Puppy]

My additons to this list for discussion and starters.
Ill will be adding to em are...

Ken Lawson
LAJ
Oystein from MPA
John Albright from NATS
Drinking Hard from GTS
Mike Wylde
Johnny V
Steve Lightspeed
Dean Capture
Meat and Aga
Hooper


I would agree on all of those.

I would add Dickman to that list. Where Mike Wylde really raised the bar for slick looking website and tour design when he came along, I would say Dickman has raised it again with pushing the edge with flash, etc.

[gonzo]

Slick Rick - founding Y-not, if not the first adult resource site certainly the first influencial one!

Ron Levy - Well what can you say about ron, influencial was his middle name - CE set the bar at all levels of our industry

Serge - One of the first Traffic whore's id say serge "was" influencial

DK - Well DK and Flash Cash and the Rhino's - founding member of condom - One of the first major money programs

Jstyles - Head Pimp!

Darren & Kevin Blatt - Dmoney for players Ball and making us all pimps and Kevin for exploting the sex tapes!

I missed so many names - the 95 - 97 era guys/gals started all this - many have come and gone - some for better or worse - but some that left - left there mark and some stand to this day as influencial industry players!

I just mentioned some of the old school - certainly Lars, LAMike and a host of others are influential today

You need to keep up with current events.
Lars has been influencial in the past year as to how to self destruct.

Personally I dont give 2 fucks in hell about pimps and the rest of that wannabe gangster bullshit. Ive made fun of that crap for years. Pimps are certainly not the image I want to project outward from this industry.
Id go as far to say that attitude responsibile for the shape the business is in today.

Here lets take that "pimpology" mindset a bit further.

Spam - 90% of all the older porgrams owe their existance to this and the world views us as responsible for making email virtually unusable for the better part of 2-3 years.

And Im ashamed to say I contributed to that on a very minor level.

Adware/Malware/Ransomware - After spam became too dangerous to use as a revenue stream these fucks took it one step further making browsers useless for the better part of 2 years. Finally the government is stepping in to get this bullshit under control.

Still wanna display your pimp cane as a badge of honor?

And sorry just being first doesnt mean your influencial.

Rick has continued to create revenue streams and his review sites certainly in my book makes him rather influencial for the same reasons as The hun etc.

Outside of KB... I dont buy it.

[softball]

You need to keep up with current events.
Lars has been influencial in the past year as to how to self destruct.

Personally I dont give 2 fucks in hell about pimps and the rest of that wannabe gangster bullshit. Ive made fun of that crap for years. Pimps are certainly not the image I want to project outward from this industry.
Id go as far to say that attitude responsibile for the shape the business is in today.

Here lets take that "pimpology" mindset a bit further.

Spam - 90% of all the older porgrams owe their existance to this and the world views us as responsible for making email virtually unusable for the better part of 2-3 years.

And Im ashamed to say I contributed to that on a very minor level.

Adware/Malware/Ransomware - After spam became too dangerous to use as a revenue stream these fucks took it one step further making browsers useless for the better part of 2 years. Finally the government is stepping in to get this bullshit under control.

Still wanna display your pimp cane as a badge of honor?

And sorry just being first doesnt mean your influencial.

Rick has continued to create revenue streams and his review sites certainly in my book makes him rather influencial for the same reasons as The hun etc.

Outside of KB... I dont buy it.
Serge doesn't know shit from Shinola about business. He made his fortune out of ripping off people. Even ethical drug dealers are worth more than that. Influential or detrimental? I would argue that Serge, Jon and the rest of that pack of thieves actually hurt the business, and in the case of Jon, never even gave him a secure future. Now that sucks.

Edit: Ok Serge and his lawyer wife can now afford good wines, but he and Mike AI still have a background in porn that they will never, ever live down. Once a scammer, always a scammer.

[TheEnforcer]

A lot depends on how you frame it. Is it all time or today. A good example would be Webfather. A case couold easily be made he's one of the all time most influential people but today he's basically mainstream orientated so wouldn't be in a list of people right now..

[gonzo]

A lot depends on how you frame it. Is it all time or today. A good example would be Webfather. A case couold easily be made he's one of the all time most influential people but today he's basically mainstream orientated so wouldn't be in a list of people right now..
I agree he needs to be on the list as he continuesto make an impact with his past as well as the TRAFFIC seminars on domain names.

[TheEnforcer]

Ok.. after reading the thread a lot of good choices were made that I would agree with....

Others might be..

Webfather - revolutionized the way people thought about domains

Andy Dunn - his tips and tricks newsletter was a GOLDMINE of information that influenced many

Lensman- amateur pages program alone does it for me

Other Old School Major Programs not mentioned already- The Botto brothers with Max Cash and JoeE with Traffic Cash.

[TheEnforcer]

You can go alot of ways with this. Alltime influence...lots of those are retired or scaled back. Currently active. And you also have to limit it to adult only otherwise I'm gonna put the guys at Google, Visa, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc on the list as they all influence how we do business, what we provide and how we get traffic.


