Perhaps the greatest invention of this century is the yellow sticky. All the computer capability I have at my disposal does not compare to the quick referencing efficiency of those gummy slips of paper. Still, there are situations when a computer is the better choice for organizing information.

I’ve found that a spreadsheet, in combination with some well-organized bookmarks, does a great job in organizing all my affiliate account information. A local web site (not on-line) helps me document all the information related to web hosting accounts, credit card processors, SQL admin accounts, and domain registrars. And an elaborate system of searchable Email archives helps me organize all kinds of other information.

When the yellow stickies start overlapping each other, it might be time to think about moving some of that information into a more structured environment. I know…it takes time out of your busy day to stop and organize things, but its well worth the effort. A few hours of organizational work goes a long way toward streamlining that daily grind.

Today Lee, of Gay Wide Webmasters, announced an interesting contest that gives $350 in prizes to any Webmaster or SEO who can take their page to #1 for the search term “JeeDubDub”. Webmasters are encouraged to “get there any way you can to win a prize.” Early indications suggest webmasters are doing just that as JeeDubDub.com and other domain names have already been scooped up, and dozens of free hosting accounts such as blogger.com have been taken.

The contest announcement went out this afternoon to all the usual news sources and to everyone on the GWW mailing list. Industry sources tell me they expect the contest will attract a large segment of the webmaster population, and that it’s a brilliant move on Lee’s part.

Kudos to Lee!

This is one of many articles I’ll post for those of you interested in producing your own content. My focus will be more on working with the models and equipment, than dealing with the legal (2257) stuff.

Unless you plan to dress the model from your own wardrobe collection, he needs to know what he should be wearing, or what clothes he should bring to the shoot. This is everything including sox and underwear.

A model needs to understand he may be asked to remove jewelry, including piercings. Make sure you resolve any issues with this before scheduling a shoot.

Tell the model to avoid wearing any reflective material, as this will cause problems when using a flash. And make sure the model does not wear anything with corporate branding on it, such as a T-shirt or hat that promotes a commercial product or organization.

Any webmaster with a large site or a lot of smaller sites eventually has a need for a sophisticated search and replace tool. You will find a variety of packages out there that will do this. I researched a bunch of them and decided “Advanced Find and Replace” best fit my needs. One nice feature of this package is you can set it up to do multiple changes in one pass.

From what I can see, all these packages come with a bit of a learning curve, and this package is no exception. The help files are poorly written and some cool features are not even documented. But with some careful reading and a lot of experimentation, you can master its power.

One tip on using these packages. Always work from a copy, so your original files are still in tact. It’s very easy to make a mistake, so don’t work with the master copy.

First I’d like to thank Jack for his comments on my first post concerning his new blog. More important I’m pleased he read my post as constructive criticism.

Jack Mardack’s blog gets my attention, because I believe in, and strongly support, what he is trying to accomplish. His goals are timely and essential to the long-term health and survival of this industry.

That said, I still have some concerns about the DotXXXblog…

The one downside of a blog is that important information quickly finds its way into the shadows of its archives. For this reason, some information needs to be more static than chronological. A mission statement is one of those documents that need to remain static. Static in that it is always visible, as apposed to never changes. I don’t see anything wrong with updating a mission statement as a project evolves and matures. In fact, it’s done all the time, and there are mechanisms for documenting revisions.

The blog’s name, and much of its early content, masks the broader goal. In the greater scheme of things, the dotXXX TLD issue is just a bump in the road. It’s a symptom, not a cause. It does not define the big picture goals I believe Jack hopes to achieve. As such, DotXXXblog restricts and confines the long-term initiative, and brands the project with a narrow scope.

I desperately want this project to thrive, but I worry its big picture goals will be lost on those that drop in.

I usually advise webmasters to stay away from fetish niches unless they are into the fetish. If you don’t walk the walk and talk the talk consumers of the fetish will spot you as a fake immediately. I take exception to that rule when it comes to foot fetish.

The foot fetish consumer has interests beyond just looking at feet. While they do enjoy sites that are focused on feet, consumers with a foot fetish also like the mainstream content. All they ask is that you show them the feet.

Producers have traditionally overlooked feet when shooting their models, but this is changing. In the past couple of years a lot of producers have learned the importance of catering to the foot lovers. We are now seeing more full body shots and more foot close-ups in newer works. More attention is also given to capturing the model taking off his shoes and sox, a big turn on for foot lovers.

The foot fetish market is surprisingly large and ravenous, so it pays to acknowledge their demands. This does not mean you need to get into publishing foot fetish sites. Just pay more attention to the content you select for mainstream sites, and make sure to include a statement, in the sales pitch, that you are “foot fetish friendly.”

Yesterday I was reading an XBIZ article on Jack Mardack’s new DotXXXblog.com. The underlying tone suggests Mardack’s new blog is a mouthpiece for his belief this industry needs to improve its image. In an earlier article Mardack equates his fervor to the mainstream transformation of the gambling industry in Las Vegas.

It appears he is trying to create an environment that facilitates, what he refers to as, “an industry reformation.” More simply put, he wants the conduct of people in this industry to get in line with more traditional mainstream business practices. The end goal being to legitimize the industry, much as Las Vegas did with gaming. And he hopes this new blog will offer at least one mechanism for achieving that goal. If that’s where he’s going with this, I’m all for it.

The problem is you can’t find anything at his new blog that explains its intention. Instead it implies you are just supposed to “figure it out.” Figure what out? All I find are a bunch of documents apparently related in some way to the dotXXX TLD concern. He’s not tying things together, or explaining the importance of anything presented there. What’s with that September 11 post, “The three banners are fused into one image — and given an interesting file name?” I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy, but I’m sorry, I just don’t get it.

If Jack Mardack wants to be successful with this project, he’s going to need some better packaging. I could be wrong, but my guess is most people will leave scratching their head in confusion. Frankly, I doubt visitors will stay awake long enough to figure out they can’t figure it out.

In the past couple of years we have heard predictions that AVS is on the endangered species list. While it has not happened as quickly as some predicted, I do believe the prognosis for AVS is grim.

Early indicators were the drastic change in structure at Adult Check, dropping of the middle page bonus program at UGAS, and the obvious down sizing in Tri-Tech staff including the departure of a key manager. Another strong indicator is the recent redesign at MANcheck that shifts focus toward new products. In a nutshell, there is a general downsizing and retooling going on within the AVS industry.

I have never been good at predicting time lines, but if you have all your eggs in the AVS basket I’d suggest a diversification strategy is in order. Start thinking about how your business would be structured if AVS were out of the picture. Sooner or later this may be a reality.

Those that do not look ahead get left behind.

I felt like I should say something today, but others have said it better…

A site dedicated to the lovers who awaken each morning without their Gay patriot & hero beside them…Gay Victims & Heroes

World Trade Center Photos offers this moving flash video

Photos from around the world by world-memorial.org

The Free Speech Coalition has put together a letter-writing campaign in opposition to the proposed dotXXX TLD. From their web site you can send a prewritten opposition letter, modify the letter, or write a completely new one. All letters will be sent to the FSC for presentation to ICANN later this month. If you have already registered your opposition at Fightthedotxxx.com there is no need to submit a letter from the FSC web site.

http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/xinfo.htm