HOLLYWOOD, FL – Internext Expo, the semi-annual adult internet business convention, concluded on Sunday at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. At approximately five minutes to three o’clock in the afternoon, the traditional pink foam “boobie fight” on the exhibit show floor signaled the impending close of a revamped Internext Expo. As the foam boobies filled the air of the convention hall, just like hats might fly at the end of a graduation ceremony, the Diplomat Hotel again welcomed non-industry guests onto the grounds that had been restricted to Internext attendees up to that point.The sudden arrival of children was unsettling.

“We have to come up with a means to not have children suddenly flying in the hotel on Sunday afternoon,” said AVN’s Aly Drummond, one of the show’s primary organizers and planners. She explained that although the show had ended by that time, the mindset of many attendees had not yet returned to normal.

This year’s show tried a number of new concepts. The venue was restricted to attendees, there were several seminars devoted to brand new topics, there was a sponsored poker tournament during exhibit hours, and exhibit booth sizes offered a wider variety.

The restricted access policy was possibly the most commented-on change for this year’s show. Unlike last year, only those attendees who actually registered for Internext were allowed into the Diplomat Hotel. For those attendees who had not received their badge ahead of time by mail, they were first required to obtain their show badge from Internext registration personnel, or obtain a special wrist band from security, before proceeding on to hotel registration or other on-site destinations. This policy prevented non-registered attendees from hanging out at the show without paying for their participation. Some participants found the new policy useful in keeping the event on a professional level and industry-only, while others felt the extra security measures were inconvenient.

According to Drummond, feedback regarding the restricted access policy has been positive so far. She said her own experience with the restricted access policy was also positive.

“Everywhere I went … I could say hello,” said Drummond, referring to the fact that the crowd consisted of many easily recognizable faces.

“The security measures that were taken were awesome,” said attendee Juan of PluginFeeds.com. “[Shows] tend to get drifters passing through looking for a free ride, which isn’t so bad at times because of free publicity some get from word of mouth, but it was great knowing the hotel was there to cater to just our needs.”

Drummond admitted that security did raise some problems, however. “Security, I had to deal with a bit,” she said. “They were a little heavy handed with people on the first day.”

Whether the new admission policy impacted attendance or not is a matter of speculation, however many attendees expressed the opinion that overall attendance was down from the prior year. Drummond told YNOT that she didn’t yet have the official numbers, but could say that attendance “was definitely over 2000.”

“I’d be surprised if [attendance] wasn’t down [over previous years],” Drummond said, but added that the drop wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for attendees. Drummond suggested that the people who did attend Internext generally put a serious effort into making the experience work for themselves and their companies. “Quantity really isn’t everything,” she added.

Cyndalie from AdultChamber.com seemed to agree. “The exhibit floor brought a lot of serious minded tech-savvy individuals that each seemed to come with a specific set of goals in mind,” she said. “I noticed fewer ‘salesmen’ working the exhibitors, which was a collective relief, thereby making the time spent on the floor more productive.”

“With the industry so heated up over serious issues, most webmasters just wanted to cool down and relax and talk business. For me, staying focused throughout the show was key to making what looks to be a solid ROI.”

Juan also said the show, his first Internext, was a business positive.

“I think everyone reached their goals for the show,” Juan told YNOT. “Personally, there were a couple of companies that I have been trying to reach by sending them emails, but I had not gotten a reply. I came across them during the show. So those were a few personal victories for me.”

Seminars took place all throughout the day, mostly during the same hours as the exhibits. Several of the show’s seminars were poorly attended, including the controversial discussion on the dot-xxx TLD, which likely did not top 100 people. But gauging overall show attendance in any accurate manner was difficult.

“Every aspect of the show wasn’t that heavily attended because all these different aspects of the show were going on at the same time,” Drummond said. “The first one, the traffic seminar, was very well attended.”

Drummond rejected suggestions that the 11:00 AM start time of the dot-xxx seminar could have affected attendance to that event. “If people really feel strongly about something then they should have been there,” she said, then added that the low turnout was probably “reflective of a general complacency.”

All of the Sunday seminars experienced low turnout.

The exhibit show floor was also somewhat different this year. While booth exhibits were largely confined to one of two standard sizes, as is normal for the Hollywood show, there were a few wildcards in the mix. PussyCash.com featured a booth reminiscent of Vegas shows – large in size, and complete with impressive decorations that included a glowing purple orb and rotating sign. There were also some booths that were essentially large clear-plastic boxes, which allowed for an opportunity to escape from the noise of the show floor to talk business in a “fish bowl” like setting. Billing solutions, affiliate programs, hosting services and software technologies were amongst the most popular categories of vendors.

And of course the Porn Poker Tour, which made an appearance at Internext after a successful debut at Cybernet Expo in June, was going on all throughout the day during regular exhibit hours. With a top prize of $5000, the free event attracted a significant number of attendees. Ironically, the top prize was won by one of the show’s sponsors, Dan from CamZ.com, who has pledged to donate the prize money to the Free Speech Coalition.

The issue of booth participation is tricky, however. According to Drummond, Internext will need to work hard on providing companies with as many different promotional opportunities as possible. But she stressed that the sale of booth space is the show’s lifeblood. Booths are, she said, “currently the only means of keeping the show alive.”

Despite the noticeable changes, there were a lot of familiars at Internext. As in prior years, TopBucks still offered its “arrive in style” limo service for those attendees who signed up for the perk. That meant a comfortable limo ride from the Miami or Ft. Lauderdale airport straight to the Diplomat Hotel. Some familiar seminars were included, such as sessions on billing and alternative billing solutions. Many of the better known companies in online adult had booth space at the show, although there were, as with last year, some noticeable absences.

Internext will now move its focus towards the Vegas event, scheduled for January 5 – 7. The show returns to the Venetian Hotel and Casino, and will run concurrent with AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo for the first time in show history.