Off the top of my head... Sticking with adult online active:

Christie Hefner -- they are determined to be players in "new media"

Ron Cadwell -- along with paycom, these are the guys that keep the cash registers ringing.

whoever is at the helm at Epoch these days, Clay and Joel would definitely be on the "alltime" list if not going current.

Scott at AEBN -- the 800 pound gorilla in VOD and the one who brings most of what's at the local video store to the net.

Tony Morgan -- i would argue that NatNet sets the standard for hosting in our biz. And Tony Morgan himself sets the standard for how to run a business in this industry segment with class instead of sleaze.

Bang Bros -- Showing us all that quality original content pays mightily.

Jon Albright -- Fighting the shave and bringing a quality affiliate program to the masses.

Farrell Timlake -- lots of behind the scenes stuff with business and fighting the good fight, but even before that he brought John Q. Public's naughty home movies to the masses.

Joe Lackey -- although now most of the pieces of his business are owned by Playboy and he has bosses, there's undeniable influence still there and even more importantly he showed it IS possible to have a big time buy out of an adult business. Most normal web entrepeneurs go into it with the plan to be bought by Google, News Corp, Microsoft, etc...no such exit plans in adult, but he pulled off a multimillion dollar deal.

Kevin Blatt -- one of the very few non-business owners I would include. the guys ability to get himself on TV and radio and plug away is unmatched.

Jenna Jameson -- until someone unseats her she is the most well known star in adult and has crossover media coverage. what she does is largely how the outside world perceives all adult stars.

Paul Fishbein -- AVN is the largest industry news source and promoter of large shows that were the forebearer of the other shows we have seeminly weekly now.

Andrew Conru -- Love 'em or hate 'em, AFF is influential...not all influences are positive.

Gary Kremen -- I list this active simply because he's still in the media. But his past influence is huge. Without him being suckered by Steven Cohen and losing his domain during the most profitable years of it's existence we may have never really had true "ownership" of domains established in a court of law during the formative years.

Faye Sharpe -- AdultDex is the first adult trade show I remember, that alone should be worthy of mention. She, now along with Jay, continue to be the ones who tinker with the formula for adult industry conventions.

The Hun -- Influential? If he likes your stuff and promotes it, he can make or break a program. You convert or die under the weight of the traffic. On the other side of the fence, he's still responsible for probably more free porn than any one man and all of the impacts that brings to the business. Including an entire generation of webmasters who think fresh galleries with 20+ pics are the only way to make money in this business.

Larry Flynt -- I cant not mention Larry. His involvement in online is almost like a toe in the water. But he produces a ton of content, and his media and legal influences trickle down to all of us.




Great list HP... Can't argue with those. :okthumb:

[TheEnforcer]

My additons to this list for discussion and starters.
Ill will be adding to em are...

Ken Lawson
LAJ
Oystein from MPA
John Albright from NATS
Drinking Hard from GTS
Mike Wylde
Johnny V
Steve Lightspeed
Dean Capture
Meat and Aga
Hooper

Only one I am not familiar with is Johnny V. Dean Capture name is familiar to me for sure but for some reason I can't put the name with what he's done right now.

[JoesHO]

Rick, Marc, and Paul - CJ as they were web 2.0 long before it was the "New " thing CJ has long been a site that had user ineraction/submissions, and used both text and images to draw an audience

Shap - took Glamour on the web to a whole new level.


CYberage Dave -- AVS was a strong contender and a model many used and profited from.

Walters, Picionelli, FSC et al -- Love em or hate em they absolutly have baeen and are currently knee deep in helping shape/define the 2257 - 4472

Maurice- freeones has been and still is one of the top traffic sites in porn today.

David Vanderpool - if you dont understand this one then you are not deserving of this conversation LOL

[LAJ]

Wow... I'm flattered as fuck here that I've made some of your lists. Thank you.

To me, influence is people who exhibit several traits... they can lead the masses as it were... change peoples minds... get people to listen, and really think, and act on it. People who do their job well regardless of what that "job" is, and are revolutionary in their thinking and/or technique. And whether you like them or not, they are very hard to ignore. They are successful in what they do (or at one time WERE very successful) and are often quoted, copied, and sometimes ripped off from.

Not saying that the people I'm listing here fit into all of those categories, but they fit into most.

Not in any particular order...

Tony Morgan
Ron Cadwell
Steve Lightspeed
The Brothers Blatt
Mike Price
Rick Muenyong
Persian Kitty
Fay Sharp
Paul Fishbein
Ron Levy
The Shemp
Jenna Jameson
Helmy
Lensman

There's more but those come to mind for me...

[Hell Puppy]

Only one I am not familiar with is Johnny V. Dean Capture name is familiar to me for sure but for some reason I can't put the name with what he's done right now.

I would agree with Dean. The influence there is he's really raised the bar for what is an acceptable level of production quality in most of the still content. Go look at the stuff we were using in the late 90's...the bulk was dimly lit, cold, kinda blue looking, bad makeup. Dean's stuff will stand toe to toe with anything in a magazine.

