Get Real: Reality Sites Are Here to Stay!
By Kath Blackwell
Are you ready for another season of survivor? Not the cheesy physical-challenge reality program on network television... this survival-of-the-fittest challenge that faces the adult online business owner every fall.
The so-called "busy season" - as opposed to the usually slow "summer slump" - is the make-it or break-it time of year. College dudes are back at school armed with broadband wireless accounts and Daddy's credit card. Some say that if you can't make it during the fall rush, then you might as well pack it up and go home.
So what does this year's horny 20-something want in a porn site? Why, reality of course! It's never really much of a stretch from what this demographic digs on the small screen. As webmasters we need to keep in touch with what's popular in culture and build sites that reflect those trends in addition to what we've made available in previous seasons.
Of course we're not talking real reality, but the pseudo reality that gets spoon-fed to American consumers who eagerly gobble the slop up and ask for more. Every day of the year we see the popularity of so-called reality programming through advertising, the success of "Girls Gone Wild," reality series such as Paris Hilton's infamous Simple Life - even real-life people on dating shows, game shows and daytime TV with Oprah! Today's prime porn purchasing demographic likes it real - and raw. It seems that reality is here to stay.
The Birth of Reality Programming
Before any of us really realized what was happening, the reality phenomenon quickly took over. You can't turn on a television, radio or open a magazine without seeing some sort of testament to the success of reality entertainment. It appears that Joe Consumer likes to see other "Average Joes" - perhaps, like himself - attempting to overcome all odds to win the hand of a lovely bachelorette, or trying to beat the boardroom and become the ultimate apprentice to a certain bazillionaire. Whatever the situation, whatever the story plot requires, the audience is riveted to their seats... waiting, mouths open, eyes gaping and unblinking... for the next dose of girl or guy-next-door voyeur viewing.
Reality programming really isn't very new... it's been around for a long time. Seen in the success of shows such as Geraldo, Jerry Springer - even Oprah, television viewers are suckers for a twisted, reality story told by a regular Joe. Who can forget the skinheads throwing the chair across the stage, breaking Geraldo's nose? Or the she's-sleeping-with-my-husband-who-is-also-her-brother-and-my-baby's-grandpa stories on Springer? Oprah doesn't go for the shock-value as much as her male counter-parts, but we've all seen the surprising reality of a guest breaking down when she talked about her obesity or freakish birth defects.
However popular it is to watch real people discuss real issues, fake-out shows like Joe Schmo have found a viewing audience, as we've discovered that people enjoying watching other people fail, just as much as they like cheering them on to overcome. Jerry Springer moved toward this theme and his program continues to be a popular daily regular and Pay-Per-View ultra-shock program to this day! More fights, more rednecks, more weird inter-marital twists... Jerry's fans love it and Jerry delivers! It doesn't matter what the plot, what the theme or even how just plain bad the program is - Americans are attracted to reality TV almost despite themselves, and it has become a sure thing for site development in today's market.
Some popular reality-based sites on the adult 'Net with the obvious exception of amateur sites - which have always been popular because of their real-ness and interactive qualities - are already available for promotion. So if you are a webmaster with traffic and you want to send that traffic to a reality membership site, you're in luck! With the success of adult reality content such as Voyeur Dorm and Girls Gone Wild offshoots, the adult 'Net was quick to see the potential in the world of reality and was ready to take that extra step toward building true reality content. Realizing that its mega fantasy sites weren't really the do-all, be-all breadwinner in the current market, the adult industry began giving birth to more reality-based content, sites and videos. A perfect example is the recent launch of Version 3 of the venerable sponsor TrafficCashGold, featuring a remarkable collection of unique and exclusive content reality sites to intrigue the most jaded surfer out there on the 'Net. LauraLee, Director of Sales and Marketing for TrafficCashGold.com, told Klixxx, "Our conversions have shown a marked improvement since the launch of 3.0. We believe it's due to the uniqueness and quality of our sites to some degree, but the biggest factor is the exclusive nature of our content. You can't find our content anywhere else on the 'Net."
