naaked.net - Beta Test & Announcement

[naaked_net]

Hey Cam Girls,
Hey Cam Boys,

In the past couple of months I have been working on a website (naaked.net) that lets cam girls and cam boys post pictures of themselves and earn money. naaked.net is currently still in a closed beta testing phase.

http://naaked.net/

The concept behind naaked.net is a little more community-oriented compared to traditional "live cam sites". Also, I am planning on implementing more features, such as a marketplace where models can sell items and perhaps one day I'll make it possible to post videos, although I like the idea of an image-only site.

Anyway, I am doing a launch giveaway and the first ten users who post at least ten nude pictures of themselves receive 200 Credits (=10 Euros).

http://beta.naaked.net/home/octobergiveaway

I am also working on adding Epoch, Paxum, CCBill or something similar. Currently only PayPal is supported, but I have heard that they are not very adult-friendly.

Please let me know what you think, I am more than willing to listen to your ideas and implement features as we go along.

 

[Rose]

I would caution doing any sort of payments on your site until something other than Paypal is approved. Maybe hold off on any soft launches for a bit.

 

[Sevrin]

How will you verify that people who sign up are posting pictures of themselves? Where's your 2257 statement?

 

[naaked_net]

@Rose
Yes, I am working on it. PayPal obviously is not optimal, but naaked.net is still under development (that's why I am doing the beta test I'm still trying to figure out which payment providers to implement. Epoch seems to be a good option, but they charge 500USD per year for credit card payments. I'd rather save the money and put it into development and implement more features. Any reasonable alternatives?

@Sevrin
Publishers are required to submit a valid ID and a photo with their ID held next to their face (as is common practice). Users are only allowed to post pictures once they have been verified. As for 2257: naaked.net is in the EU, and thus US law does not apply. However, naaked.net voluntarily implements 2257: http://beta.naaked.net/home/statement2257 .

 

[Myriads]

Saying Paypal is not optimal is like saying that the hole the iceberg punched in the Titanic is a 'minor issue'.

Paypal will discover you are an adult content customer and squish you without a second thought. And if your soft beta is balanced on Paypal being there it will get squished also.

You need another payment processor in place.

 

[naaked_net]

@Myriads
I understand and I will *completely* remove PayPal as soon as I have implemented at least one payment processor and one payout option. Paxum for payouts seems to be good for starters. And as for credit card payment, I am still exploring all the options and I have contacted some payment gateways. As I have mentioned, Epoch is currently not an option, maybe at some later point in time, although it probably does not matter to the end user which payment company is used as long as it's adult-friendly. It should not take more than a week to implement the new payment options as soon as the decisions have been made. (Of course, removing PayPal should not take more than a couple of minutes! )

Any other ideas on how I could make naaked.net more appealing and produce more interest for the site?

 

[AerynShade]

Honestly, you just told us that:
1. You have no idea how this industry works if you even for a moment thought Paypal was acceptable.
2. Might not be able to pay us since you don't even have $500 to spare to pay for a payment processor, which is, you know important to take in money to keep the site running.

A payment processor isn't something to scrimp on. This is our job. This is how we pay our rent, feed our cats, and pay for our Netflix subscriptions. There have been too many sites in the past couple of years run off with a lot of money from a lot of models. Show us a reason to trust you first. Otherwise, we can sell our own photos on the various sites we're already on.

 

[Rose]

Honestly, if you don't have money up front to start a site with the right payment processors, then I would reconsider this altogether, or at least hold off until you do. This WILL cost you money. It is impossible to start an adult site for free, so unless you have some amazing backers ready to throw down cash at all the requirements for a good, sustainable site, you had better be prepared to start forking over some cash to make your site decent. .

 

[AmberCutie]

Honestly, if you don't have money up front to start a site with the right payment processors, then I would reconsider this altogether, or at least hold off until you do. This WILL cost you money. It is impossible to start an adult site for free, so unless you have some amazing backers ready to throw down cash at all the requirements for a good, sustainable site, you had better be prepared to start forking over some cash to make your site decent. .

If OP feels that $500/year is anything more than a drop in the bucket, I wonder about their confidence about the site's success. It takes money to make money.

 

[naaked_net]

I never said that I don't have money to promote or develop the site. I am just saying that I don't have money to waste (nobody does, btw). Why should I spend $500/year on something that other companies offer for free? I think that would be a waste of cash that could be used in giveaways, for adding more features to the site, promoting the site, etc...