There are others taking great photos as well, but Dean's one who is a bit more willing to teach others.

[Hell Puppy]

Ok.. after reading the thread a lot of good choices were made that I would agree with....

Others might be..

Webfather - revolutionized the way people thought about domains

Andy Dunn - his tips and tricks newsletter was a GOLDMINE of information that influenced many

Lensman- amateur pages program alone does it for me

Other Old School Major Programs not mentioned already- The Botto brothers with Max Cash and JoeE with Traffic Cash.

Webdaddy I agree with. He still leads the way in terms of the whole concept of domains as real estate and marketing the value of the domain as opposed to what is on top of it.

Now when you talk about Andy Dunn and some of the old school guys, if we were talking history of adult, I agree with them. But I think we're talking who are the 50 most influential TODAY. Is Andy even around? I haven't seen anything out of the guy in probably 4-5 years at least.

The Bottos, JoeE, etc, again sure, back in the day. But if anything, I think they're coasting today. I'm not sure JoeE even has a program up.

As for big programs, that's a different question that is part of the same question.

Let me elaborate...

I would say the top 5, perhaps the top 10 sponsor programs , or rather their owners, would be among the most influential. Some innovate, some do not. BUT, if any one of the 5 (or 10 maybe) were to go under and quit, the ripple would be felt throughout the industry. All of those programs have not only the affiliate payroll, but payroll for several employees, and any cross sells they have lend to the overall profitbility of other programs in the top 10.

Used to be, any one of us could rattle off the top 5 and there'd be very little debate about who they are. There might be SOME debate on the ranking within the 5, but we knew who they were. Now, not so much, I dont think it's as clear cut.

[gonzo]

My additons to this list for discussion and starters.
Ill will be adding to em are...

Ken Lawson
LAJ
Oystein from MPA
John Albright from NATS
Drinking Hard from GTS
Mike Wylde
Johnny V
Steve Lightspeed
Dean Capture
Meat and Aga
Hooper

Since Ive been asking people why heres some of my whys.

Ken Lawson - Bringing clients like Flynt Digital into the world of the web is certainly no easy task and you dont get cliens like that for not being able to make things happen. Most recently he was running GirlsGoneWild's affilaite program.

Add in his involvment with Jettis and most recently his massive sale of porn.com he gets my vote.

LAJ - Jay is one of the cornerstones of one of the first webmaster resource boards. Add in the facts that he is the organizer for Cybernet Expo and he represents Ynot,The Adult Webmaster and Netpond for advertsing needs makes Jay a real deal maker which in my book is a lot of influence.

Sorry Bob - hosting lobster parties on the beach and working for Steve Lightspeed doesnt make for much influence these days.

Oystien from MPA - Like em or not Mansion was he first cascading blling tool on the market as well as a CMS system. Even thought they lost a lot of steps by advertising the shave on shave off feature to rip off webmasters there are stil a lot of programs that swear by mansion. This on gets my vote more so for negative influence as well as having staying power in the business.

John Albright from Nats - The anti MPA. John stepped into the billing game touting 100% fraud free. When you represent the sheer number of programs NATS has runing that system they arry a lot of big stroke in my book. With the new CMS and additional tools as well as their quest of professionalism and accountability theres no wonder why you Id put John on this list.

DrinkingHard from GTS - Sheer amount of traffic brokered by GTS swings a lot of surfers eyes to his lit of clients. Hes brokering a lot of traffic for a lot of big sources. With traffic being more and more difficult to get that earns him a plce in the 50 for me.

Mike Wylde - Mike W sure is no stranger to Oprano and he was the first designer in the industry to set the bar for quality. Theres not a lot of press as there was in hte past for him but he continues to maintain the branding and marketing for several major clients.

Johnny V - He works for Wildline which is an aggregator of Yahoo traffic. And he is highly accesible to this industry. SE traffic still remains gold and a friendly face in the right place to make that happen gives him a place on this list.

Steve Lightspeed - If your talking solo girl sites then Steve has continud to set the bar for how they are sucessfully marketed and branded in this biz. Solo girls are tomorrows stars. Steve seems to have a good handle on that segment of the business and makes mucho dinero.

Dean Capture - Dean is to the web what Earl Miller is to Penthouse. Setting the bar HIGH on glam shots and taking the industry out of poorly lit and shitty staged shoots Dean represents what I think is the glamourous side of this business and what he future holds.

Meat and Aga - Netpond is another of the first webmaster resources and these guys have a lock on the European webmaster's eyes. They are the face hat many people in this industry first see outside of the US. Add in the myriad of programs they have hiding in background makes them a strong force for the future.

Hooper - Like him or not he is responsibile for stirring up more shit in this industry that crossed the lines over into mainstream. His Isearch network with the popups and etc held most of our computer transfixed for at least 18 months. Now with the 100% transparency product that quickbucks is touting it only makes me wonder if "fucking the surfer" is the only thing they have in mind.