The Attraction of Reality in Adult Fantasies
Don't worry, I'm not gonna "shrink" ya here, but the idea of infusing reality-based content into adult content - which has always been traditionally a "fantasy" type thing is somewhat of a mystery to many people. Of course the obvious argument is the girl-next-door fetish with which many purveyors have experiences. Remember Gilligan's Island? Lots of guys had a thing for glamorous movie star Ginger, yet many admitted that they felt they had a better shot at landing Maryanne, and therefore developed more fantasies about the coconut pie baking brunette. The idea that the model on the screen is more attainable to the average guy is very appealing. The gorgeous super models in magazines, the mega busy babes in adult videos - and many of the content models that adorn the average site - those women all seem unattainable. The average guy knows he doesn't have a shot at ever bagging a girl like that. That is part of the charm of the reality, amateur or girl-next-door niche site. The idea that "I could have that" keeps them coming back, recurring their memberships and interacting as much as they can through the site tools, video chat and posting boards.
Another attractive quality of the reality genre is that many people are just tired of the plastic looking models that we've all grown accustomed to seeing in the media. You will often hear guys chatting in chat rooms or on male-driven television or radio shows about liking the look of a "natural" girl. That means no boob jobs, no lip injections, no wigs or fake-colored hair... just natural, real-looking women. Today's fantasy woman doesn't have to be 48-22-38 or some other convoluted, unnatural configuration of statistics. She can be a B-cup, have mousy brown hair - and even wear glasses. The old adage of "there's someone for everyone" has never been truer than it is today. Styles are changing, tastes are changing and in many ways - in part due to the success of reality programming - it's OK to be yourself, to just be YOU.
Perhaps the evolution of the reality niche is beholden in part to the amateur niche itself. Mega amateur producers such as HomeGrownVideo.com, have been dealing in - and making a huge profit from - the girl-next-door types for years! Yes, maybe they did know something we didn't know. Today's amateur Web cam girl community is thriving and finding great success - and regular, returning, recurring members - in a way that those mega sites of the 90's just never could have hoped for.
Adding a Dose of Reality
Unfortunately, not every webmaster can be a cam girl - or convince their girlfriends to do it for the camera. This is where the concept of the reality niche can really come in handy, because it combines the idea of real people with extreme situations. How extreme is limited only by your imagination and the willingness of your content models - as to how far they will go with it.
Successful Mainstream Reality Shows
Survivor - One of the first, and the most watched reality series on television, participants are thrown together in one wilderness or desolate location or another to compete in a King of the Mountain-esque quest. The personalities, interpersonal dramas and power plots keep viewers entertained, waiting from one week to the next to see who gets "voted off" and arguing over the water cooler about who will be the ultimate winner.
Joe Millionaire - Millions watched as Joe finessed and played each of the lovely ladies, whittling it down to the remaining two... Once again it was back to the water cooler to debate over whom he should pick, and mulling over what plot twist might be in store for the fated couple. Joe certainly milked this one for all it was worth - his picture still graces the pages of People and other celebrity-magazines worldwide. Many copycat shows were spun off this original theme, proving that its success was even bigger than anyone could have guessed it might be.
My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé - Although the plot twisted even out of the hands of the show's producers, this was still one of the most talked about reality shows of 2003-2004. Watching Steve play his bride-to-be - and her family - all the way until the bitter end, and the surprising turn of events as her family whirls out of control, torn between their desire to support her decision to marry this obnoxious fiancé and their utter disgust for him - and his behavior. This was reality television SO riveting and addicting, the big finale was one of the most watched reality episodes of the season.
American Idol - Not truly "reality" programming when compared to such shows as "Survivor" and "Millionaire," but American Idol's interactive program model sucked in more regular and obsessive viewers than ANY other show on television. The viewer call-in figures alone were astounding, proving that America still loves a good talent competition, especially when it is coupled with such outgoing and engaging personalities - in both the talent and the judging pools!
