It’s safe to say that when I got started in the adult Internet, I wasn’t a “big baller” and neither were most of the individuals and companies that made adult websites. The money was excellent, but most of us simply had some kind of technical background and had stumbled onto the business of adult websites. I lived in a modest house, drove a modest car, and spent a modest amount of money.Modest, however, wasn’t a word that fit especially well with the adult Internet. Even though most webmasters did come from modest backgrounds, there was really good money to be made in adult websites – and suddenly the race was on to act the role of Larry Flynt or Hugh Hefner. Part of the fun of being in adult was the perception that those who worked in this business were all millionaires. The individuals and companies who seemed to be making the most money were naturally the most interesting – attention drew to them like a frat boy’s eyes to cleavage.

Once an individual had the image of being wealthy and successful, good things could happen – whether that image was truly earned or not. But keeping up that perception became a full time job for many of the industry’s chosen elites. For them, the pressure was on to be seen spending large sums of money in Vegas, picking up the tab after a night of drinking, driving expensive sports cars, the list goes on.

Now we find ourselves in the middle of 2009, and suddenly the word “modest” isn’t the stranger now that it had become. It’s one thing to work on your image all day when the money coming in is insanely good and business is on track for more good things; but that job quickly becomes a curse when business is dropping. People in that position don’t want to lose credibility in the industry, but 1) need to focus time and resources on their company, and 2) simply can no longer afford to do the things they did in the past.

The cure to all of this is an industry attitude adjustment, which I’m pleased to say is currently in progress, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood recession. Gone now should be the days when every adult Webmaster feels like he or she needs to act like a rock star. Gone now should be the days where the rest of us judge the success of other companies simply by how much money they seem to have. Simply owning an adult business that pays the bills and provides a paycheck every month is something that anyone should be proud to claim in this tough business environment.

It’s time for adult companies to pass on the image of excess and focus instead on themes that matter. Excess was always the Playboy theme when marketing to consumers; but what sense does it make to copy that image when marketing to other businesses? When I evaluate which business might make good partners, good sponsors, good service providers – I’m looking for stability and commitment, not excess.

I don’t care if the reps from my ISP or billing company stay at the best hotels and drive the best cars – what I care about is if they have proven themselves to be capable and stable participants who are committed to the adult Internet space. Were they here yesterday, will they be here tomorrow, and do they conduct themselves with honesty and integrity? And also important, do they bring something more than just attitude to the table?

To me, that’s what matters now more than anything else.