[Hammer]

"Sorry Bob - hosting lobster parties on the beach and working for Steve Lightspeed doesnt make for much influence these days."

He makes a good hostess though. I might hire him for one of my parties.

[gonzo]

"Sorry Bob - hosting lobster parties on the beach and working for Steve Lightspeed doesnt make for much influence these days."

He makes a good hostess though. I might hire him for one of my parties.
I like Bob. Just looking at it from a business influencial stance. Someone has suggested him saying he helped em out. Thats nice but not very influencial.
Im certain no ones going to agree on all of em anyways.

[Hammer]

I think we can all agree on Larry Flynt.

[gonzo]

I think we can all agree on Larry Flynt.
There are morons that will argue Hugh Hefner.

[TheEnforcer]

I would agree with Dean. The influence there is he's really raised the bar for what is an acceptable level of production quality in most of the still content. Go look at the stuff we were using in the late 90's...the bulk was dimly lit, cold, kinda blue looking, bad makeup. Dean's stuff will stand toe to toe with anything in a magazine.

There are others taking great photos as well, but Dean's one who is a bit more willing to teach others.

Oh, I remember the late 90's. I was there. :>)) Thanks for jogging my memory about Dean.

[az_sarah_maxcash]

This is an excellent read for someone like me who is newer in this business.
I recognize many if not all of the names in here.

Thanks for the who's who/industry history lesson guys :okthumb: Very good read.

[TheEnforcer]

Webdaddy I agree with. He still leads the way in terms of the whole concept of domains as real estate and marketing the value of the domain as opposed to what is on top of it.

Now when you talk about Andy Dunn and some of the old school guys, if we were talking history of adult, I agree with them. But I think we're talking who are the 50 most influential TODAY. Is Andy even around? I haven't seen anything out of the guy in probably 4-5 years at least.

The Bottos, JoeE, etc, again sure, back in the day. But if anything, I think they're coasting today. I'm not sure JoeE even has a program up.

As for big programs, that's a different question that is part of the same question.

Let me elaborate...

I would say the top 5, perhaps the top 10 sponsor programs , or rather their owners, would be among the most influential. Some innovate, some do not. BUT, if any one of the 5 (or 10 maybe) were to go under and quit, the ripple would be felt throughout the industry. All of those programs have not only the affiliate payroll, but payroll for several employees, and any cross sells they have lend to the overall profitbility of other programs in the top 10.

Used to be, any one of us could rattle off the top 5 and there'd be very little debate about who they are. There might be SOME debate on the ranking within the 5, but we knew who they were. Now, not so much, I dont think it's as clear cut.

I agree if it's only looking at "today" then the Bottos, Andy Dunn and JoeE wouldn't qualify but i was thinking more along the lines of all time rather than the here and now.

I also agree that it's much less clear about who are the top programs today than it was years ago.

[gonzo]

This is an excellent read for someone like me who is newer in this business.
I recognize many if not all of the names in here.

Thanks for the who's who/industry history lesson guys :okthumb: Very good read.
You can find a general Timeline on the History of Porn as well as an ongoing list of industry firsts here (http://www.businessofporn.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

[az_sarah_maxcash]

You can find a general Timeline on the History of Porn as well as an ongoing list of industry firsts here (http://www.businessofporn.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).
:)
thank you

[Hammer]

There are morons that will argue Hugh Hefner.
Well, Hugh was probably responsible for starting it all in a broad commercial way, but Larry pushed it to a whole new level.

[YNOTBob]

"Sorry Bob - hosting lobster parties on the beach and working for Steve Lightspeed doesnt make for much influence these days."

He makes a good hostess though. I might hire him for one of my parties.


its a shame some of you have been around the longest have forgotten the most...

sorry you feel that is all i have done, or do in this Industry Gonzo, sorry you have no real clue what I am doing now.....real webmasters know the truth...

and before you go giving credit for other aspects to other people, you may want to check who is truly responsible...

and no, im not gonna come back here and post my credentials or not...just a sorry state when your memory is so short...

[Hammer]

Not sure why you replied to my post since it was Gonzo that said it. I was just fucking around. Kinda like you wanting to be me at Internext so no one will bother you. ;)

[JoesHO]

I must say that to me personally, YNOTBob was very influencial and certainly gave me a chance to show my wares on his radio show and via YNotmasters.

he gave a lot of people advice and help freely and without ever asking for a dime of it.

I am sure tons of people that were personally helped by Bob over the years really apreciate this fact as well.

Without Bob I may have thrown in the towel early on and definatly would have lost money , rather than have made money . :okthumb:

THANK YOU, YNotBob

[gonzo]

its a shame some of you have been around the longest have forgotten the most...

sorry you feel that is all i have done, or do in this Industry Gonzo, sorry you have no real clue what I am doing now.....real webmasters know the truth...

and before you go giving credit for other aspects to other people, you may want to check who is truly responsible...

and no, im not gonna come back here and post my credentials or not...just a sorry state when your memory is so short...