The Simple Life - What will Paris and Nicole get into next? What stupid thing will pop out of their mouths? Making ourselves feel better by seeing two spoiled, blonde rich girls try to make their way in the world is the true basis behind the success of this program. Money solves everything, right? Wrong... not unless brain implants become fashionable in the uber wealthy worlds of Paris and Nicole anytime soon. If only someone could buy them a clue!
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Building a reality-based content site can fulfil the needs of multiple niche and fetish-searching traffic. You can cross-promote these types of sites based upon the look of the models, the underlying fetish of the site theme, and also toward your amateur-seeking content as well. That's the beauty of reality, it isn't just limited to one niche or area at a time. It can be more multi-dimensional say, than just building an all-pink-blonde-bombshell-lesbian mega site.
Understanding the attraction to a niche is paramount to discovering the perfect formula for promotion, and ultimately, conversion of your traffic into memberships. After all, this is what we're all here for - to maximize site revenues and make money. Knowing your craft, understanding the needs and desires of your customers, these are all essential ingredients that go way back to the first salesmen and businessmen centuries ago.
Reality isn't just about throwing up a bunch of pictures on a site and calling it a niche. Then again, that doesn't hold true for any other niche today, but that's a totally different topic. It's also not about building an amateur cam girl site - because that truly is a niche by itself. It also isn't just about some candid home videos of people doing stupid idiotic stunts - you have to infuse hardcore reality with hardcore erotic imagery. Adult Reality is about real, raw, unedited content - and in that way, it is similar to voyeur or amateur-type content, but takes it to another level. Reality is about real people, real lives, real challenges and outrageous situations - things that we secretly wish we could do, but are sitting in our computer rooms watching and paying to see instead. You need to keep your members entertained, turned on, and tuned in!
A Little Legal 411
Make sure that if you are doing anything extreme or unusual that you consult with your attorney before you begin production. For example, girls having sex with donkeys might still be fine and dandy in the Netherlands, but it's not A-OK here in the US of A where your site will be hosted, promoted and where your members will reside.
You don't have to be a legal expert - you just need to hire one. Have him review your site thoroughly, all promotional materials and content as well, before you launch and start taking memberships. They say that it's better to be safe than sorry, and that holds true, even in the world of extreme reality.
Taking risks is fine, being edgy is great - but in today's industry we all need to be as professional and as legally-focused as possible. And, as popular as reality content can be, it is also that idea of risk and danger that makes it such an entertaining niche. Keep the risk and the challenge within the membership area itself, and don't bring it home to your doorstep. Because the reality of the situation is, if you're not producing legal reality content, you will find yourself in your own reality jailhouse situation before long. As first amendment attorney and Klixxx featured writer Larry Walters says, "It's your get into jail free card." Please review all the Klixxx legal articles by Larry Walters in the extensive www.Klixxx.com archives, at: www.klixxx.com/archive/legaltips.shtml.
Making it Happen
So - do you have an idea? Got a concept that you think will really turn on the surfing public and get them to whip out those credit cards in record time? Make sure that you take the time to do some research and write out your plan of attack before spending any money on development.
If your idea is extremely original and you really feel that it has the potential to succeed, you should consult with your legal counsel about what you can do to protect your content, idea and concept legally. Many companies now have Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) for content producers, designers, programmers and other essential service professionals to sign and agree to before your site is officially launched to the public. You don't want someone stealing your idea and making a million off it before you even get your site up and running.
If you are unable to shoot your own original, exclusive content you will need to find out the cost for content production, making sure that you will have enough reality-based content to keep your members happy. You will also need to develop fresh content on a regular basis, so creating a positive working relationship between yourself and the content provider is an excellent idea.
If you can't afford to have content created exclusively for you, then your last resort is to find a content provider who already has content to fit your niche - hopefully affordable on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis. Remember, reality is key here, and if your images of so-called "reality" can be found on hundreds of sites and TGP lists throughout the 'Net, your reality fantasy bubble will burst in a hurry.
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