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April 22, 2003 Interview with Xstream Fred of Xstreamists.com In this installment of our ongoing Industry Interview feature, we take a look at a new web cam site that is offering a very advanced platform that allows for very quick interaction between members and chat hosts. Today we are talking with Xstream Fred of Xstreamists.com. Xstream Fred is one of the founders of the company. The individuals behind Xstreamists.com come from a mainstream software boutique that specializes in dynamic Web site development and back end systems integration. Their talents and resources are geared toward rapid development and deployment of high value Internet solutions. Their clients range from dot com startups that need to meet aggressive funding milestones to Fortune 1000 companies trying to leverage technology to preserve a leadership position. After heavily researching the adult industry since late 2001, Xstreamists.com have developed an advanced web cam platform site that greatly improves upon the current web cam chat sites on the Internet. The Interview AIL:Initially, what is Xstreamists.com? XstreamFred: Xstreamists.com is a high-end site. Our platform features a live streaming technology that is completely different from anything else in the marketplace. In addition to real-time streaming video at 15 frames per second, it also provides audio, bi-directional voice, and interactive chat. No buffering. We provide worldwide point-to-point transmission in less than one second, making the interactive experience completely different than anything else available on the market today. Our goal is to provide our viewers with the ultimate live streaming experience. AIL:Cutting to the chase, why start a cam site when there are many others already competing in this niche? XstreamFred: We realize that the live chat space is crowded and may be even saturated. Many sites are in essence doing the same thing and it is difficult to tell them apart. However, we feel that our solution will differentiate us from the pack and will provide a viewing experience not seen elsewhere. The interactive live chat niche is booming. A lot of people are watching, but we believe that a lot more viewers would watch and watch longer if the quality was better. We're making that quality a LOT better. AIL:What particular advantages does Xstreamists.com have over other cam applications on the Net? XstreamFred: I can think of three right off hand. First, at the root of this is a technology that we developed. We didn't hack together something else to try and make it work halfway. We wanted to make live video chat as interactive and real-time as possible. So, our technology is designed to stream the video and audio live. But unlike other streaming options like Real Networks or Windows Media, our system delivers it in real-time in about one second. To give you an idea of how unique this is, there are some sites out there today that attempt to "live stream" using these other technologies, but their software is behind lagged. When the viewer sends a chat message to the chat host, the video that the viewer sees is delayed by almost 30 seconds! Not very interactive… Imagine a viewer asking a model to do something, she does it, but the viewer sees it up to 45 seconds later! Rather disappointing to say the least, and this is the problem. Viewers want more interactivity and we are providing it. We will keep the viewers longer, put more viewers in the room, and make more money for our models and Webmasters. Second, our site is professionally built. Our system offloads our chat host's system and puts it through our network. In other words, our models can stream their feed to hundreds of viewers at the same time, without compromising their connection. So, they can have an unlimited amount of viewers in their room and each viewer will enjoy the same quality. Third, we are not trying to build the largest live video chat site, but the best. We do not just accept any models on the site that apply. Each model is carefully screened and they fit a special niche. They understand our value proposition and want to provide their viewers with the ultimate live streaming experience. To insure that each viewer will experience a state of the art show, each model is obligated to meet our minimum technology requirements. We have put together a fantastic team of models, who are beautiful and experienced live video chat models. They understand the value of traffic and are great at keeping the paying viewers in the room. AIL:Cutting to the chase, why start a cam site when there are many others already competing in this niche? XstreamFred: AIL: Why did you decide to develop your own sites versus simply licensing your technology to others? XstreamFred: Actually, we were at first going to license our technology to existing adult sites. However, after researching the industry thoroughly, we realized that we could really make a difference, providing a fresh and unique perspective in live video chat space. We are entrepreneurs at heart, we proved it during the dot com craze, and we felt that we had a lot more to bring to the table. We are confident that our own customer support, technical support, site capabilities, and management ability will make this venture a success. AIL: Coming from a non-adult industry background, how long did it take you to learn the industry and what were the most useful sources for you? XstreamFred: We did a huge amount of research but we are still learning about the industry. To give you an idea, we've been working on this company and the system for over a year now and we launched on 03/03/03. Thanks to YNOTMasters.com and the wealth of information on their site, we were able to research heavily the adult industry