Im getting old but your certainly welcome to refresh my memory on your sphere of influence.

[gonzo]

Well, Hugh was probably responsible for starting it all in a broad commercial way, but Larry pushed it to a whole new level.

There aint no doubt about that!

[Hammer]

I agree Joe, that Bob is certainly an influential force in our industry and has helped a lot of people and I personally owe a lot to Bob. Whether he's one of the 50 most influential people is what I think Gonzo was questioning.

[gonzo]

I agree Joe, that Bob is certainly an influential force in our industry and has helped a lot of people and I personally owe a lot to Bob. Whether he's one of the 50 most influential people is what I think Gonzo was questioning.
I started the thread for a discussion.
It wasnt intended to piss on Bobs head. Like I said I like Bob.

He just not on my top 50 list. Like what I have to say matters anyhow.
Hell I wouldnt be on my top 50 list either.

[JoesHO]

I started the thread for a discussion.
It wasnt intended to piss on Bobs head. Like I said I like Bob.

He just not on my top 50 list. Like what I have to say matters anyhow.
Hell I wouldnt be on my top 50 list either.


Well I would also say that Personally, Gonzo has always been willing to lend a hand and help where he could too.

Picking a top 50 would be hard, I think more parameters would need to be defined in order to do so. I mean if someone is a crook and they influenced the biz are they a "top 50" over a hard working man that has always tried to be about businesss and do good by others involved? what are the standards here that is my question I guess. does money and profit mean "top" like in real life? or does integrity and workmanlike manner and honesty matter ?

[gonzo]

Well I would also say that Personally, Gonzo has always been willing to lend a hand and help where he could too.

Picking a top 50 would be hard, I think more parameters would need to be defined in order to do so. I mean if someone is a crook and they influenced the biz are they a "top 50" over a hard working man that has always tried to be about businesss and do good by others involved? what are the standards here that is my question I guess. does money and profit mean "top" like in real life? or does integrity and workmanlike manner and honesty matter ?
Things have a way of working themselves out in the end.
Im sure you can think of a few instances where this applys to me.

If you cant then . . . maybe Joe Francis knows.

[softball]

John Ashcroft?

[JoesHO]

John Ashcroft?

Well by that logic, we would have to nominate Al gore, I mean after all he was responsible for inventing the internet and without it there could be no online porn at all!

[bluemoney]

I’ll take a pass on this one because I don’t have the history.

If I were to come up with my personal list it would have some people already listed here and contain the names of several mods from a few boards.

[Hell Puppy]

I agree Joe, that Bob is certainly an influential force in our industry and has helped a lot of people and I personally owe a lot to Bob. Whether he's one of the 50 most influential people is what I think Gonzo was questioning.

Helping people is all well and good. Does that make someone influential on an industry level? I'd say no, many of the best affiliate reps out there help dozens of people every day.

Now candidly, back in the day, is there any innovation we credit to YnotBob? He basically picked up where Dokk left off in many cases. Dokk stuck with Ron, Bob landed with Ynot after the whole exodus followed by Rick selling to Andy Edmonds and then that falling apart. YnotRadio came along following Albumside when radio was all the rage.

How many people listen to ANY radio show now? What's a big crowd these days? 10? 15?

And Ynot itself? Well, that's one of, if not THE, original adult board brand, did it's numbers go up or down on Bob's watch? I have no true visibility to that, I only know what I observe from the outside.

Anytime you take someone who is a "business owner" of any type in this biz and then you hear they're taking something like a "marketing" or "affiliate rep" or similar low level position with another program, it's pretty obvious what is happening. Business owners dont do that just because they're bored. You do it because you've suddenly become a squirrel trying to find your nut.

All tha tsaid, I have nothing against Bob, dont really know him. That's the bad part of a thread like this....you probably inadvertently step on some toes.

[softball]

Dan from CamZ once called YnotBob an Icon of the porn business. That was just before he banned me from his board for pointing out Bob's blatant spam. No offense to Bob, but it was the death knell of Amateurmasters.

[Sexyteaser]

Here is my vote....


Francis Koenig for stepping up and validating the value of some adult companies that deserved it.

Shellee

www.sexyteaser.com (http://www.sexyteaser.com)
www.sexyteaserguys.com (http://www.sexyteaserguys.com)





Getting in the Skin Game

An entrepreneur tries to make it easier for everyone to profit from one of the economy's dirty little secrets.

http://i.cnn.net/money/.element/img/1.0/logos/business2_logo.gif (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2)
By Paul Sloan (psloan@business2.com;talkback@business2.com), Business 2.0 Magazine editor-at-large
February 13 2007: 12:24 PM EST


