3: Talk about the sin city live sex stuff.
Answer
Founded in 1997, Amsterdam-based InterClimax (
www.interclimax.com) specializes in live video feeds and interactive content. ?Differentness? has been the company?s goal from the start. To take Amsterdam?s storied sex industry live into cyberspace.
At the time, the concept alone was different enough, but the company didn?t stop there. Today InterClimax operates more than 50 studios around the world and provides powerful content to affiliates and licensees that include some of the biggest names in the business. Many of those companies could afford to establish their own Amsterdam presences, yet they choose to use InterClimax content.
Why?
The secret is hard work, having a loyal and smart team of workers who all understand that we have to go that extra mile to keep our customers happy. We have regular discussions in our offices about where the technologies will go and what will happen with billing in one or two years from now. InterClimax also customizes our feeds to fit our partners needs.
We have made many ?different? decisions in the past, For example, four years ago we stopped recurring billing. This was replaced with ?lifetime memberships. Other companies then followed us. Time and again it has been seen that ?copycats? are always following us with our ideas. I take that as a compliment!
InterClimax is all about live content and technology. We are proud of what we have accomplished, including pushing the boundaries of the Internet. Our latest site update now gives the possibility for members to have their very own Webcam streamed online. This means that the models can now see the member during a ?gangchat? or a private session as well as the member seeing the model in real time.
The company?s bi-directional live-feed technology recently gave rise to a new service that?s available to affiliates and licensees. Called i2i, the product ?gives the user the ability to plug his Webcam into his computer and, without downloading anything, he can be viewed by the model and other site members. That makes the community even bigger, because you have people watching and interacting with each other in real time.
The Internet is like a treasure hunt, You never know if you?ll find something valuable, but once you catch the gold, you treasure it like your baby. This is the way we treasure our business partners ? and our models, too. The result is a business with more than 60 employees, 250 models online daily, and Webmasters who continually use our feeds. We are fully customer-serviced 24/7 for both members and our studios alike.
Today the marketing aspect is the hardest part. We?ve been looking at fresh ways to advertise via different media: television, newspapers, Internet radio, Internet shows, and mainstream magazines. We?ve developed software that makes it possible to stream directly via the Internet to television offering up to 25 frames per second. We see this technology has great potential in other markets and not only within the adult market. InterClimax broadcast our own television show within the Netherlands last year. It was shown every night for two months and now can be found at Webcamgirls.nl. This was an in-depth, fly-on-the-wall look at our models; how they live and work. The show was a great success for all concerned and brought us quite a bit of new exposure. Just advertising on the Web isn?t enough these days.?
InterClimax is making more profit than ever before, and we will keep growing. In our business, you have to be strong to prove you are a real business and not just a bunch of porn farmers. The newbies keep us going, bringing fresh blood and new ideas into the industry.
What does the future hold for a progressive company that continually pushes the envelope? InterClimax?s principals are tight-lipped about specifics: We will soon integrate our streaming technologies to be used by cellular phones and other compatible consumer devices.
My opinion
The only way you can make money in our industry now is by introducing something new and unique. If you don?t, you don?t stand a chance.
The sex industry will always stay with us to the end, but to survive we have to have a good image so end-users will trust us. We have to have more imagination and ambition so we can drive the technology faster and faster. The people who drive the industry the right way will be around for a long time, and we at InterClimax are going to be one of those companies.