There are no more webmasters...

[Hell Puppy]

One thing that really kinda stood out for me at Cybernet, and the previous couple of shows as well, is that the traditional "webmaster" is dead.

What do I mean by traditional webmaster? I'm talking about the guys who make a living in this business without a separate day job. Guys who work for themselves only and derive their income from the adult web.

Most of the guys doing that you meet now have a day job or some other action on the side. Nothing at all wrong with that, but it's just a sign that the little guy is getting squeezed out slowly unless he wants to relegate it to a hobby.

Now this is not to say that there are NONE out there doing it, there are still some who make millions with domains or other sources of major traffic, but they are few in number now.

[softball]

This business has been populated with part timers for years.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

This business has been populated with part timers for years.

Ones that cant even spell html looking to be a program rep.

Whats up with that head?

[Toby]

I guess I'm part of a dying breed.

[softball]

Originally Posted by Toby

I guess I'm part of a dying breed.

This is a last man standing kind of thing. Try running content sites as a full time business. Not sure which would be harder to accomplish, content or traffic.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

This is a last man standing kind of thing. Try running content sites as a full time business. Not sure which would be harder to accomplish, content or traffic.

Traffic...

The free traffic sources are all but gone, that's what has killed so many. It now takes some talent, skills and hard work to make it. If anyone were asking me about starting out now, I'd advise them that if they're gonna do it fulltime, they're likely going to need a paysite or two in their repotoire. That's the only way you can really still control your own destiny.

Either that or you've got to score with something that generates some decent traffic and be VERY VERY good at filtering it.

[shall]

Originally Posted by Toby

I guess I'm part of a dying breed.

Hey Yo!

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by Toby

I guess I'm part of a dying breed.

And I can guess the secret to your success....you work at it and work hard.

I think the bulk of them have fallen off as the effort level to make money has gone up.

[gr8expectations]

Great thread.

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

And I can guess the secret to your success....you work at it and work hard.

Of course I am pretty new, and just making some small change, but I have found for me at least, working hard tends to pay off better than looking for easy fixes. I blog mostly, but the quick and easy ones I have set up don't make me shit, the sites I pour my labor into tend to do much better.

Something that I find very interesting is that the sites that have some of the hugest traffic these days have the users creating and supplying their content for them. The new kids call it Web 2.0....I call it community.

You must be referring to myspace and facebook, etc. If so I boycott those sites for that exact reason, smart as it may be, they a profiteering off the average user that knows not how to build a site of their own. Great buisness plan, but...ah I degress. I hate those sites.

Could it be that less and less of us full time people are attending shows, while a lot of newbies/part timers are there trying to figure things out?

Yup, been at this part time for a year, just made it to my first show...barely. I plan on hitting more shows though. I see profits growing almost monthly, but untill I can rationalize quitting the day job, it's a non issue. I don't consider this a hobby though. I will continue to work untill I can go full time. I tease frinds about how they squander their free time, while they do nothing I am making revenue. But yes, I am still trying to figure things out.

Dial it back about 10 years and I am right there with you.

Hell, dial it back 2, that is when I first learned what HTML meant. A dedicated person can grow quickly, I started learning HTML and a little programming, graphics, etc.

Do I have ambitions, yes. Do I need to be rich? not really. I asked my mother the other day how many hours of her life were spent "on the clock" well, it is a whole fucking lot. I'm not looking to live like that. Yeah I spend a whole lot of time writing and posting, but somehow it feels different...maybe I just found my niche so to speak.