Andrew is telling us how get got into this business and what we can learn from the adult industry. FriendFinder.com has 89 million users, 180 employees, etc.
Users began to upload more "interesting" photos, so they started AdultFriendFinder.com. They've branched out into intls, religious groups, etc. Users log a lot of time on their sites. They're close to Google based on those figures.
Adult sites know about making money TODAY. They're always looking for good conversion rates. Lots of cross-promotion.
Tricks they use: clients, toolbars, popups, spam, spyware, adware, affiliate marketing programs, etc. A Collaborative Traffic Network let's them track clicks across many sites. They really know their sales funnel and how to reduce charge backs from the credit card companies. They optimize the hell out of this stuff.
Rich media, live and streaming, etc. Why are they so innovative? Large number of publishers, so there's A LOT of contribution. Big tail. The traffic source controls the advertising, not the advertisers. There's a ton of money in this. $445 million spent in 2003 for adult content on-line. But margins are getting tighter--there's lots of content and hard to differentiate. Search engines make it easier to compete on pricing.
The industry is evolving. Registration and personalization (longer term view). Reducing entry/exit pop-ups. Using softer pitches and create a better user experience.
Over-optimization in the short term is a danger, so think long term.
See Also: My Web 2.0 post archive for coverage of all the other sessions I attended.
Posted by jzawodn at October 06, 2004 09:30 AM
He's correct; over optimization in the short term is a downfall for many companies. The FF network is very successful, and continues to provide great service for its users.
As one of the many of the hordes of embattled people to work for Andrew.. Andrew is a criminal. He spends 25% of his time in the courtroom. He's a spammer, a lowlife. he's also a rotten coder who needs to learn how to use a code versioning system.
