Last Internext was all abuzz with talk of the new 2257 laws, Visa’s ever-tightening stranglehold on the industry, and other assorted topics of doom and gloom – amid speculation of who would be left standing once the proverbial shit hit the fan.Last Internext was all abuzz with talk of the new 2257 laws, Visa’s ever-tightening stranglehold on the industry, and other assorted topics of doom and gloom – amid speculation of who would be left standing once the proverbial shit hit the fan.

Well, the year came and went. And some companies came and went. But the doom and gloom was never justified. The industry is still standing, still raring to go, and still making fist loads of cash for companies who found ways to comply with the new policies.

Maybe we’ve learned something from last year’s ominous forecasting because the biggest buzz during this year’s Internext, in the city of sin, was about the change of venue and the long waiting lines for registration. Sure, there were a whole slew of seminars covering the legal aspects of the industry (see Connor’s articles for coverage of the legal buzz), but there was not a hint of doom and/or gloom among the reactions I gathered from this year’s show attendees.

From newbies to veterans, most of the people who attended Internext found the show to be wholeheartedly worth their while.

“I really enjoyed Internext,” said Dave Pounder from Dave Pounder Productions. “Since I come from a video background and am fairly new to the adult webspace, I found all the seminars to be very helpful. I prefer the Mandalay Bay venue as it is a nice change of pace from having to spend an entire week at the Venetian. The only drawback was that by having seminars back to back, all of which I wanted to attend, I had very limited time to browse the floor and speak to the people I needed to see. I think it would be more effective if they had one hour between seminars and potentially extended the show hours to accommodate. I would also suggest having a food table at the back of the seminar room for those who paid extra money to attend the seminars. With only 15 minutes between seminars, it’s hard to get out for lunch or a snack. I like how AVN appeared to be taping the seminars as well, so hopefully I can purchase the DVDs to get the information I missed while I was networking out on the main floor. I will definitely attend Internext in Vegas next year; it served my purpose and was well worth the time and money spent.

A consecutive show attendee, Anh Tran, co-founder of www.wantedlist.com, agreed. “As a four year veteran of Vegas Internext, I have to say that with every subsequent year I’ve come to understand more about the industry. How the big players dominate, and how the little guys vie for traffic. The seminars were very informative, and Katie Smith was a good moderator. She created interaction between the panellists and the audience and drove home the key points of the topic. I think she did a great job of engaging the audience. The worst part of the show was registration the first day. Also, it was hard to figure out the party schedule and who was throwing which party and where to get the passes, etc. We could have used more information on the parties.”

A relative newbie to the adult industry, Larry Snare, Marketing Director for Boneyard Productions, was enthusiastic about his Internext experience. “The convention was awesome. The contacts, the connections for models, content buyers, everyone we needed to talk to was there. We’ve been talking about it since we got back, and we can’t find one negative thing to say about it. These shows have a captive audience. You know that the real players are there. They’re the ones who spend money to be there, so they’re the people you want to meet and do business with.”

Not everyone found who they were looking for, though. Slick Rick from www.pump-room.com commented: “I thought the show floor was rather empty. Not a lot of some of the bigger sponsors [exhibited]. Max Cash, Hustler, Lightspeed [didn’t have] booths, [and] I wanted to stop by and visit with [them]. It was nice to see a lot of people face to face for the first time and chat with them. And of course it was cool to meet new people as well. In my opinion it was productive on the show floor and outside the expo. I enjoyed myself.”

Representing another side of the adult industry, Joan Irvine from ASACP is a regular at Internext shows. “Internext Vegas is always a great venue for ASACP. This was the third one where we had an exhibit. It is important for people to have a chance to see and talk with us and learn more about what we are doing for both the battle against child pornography and the industry: Protecting the industry by protecting the children. We received many thanks and offers of support from people, which really helps the ASACP staff morale since the work we do is not pleasant.”

A panellist on the Mobile seminar, Lee Ali from Opera Telecom UK, offered his comments: “The show was good, moving to the M Bay gave it a new lease of life, I felt. The atmosphere was good although the queues for getting in for both exhibitors and visitors could have been better managed. The parties were, as per normal, oversubscribed and very poorly managed, from bitter experience. In terms of business, it was very good with a lot of diverse visitors and the seminars by Katie Smith were very well organized.”

Megan from the new ShanesWorldCash.com was also pleased with the convention. “I had a great time at the show this year. It was a lot of fun seeing old friends and getting to put faces to names. I really enjoyed getting to meet some of our affiliates in person. Since we just launched Shane’s World Cash, it was good to hear what is working for them and hearing their suggestions. But, I did actually find that I was more productive this year at the AEE show. I have noticed there is a lot more blending between the internet companies and the video production companies. I saw a lot of people from the internet side at the AEE show, more than I expected to. I found this surprising but also very exciting. I would suggest to any webmaster that targets the pornstar niche to certainly stay the few extra days after Internext for the AEE show next year. I also found time to get more than my share of partying in. Only complaint, the constant need for more Red Bull.

Webmasters Dieter & Sara from www.annasdungeon.com found their way easily enough through the Internext maze, and summed up the overall attitude of the show. “The show was great. Lots of good parties and new business opportunities. We got some new contacts so it was definitely worth it. Only negative things were the registration for attendees and the long walk to the convention center.”

The forecast from last year’s Internext may have been doom and gloom, but it looks like this year’s forecast for the adult industry is bright and sunny. As long as you’re wearing the right shoes.

For more information on Internext Expo, please visit www.internext-expo.com.

SexyScribe is an Assistant Editor with YNOT. She can be reached at cyn@ynot.com.