Nope, in fact I almost went bust :D Struggling but hanging on by the skin of my teeth, *but*... I wasn't submitting to all the big tubes; haven't subbed much (if anything) since I redid the landing page; had an experience which showed me how much people WILL still buy porn.
I'm currently working on 2 new paysites (well, one, with the money I get from that being used to get the 2nd up and running - more outlay required but it's gonna be fucking H U G E, believe me), if the 1st one makes any cash, which I fully expect it to) using data from the tubes, as suggested by Ruseful previously.
As much as I hate what the tubes have done, the whole theft aspect of it, the bullshit 'user uploads' that has to be spun out (I mean really, what else does anyone expect them to say? They certainly can't admit it - I see it like telling your lawyer "I didn't do it". They know you fucking did, but who in their right mind is going to come out and admit it, especially given how lucrative it is), the expectation from surfers it has bred where 90% of people will NEVER pay for porn again, google giving a criminal operation credence because 'now we don't steal, we are awesome yo', and so on that has already been done to death here and elsewhere... the fact is, tubes have the traffic, and by whatever law of whatever, means they also have the paying traffic. And I want paying traffic.
I may not like it, and indeed I still have a rant now about it every so often, but for me, these are the facts:
tubes own the vast majority of paying adult traffic
I want paying traffic
If I don't adapt, I die
So, I've been quietly learning, using rusefuls advice; doing other stuff in the meantime to stay afloat, and waiting for my opportunity(ies), which are now nearing the building/marketing stage. I'm actually far more optimistic now than I was 12 months ago. I'll never be a tube fanboy, but I'm way past being a hater and wasting my focus/energy/attention on shit I can't change. Change the things you can
