Originally Posted by fusionx (Post 16102297)

Heya Steve - can I have sex with your brain? In a purely platonic, heterosexual way, of course.. :)

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed (Post 16099169)

The adult industry is in trouble. We have all been affected by the global recession, new credit card rules, and the general lack of consumer confidence. Many of us look for someone to blame besides ourselves. After all, we WERE making money, and WE didn?t change anything, so it must be someone else?s fault, right? Tube sites and aggressive billing practices are obvious and easy targets, but I think we need to look again at ourselves.

In 1999, it felt like everyone and everything was new. Even though no one knew each other, and the best ways to earn money online were still undefined, we were all willing to meet and work together to figure it out. No one knew from where the next great idea was going to come. A handful of pioneers were leading the way, and the rest of us took notes when they spoke. The industry was young and hungry, and mostly HUMBLE.

But then the worst thing happened. We all started making lots of money. Along came lavish parties, and the ?Industry RockStars? were created. Immediately, the industry divided into two camps. The ?Haves? and the ?Wants?. The ?Haves? became less humble, and the ?Wants? were not welcome anymore. Parties and conventions became exclusive and invite-only. The ?Haves? power grew while the ?Wants? were left out. But the industry stopped growing because the people with new ideas were effectively shut out.

Along the way, the ?Haves? tried to work together, but clashing egos and poor business skills doomed many of their projects to failure. Eventually, petty bickering forced everyone apart, and the industry started sliding.

Now, the ?Haves? are finding with the poor economy, and lack of new ideas, their businesses are actually shrinking. But how can they go back? Many of the ?Wants? with innovative ideas are now resentful, and unwilling to share. And the RockStars of the past find it difficult to let go of their egos.

So I say the circle is broken, and the only way to fix it is for everyone to change. Let go of resentment and petty disagreements and start working together again. All of us. Most of all, we need to learn from our own history and avoid making the same mistakes.

I want to be the first to start. I want to apologize to everyone. Events in my life have reminded me where I came from. Some of you will laugh at me, or revel in my misfortune, but I?m going to learn from my mistakes and be humble again. I?m ready to let my ego go, stop acting like a RockStar, and return to taking notes when people speak. I'm ready to listen and learn, and party like it's 1999.

Steve Lightspeed

Originally Posted by Doctor Feelgood (Post 16102834)

i thought you gave up and quit gfy last year?
broken promises http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=873644

Originally Posted by Matt Collins (Post 16102728)

Hey FusionX its great to hear from you again...man I gotta get back to Panama, we had such a great time there.

Maybe we can get back down there later in the fall.

Matt

Originally Posted by fusionx (Post 16103531)

Hell yeah! Lemme know a couple weeks early, if possible, and I'll snag you a good condo - so much better than hotels..

Originally Posted by Martin (Post 16102060)

This industry has always been a brofest. Don't think it will ever change.

Originally Posted by B O B (Post 16103540)

let me know too...

Im so inviting myself...

Originally Posted by wasteland (Post 16101117)

Hi Steve,
First off, my utmost respect and appreciation for the candor and sincerity of your post. I'm probably one of the only guys still standing in the industry that started just a little bit before you did, and your sentiments are VERY honest. refreshing, and 100% on target.

As I read your post, I had 15 years of memories and faces come to mind to fill in the placeholders that your points covered. OMG! It was also like having my life in the industry flash fast-forward before my eyes!

Anyway, you and I are totally on the same page, and I honor you for stepping up to the plate and saying what has, for many many years, needed to be said about this industry and I hope that your personal openness can provide a good example to all for a "new attitude" (which, actually, is the same attitude we all started out with in 1995 through 1998).

Hope to see you in Florida. Lunch is on me (Denny's is right down the road, or if we want to live large, the 7-11 sells Cuban pulled pork sandwiches).

Keep up the "attitude of gratitude. It gets me through the days as well!
Fond Regards,
Colin Rowntree
Wasteland, Inc.

Originally Posted by sharphead (Post 16103778)

Go figure and when I posted in your return thread, you ignored me completely... but I still admire your company and work in the industry nonetheless.

Irony.. i'm lovin it.

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed (Post 16103796)

Certainly not my intention to ignore anyone. I saw your "welcome back" in my 20 questions thread, but you didn't ask a question, so I just moved past it to answer the other questions as quickly as I could.

Let me make up for it now by saying thank you for the warm welcome, and let me know if I can be of any help with your Lightspeed promotions.

Steve Lightspeed

Originally Posted by EthnicLover (Post 16103853)

I am all for people being more open, honest and humble in this industry. This potential change would help everyone in the industry.

I am just wondering if struggling or being in trouble means going from $500k a year to $200k or $1mil to $400k? I am frequently leery of adult webmasters/program owners who have been in this business for ten or more years saying that they are struggling. Is it really that bad?

Originally Posted by Porko (Post 16104390)

Steve is #1.
your post was inspiring, thanks!
maybe you don´t know me but I bought my first (small) car promoting only tawnee stone, in 2001.
btw do you still working?

Originally Posted by LBBV (Post 16102878)

EXCELLENT post Steve

At the end of the day, there are a few things that have worked for businesses for years such as honesty, patience, hard work and a high value on relationship building (both customer and vendor).

Originally Posted by B O B (Post 16103540)

let me know too...

Im so inviting myself...

Originally Posted by Mutt (Post 16104435)

thief of underage teen content

Originally Posted by Mutt (Post 16103838)

you still haven't explained what the apology is for - the industry is filled with scum, you played fairly - so why are you apologizing?

Originally Posted by STAROTICA (Post 16106243)

Written very eloquently Steve....however the utopian pipe dream of it working out sounds like the script of a movie called "Jerry Maguire"......all but without the love interest (Dorothy Boyd). Everyone has a Rod Tidwell mentality about "Show me the Money"....So it was a VERY noble post Mr. Jerry Maguire but their are way too many Bob Sugar's out there now....and it wont EVER change even if you paid for it yourself and repackaged it with YOUR name on it.

Originally Posted by Paul Markham (Post 16104496)

IMO we lost it when we forgot who the customer was, what he wanted and how to keep him coming back to the Internet to buy his porn.

We blame everyone but the big problem is the customer chooses not to buy.

Porn has always been about supplying new content day in and day out that meets the customers needs. It was never about throwing up sites with 50-100 videos shot by the same person, often without the skills needed to get a good performance from a model and without the variation to make the site appealing. And we all followed the wrong experts, if they were so good would we be doing so badly?

Which was the route so many took. Eventually the customer decided to not buy and found Tube sites. Lots of content, new content every day and no rip offs.

Originally Posted by Mutt (Post 16103838)

you still haven't explained what the apology is for - the industry is filled with scum, you played fairly - so why are you apologizing?

Originally Posted by STAROTICA (Post 16106243)

Written very eloquently Steve....however the utopian pipe dream of it working out sounds like the script of a movie called "Jerry Maguire"......all but without the love interest (Dorothy Boyd). Everyone has a Rod Tidwell mentality about "Show me the Money"....So it was a VERY noble post Mr. Jerry Maguire but their are way too many Bob Sugar's out there now....and it wont EVER change even if you paid for it yourself and repackaged it with YOUR name on it.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRKai8rGj9...Soundtrack.jpg

Originally Posted by media (Post 16099319)

and your famous quote "Our industry is the only industry that CONSTANTLY shoots itself in the foot!"