and strategize the launch of Xstreamists.com. The entire crew at YNOT is first class and they have been a great help to us. Once again thanks YNOT!! Rick, you were also very instrumental in helping us get moving with your legal advice as well as your knowledge of the industry. This saved us a lot of time. AIL: Your free membership concept is fairly unique. Can you explain why you decided to go in this direction and why do you feel it is the best approach? XstreamFred: Thanks. We realize that every player in the pay-per-view live video chat space has been selling "we have the best quality feed on the Net". So, to say that is really not a selling point anymore. Just putting it on your home page is just not good enough. We wanted to prove our value proposition. We want to put our viewers in a room with our models and have them experience the difference. So here is what we did: We make it very easy for viewers to sign up. After they give us some basic information, testify that they are adults and provide us with their email addresses (we do not require a credit card at this point in the sign-up process), we send them an activation email. When they activate their account we give them a 5-day free pass. This pass is good for 5 free 30-second previews every day for five days, with any of our models. To respect our paying members in the room we removed their chatting privileges. The viewers can see exactly what the model is wearing (or not), experience the quality of the feed but he cannot disturb the room, abuse the model or harass the paying viewers. So, it is a great medium for us to prove our value proposition without having to deal with freeloaders. It also entices our viewers to come back to the site to use their free preview tokens. AIL: Why should Webmasters promote Xstreamist.com versus the competition on their Web sites? XstreamFred: We are the "next generation" live video chat provider. Most Webmasters we've talked to are striving to provide their members with the best products available in the industry and the latest technologies. We are it!! There is not a more interactive and real- time platform out there today. They should sign up on the site and try the feed themselves. Then they should ask themselves, "If I was looking for a live show would I want to go on a platform that is pushing a jpeg image, where girls look like robots and the audio and video does not sink together? Or better yet would I want a live streaming solution where I have to wait 30 seconds for the model to respond to me?" I believe that most people would prefer the ultimate interactive / real-time platform. Our pledge to the Webmaster community is that we will provide their members with a friendly and secure environment where they can enjoy an incredible model leveraging the best in live streaming technology. AIL: With the free membership approach, how do you credit Webmasters promoting the site? XstreamFred: It is very simple. Our Webmasters receive a 20% commission on the gross sales receipts for any consumer that they refer to the site. AIL: After completing the first version of the site, was there anything that you wished you had known prior to starting the site? XstreamFred: I do not think we quite realized how hands-on and demanding a live platform is. But it is exciting. We need to get the word out and let people experience what a live session should really be like. AIL: Once you decided to do your own sites, what was your biggest surprise about the adult industry? XstreamFred: Coming from mainstream where you always keep your cards pretty close to your vest, we were very surprised that most people were easily accessible. AIL: Now that you have knowledge of the industry, what would you tell a person just getting into the business and why? XstreamFred: Four things: 1- Research as much as you possibly can. The information is available, you just need to take the time and read it. 2- Be original and bring something different to the table. 3- Go to the shows, talk to as many people as possible. Don't be afraid to ask questions. 4- Use the "double / double / half rule". After you have written your plan down on paper, look at it, step back and double the time, double the money and half the results. Then they will be a lot closer to reality. AIL: Where do you see the cam site niche heading in the next five years? XstreamFred: I think technology will keep evolving. Companies will have to strive to provide a better interactive experience. We see a marriage between live video and interactive toys. We see the viewers wearing devices where they will be able to feel the touch or the warmth of the models. We see the total experience, not just the video and audio part. We think we are at the infancy stage of it all and the company with the vision and resources to provide that experience will be positioned as the major player. AIL: What do you enjoy the most about being in the online adult industry? XstreamFred: Coming from the corporate mainstream side I like the bond that exists between people in the industry. I was really surprised at first at how friendly most people are. Don't get me wrong, we've met with some jerks along the way, but most people have been great!! AIL: What do you enjoy the least about being in the online adult industry? XstreamFred: The fact that a few bad apples can give us all a bad name and make it more difficult than it really needs to be. This market is extremely competitive and I appreciate that, but I just do not get some of the content out there. I guess what I ask myself is when my kids are older and they can understand what I do, do I want them to see the content that we are producing, and I think for us the answer is yes!!  This website and the materials
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