(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Wall Street is largely a boys club, a place packed with hypercompetitive tough guys proud to wear their machismo on their sleeves. Yet there's still one investment the Street is generally wary of: porn.
That's why Francis Koenig, a onetime Wall Street hedge fund executive now based in Los Angeles, believes there are riches to be made by matching investors with "adult entertainment" companies. He believes that plenty of people would back the industry if there were vehicles commonly available to do so.
http://i.cnn.net/money/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/11/01/8392016/WC102.03.jpgINDECENT PROPOSAL? Francis Koenig's funds provide myriad ways for investors to cash in on the lucrative adult entertainment business.
More from Business 2.0 (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/)The Google backlash begins (http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/20/magazines/business2/google_earnings.biz2/index.htm)

Duke mystery solved (http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/07/duke-mystery-so.html)

Can Facebook save Business 2.0? (http://blogs.business2.com/netly/2007/07/can-facebook-sa.html)


Fastest Growing Tech Companies (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/b2fastestgrowing)
Current Issue (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/)
Subscribe to Business 2.0 (http://subs.timeinc.net/CampaignHandler/B2cc5off?source_id=23)




His reasoning is simple: Porn is a lucrative part of the American economy, hovering around $12 billion a year. And there are hundreds of porn outfits hungry for financing to become more than bedroom operations.
"There just hasn't been a good way to invest in this market," says Koenig, 31.
An opportunity for small-time investors?
He launched AdultVest late last year to change that. He's been courting investors and combing the country for small and medium-size porn businesses, some of which boast profit margins upwards of 60 percent. The response has been strong: Koenig says he's signed up well over 1,000 potential investors since January.
For now, he's catering to investors with big money, although he says his approach will eventually evolve to serve the investing masses. He's raising money for two funds: a $100 million fund that requires a minimum investment of $1 million, and a $10 million fund with a $100,000 minimum.
Accredited investors can sign up on AdultVest.com to qualify, and Koenig says people are signing up at the rate of 15 per day. Roughly 300 companies - including website-porn subscription businesses, escort services, and strip clubs - have registered. Investors can also use the AdultVest marketplace to hook up directly with companies.
Koenig has a good track record: The New World Partners hedge fund, where he was a managing director, posted double- and triple-digit returns through the late '90s - and he thinks similar returns are possible with porn. His funds are set up like any venture capital fund and will invest in a range of businesses, with a portion of each earmarked for buying and running strip clubs.
Adding some Wall Street finesse
The overarching strategy is to take majority stakes in businesses that AdultVest will then help manage and consolidate. Koenig won't say how close he is to raising the total $110 million, but to help the sell, he and his team won't charge any performance fee until the funds return 100 percent.
"There's never been big money from the outside," says Paul Fishbein, president of the leading porn trade tracker, AVN Publications, about the industry. "It's a logical next step."
Koenig is also working with large investors who are looking to take direct stakes in companies. Part of the pitch is that he ensures all investors total anonymity. "They're creating a market that's never existed in an industry that's highly private," says one Miami-based investor who's looking to back firms with $5 million to $30 million in revenue.
For all the skittishness about investing in adult entertainment, Koenig points out that the smart money is catching on.
Playboy, for example, recently acquired the far racier empire of porn star Jenna Jameson for $17.6 million. And in August, New Frontier Media, a pay-per-view video distributor, received a buyout offer from Warren Lichtenstein, a tough-as-nails New York hedge fund manager who's been going after companies he sees as ripe for turbocharged growth.
To Koenig, such moves show the promise of bringing Wall Street sophistication to what is now a supremely inefficient market.
In fact, he's had talks with several brokerages interested in syndicating deals to sell to their Main Street investors. "People just need to get less shy," Koenig says, "and they'll realize that there's silly money to be made here."

[Buckwheat]

I vote or Bill (pastie ass, ain’t got no muthafuckin reason to have such a shitty ass muthafuckin haircut) Gates . . . Dude is one Funky Hunky!

PS. Gotdamn I hate folowing a muthafukin infomercial.

[Allen]

On my own top 50 list I'd have to put BillPMB... He was the first guy preaching(and doing) about having great members areas for sites to ensure long term profits. That was an unpopular opinion in those days.

Anyone who remember members areas back in the day will know what I mean :)

[Hell Puppy]

On my own top 50 list I'd have to put BillPMB... He was the first guy preaching(and doing) about having great members areas for sites to ensure long term profits. That was an unpopular opinion in those days.

Anyone who remember members areas back in the day will know what I mean :)

Is he still arond?

Haven't seen him, or Lisa for that matter, in ages....so I figured that program was long since tits up.

[Hammer]

ummm... Shellee, what the hell was that? :blink:

[softball]

I vote or Bill (pastie ass, ain’t got no muthafuckin reason to have such a shitty ass muthafuckin haircut) Gates . . . Dude is one Funky Hunky!

PS. Gotdamn I hate folowing a muthafukin infomercial.

Bill Gates is numero uno. Without him, we would all still be shining shoes.

[Hell Puppy]

Bill Gates is numero uno. Without him, we would all still be shining shoes.

Or worse....using Macs.

[Allen]

HP,

Not really, but since I saw people mixing the past and present...

[Hell Puppy]

HP,

Not really, but since I saw people mixing the past and present...


Yeah, we should really do that list too....I think that would be tougher....tough to bring it down to 50.

[gonzo]

HP,

Not really, but since I saw people mixing the past and present...
The lists are good fun.
Thanks for you contribution!

I need to recap this thing later today and I think we are a long way from fiddy.

Anyone else want to contribute?

[Lisa]

Is he still arond?

Haven't seen him, or Lisa for that matter, in ages....so I figured that program was long since tits up.

:waving:

Still around...as is BillPMB and PornMegaBucks. Haven't had much to say so I haven't logged in for a while but I still read most days.

I think that would make me an official lurker. :)

[gonzo]

:waving:

Still around...as is BillPMB and PornMegaBucks. Haven't had much to say so I haven't logged in for a while but I still read most days.

I think that would make me an official lurker. :)
Google Analytics sees everyone from Vancouver to Australia.

[gonzo]

Heres a recap on what Im working with ....

Christie Hefner -- they are determined to be players in "new media"
Ron Cadwell -- along with paycom, these are the guys that keep the cash registers ringing.
whoever is at the helm at Epoch these days, Clay and Joel would definitely be on the "alltime" list if not going current.
Scott at AEBN -- the 800 pound gorilla in VOD and the one who brings most of what's at the local video store to the net.
Tony Morgan -- i would argue that NatNet sets the standard for hosting in our biz. And Tony Morgan himself sets the standard for how to run a business in this industry segment with class instead of sleaze.
Bang Bros -- Showing us all that quality original content pays mightily.
Jon Albright -- Fighting the shave and bringing a quality affiliate program to the masses.
Farrell Timlake -- lots of behind the scenes stuff with business and fighting the good fight, but even before that he brought John Q. Public's naughty home movies to the masses.
Joe Lackey -- although now most of the pieces of his business are owned by Playboy and he has bosses, there's undeniable influence still there and even more importantly he showed it IS possible to have a big time buy out of an adult business. Most normal web entrepeneurs go into it with the plan to be bought by Google, News Corp, Microsoft, etc...no such exit plans in adult, but he pulled off a multimillion dollar deal.
Kevin Blatt -- one of the very few non-business owners I would include. the guys ability to get himself on TV and radio and plug away is unmatched.
Jenna Jameson -- until someone unseats her she is the most well known star in adult and has crossover media coverage. what she does is largely how the outside world perceives all adult stars.
Paul Fishbein -- AVN is the largest industry news source and promoter of large shows that were the forebearer of the other shows we have seeminly weekly now.
Andrew Conru -- Love 'em or hate 'em, AFF is influential...not all influences are positive.
Gary Kremen -- I list this active simply because he's still in the media. But his past influence is huge. Without him being suckered by Steven Cohen and losing his domain during the most profitable years of it's existence we may have never really had true "ownership" of domains established in a court of law during the formative years.
Faye Sharpe -- AdultDex is the first adult trade show I remember, that alone should be worthy of mention. She, now along with Jay, continue to be the ones who tinker with the formula for adult industry conventions.
The Hun -- Influential? If he likes your stuff and promotes it, he can make or break a program. You convert or die under the weight of the traffic. On the other side of the fence, he's still responsible for probably more free porn than any one man and all of the impacts that brings to the business. Including an entire generation of webmasters who think fresh galleries with 20+ pics are the only way to make money in this business.
Larry Flynt -- I cant not mention Larry. His involvement in online is almost like a toe in the water. But he produces a ton of content, and his media and legal influences trickle down to all of us.
Tracy Lords. If it wasn't for her none of us would be dealing with 2257.
Slick Rick - founding Y-not, if not the first adult resource site certainly the first influencial one!
Andy Dunn - his tips and tricks newsletter was a GOLDMINE of information that influenced many
Helmy
Webfather - revolutionized the way people thought about domains
Ken Lawson - Bringing clients like Flynt Digital into the world of the web is certainly no easy task and you dont get cliens like that for not being able to make things happen. Most recently he was running GirlsGoneWild's affilaite program.
Add in his involvment with Jettis and most recently his massive sale of porn.com he gets my vote.
LAJ - Jay is one of the cornerstones of one of the first webmaster resource boards. Add in the facts that he is the organizer for Cybernet Expo and he represents Ynot,The Adult Webmaster and Netpond for advertsing needs makes Jay a real deal maker which in my book is a lot of influence.
Sorry Bob - hosting lobster parties on the beach and working for Steve Lightspeed doesnt make for much influence these days.
Oystien from MPA - Like em or not Mansion was he first cascading blling tool on the market as well as a CMS system. Even thought they lost a lot of steps by advertising the shave on shave off feature to rip off webmasters there are stil a lot of programs that swear by mansion. This on gets my vote more so for negative influence as well as having staying power in the business.
John Albright from Nats - The anti MPA. John stepped into the billing game touting 100% fraud free. When you represent the sheer number of programs NATS has runing that system they arry a lot of big stroke in my book. With the new CMS and additional tools as well as their quest of professionalism and accountability theres no wonder why you Id put John on this list.
DrinkingHard from GTS - Sheer amount of traffic brokered by GTS swings a lot of surfers eyes to his lit of clients. Hes brokering a lot of traffic for a lot of big sources. With traffic being more and more difficult to get that earns him a plce in the 50 for me.
Mike Wylde - Mike W sure is no stranger to Oprano and he was the first designer in the industry to set the bar for quality. Theres not a lot of press as there was in hte past for him but he continues to maintain the branding and marketing for several major clients.
Johnny V - He works for Wildline which is an aggregator of Yahoo traffic. And he is highly accesible to this industry. SE traffic still remains gold and a friendly face in the right place to make that happen gives him a place on this list.
Steve Lightspeed - If your talking solo girl sites then Steve has continud to set the bar for how they are sucessfully marketed and branded in this biz. Solo girls are tomorrows stars. Steve seems to have a good handle on that segment of the business and makes mucho dinero.
Dean Capture - Dean is to the web what Earl Miller is to Penthouse. Setting the bar HIGH on glam shots and taking the industry out of poorly lit and shitty staged shoots Dean represents what I think is the glamourous side of this business and what he future holds.
Meat and Aga - Netpond is another of the first webmaster resources and these guys have a lock on the European webmaster's eyes. They are the face hat many people in this industry first see outside of the US. Add in the myriad of programs they have hiding in background makes them a strong force for the future.
Hooper - Like him or not he is responsibile for stirring up more shit in this industry that crossed the lines over into mainstream. His Isearch network with the popups and etc held most of our computer transfixed for at least 18 months. Now with the 100% transparency product that quickbucks is touting it only makes me wonder if "fucking the surfer" is the only thing they have in mind.


Ill be sure and share with you how I package this up in the end and of course it will be open for revision.

[JoesHO]

If that is your compiliation list, I guess you did not like my additions or input .

It seems they did not make the compilation

[Sharpie]

ADULTDEX :-) Our first try as a tradeshow company. Learn as you go, and we sure learned a lot:-) I am surprised that many people were around in 1995. Those were sure some great memories! 10 yrs of Cybernet.... maybe it is time for retirement:-)

[Doktor_Scarecrow]

hmmmm.....lets see here....just right off the top of my head, if we are talking entertainers, I would have to say............................................... ..............SQUIRTING CARLY! and that's all.



I'm just fucking with you. While she's the most important in my mind, others that come to mind are Christine Young, Liz Vicious, Naughty Nati, and Sweet Kara......and I'm done. :)

Have a dark day,
DoKtOr ScArEcRoW

[Jace]

hmmmm.....lets see here....just right off the top of my head, if we are talking entertainers, I would have to say............................................... ..............SQUIRTING CARLY! and that's all.



I'm just fucking with you. While she's the most important in my mind, others that come to mind are Christine Young, Liz Vicious, Naughty Nati, and Sweet Kara......and I'm done. :)

Have a dark day,
DoKtOr ScArEcRoW

ok, look man, I am not trying to scare you off in any way or insult your intelligence

this is an adult BUSINESS forum....meaning, 99.9% of us that post here work in the adult industry and we conduct business within the adult industry here

not saying fans aren't a great thing and all, we love every last fan of our girls and sites, but your praise of performers will probably fall on deaf ears

there is a great forum on oprano for porn fans here http://www.oprano.com/msgboard/forumdisplay.php?f=45

you might also check out www.freeones.com, it is a whole community of porn fans
check this thread out about carly
http://board.freeones.com/showthread.php?t=115759&highlight=squirting

[Doktor_Scarecrow]

No disrespect, but i'm getting tired of being told what I can and cannot post. Gonzo said that I could hang around if I liked. After all, the title was 50 most influential people on online adult. SO I threw my three cents in that's all. Maybe I should just quit posting here altogether, and be banished to one of those message boards where NOBODY responds. Damn. I'm just a freakin fan here.:mad:

[Toby]

...I'm just a freakin fan here.:mad:Exactly, so keep that in mind when making replies in BUSINESS topics. :okthumb:

[Rcourt64]

No disrespect, but i'm getting tired of being told what I can and cannot post. Gonzo said that I could hang around if I liked. After all, the title was 50 most influential people on online adult. SO I threw my three cents in that's all. Maybe I should just quit posting here altogether, and be banished to one of those message boards where NOBODY responds. Damn. I'm just a freakin fan here.:mad:


http://myadg.com/op2007/silence.gif
There not ready yet

[EmporerEJ]

You can find a general Timeline on the History of Porn as well as an ongoing list of industry firsts here (http://www.businessofporn.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

Missing from your timeline is June 2000- first public sale of the Virtual Sex Machine.

[EmporerEJ]

Dan from CamZ once called YnotBob an Icon of the porn business. That was just before he banned me from his board for pointing out Bob's blatant spam. No offense to Bob, but it was the death knell of Amateurmasters.

You really are the center of your own little universe, aren't you?