As for the whole PayPal discussion: I am dropping PayPal. (I think I already wrote that?!)

Look, I spent *MONTHS* developing naaked.net. And I already spent a lot of money on it. Perhaps I somehow thought that this community would be more open and helpful. Posting on naaked.net will not cost you anything, it's free, in fact I even offer a "Lauch Giveaway" as you can read in my initial forum post.

To answer the question about being able to trust me: I came here seeking advice, giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to this project and was hoping for some constructive feedback. I am an honest person. I am offering this for free. It would not take too much of your time to post a couple of photos and get the site going, meaning your financial risk is really fairly limited. And if you don't try it, you won't know - unless you tell me a better way for me to show you that I am trustworthy.

 

[Gen]

There is always a risk in uploading your ID and personal information to a new site. We don't know the owners or who has access to that info. Signing up to any site requires weighing risks vs benefits. For example, signing up to MFC has little risk (we know it's an established site through other's experience) with high potential benefit (it's got lots of paying traffic ). New sites are typically the opposite.

Anyway. This community is helpful in that it's full of experienced professionals who can help get your site on track, e.g. telling you not to use PayPal. But it also means you likely won't have models chomping at the bit to sign up for a site where you've stated you don't want to pay for a reputable payment processor.

People here are hard on wannabe site owners because we want good sites we trust to work for! If you look at the thread on Hush Hush Cams, the guy has been asked a million questions, been given a lot of feedback, and responded really positively. My advice is that being as professional & gracious (even to feedback you don't like) makes you look more trustworthy than just saying so.

 

[naaked_net]

Hi GenXoxo, yes, you are right and I understand that everybody is reluctant to upload their personal information to a new site. I am afraid that I am facing a dilemma here.

Perhaps it would help to give you a little background information about myself and my company. I have been working in the IT/entertainment/gaming industry since 2001, in the beginning mainly doing web development (that's what everybody did back in the days). In the past couple of years, my focus has shifted to the TV industry where I worked for literally every TV station in Central Europe and for some stations abroad. Why am I doing naaked.net? There are a couple of reasons, one of them certainly is my curiosity to try new things, another probably is my dissatisfaction with that I am doing now. As for the exact details and past projects, you are certainly very welcome to look at my companies' website which can be found in the footer at beta.naaked.net.

The community here has already been very helpful in mentioning the PayPal problem and I am working hard to implement a new payment provider. What I also wanted to say was that there are other *reputable* payment providers who don't charge extra money and as a business owner, I feel obligated to seek the best price to value ratio on the market. And seriously, I have worked with other payment providers in the past and I have never heard of anybody charging as much as $500 just for accepting Visa and MasterCard payments. That just seems like a rip-off to me and does not make Epoch any more reputable or trustworthy.

Ah, before I forget... let me give you some invitation codes for the beta test, so that you can at least look at naaked.net and paint your own picture (so to say). Registration is completely anonymous, you don't even have to submit an email address. beta.naaked.net.

A683A3-685873
ADBC49-0B0CEB
8BC8CD-9FDE09
0ECDA0-B37D73
889B6E-80DB84
F97826-9CED98
5A70E2-807F79
526AA1-E072AD
707CC8-9E2620
972A45-21E344

Seriously, I am more than willing to answer questions, share information, etc... So, thank you for your help!

 

[Sevrin]

The community here has already been very helpful in mentioning the PayPal problem and I am working hard to implement a new payment provider. What I also wanted to say was that there are other *reputable* payment providers who don't charge extra money and as a business owner, I feel obligated to seek the best price to value ratio on the market. And seriously, I have worked with other payment providers in the past and I have never heard of anybody charging as much as $500 just for accepting Visa and MasterCard payments. That just seems like a rip-off to me and does not make Epoch any more reputable or trustworthy.

So you are suggesting that all of the other established, successful sites that use Epoch, CCBill, are run by people who don't know what they are doing and happily throw money around unnecessarily? Epoch, in particular is popular, because they accept a lot of means of payment, unlike some others that only accept major credit cards, i.e., (iDeal (NL), UKash(epay, PayPoint.co.uk, Payzone.co.uk, Primera.nl), paysafecard(Kiosks, Outlets, Supermarkets), Switch/Solo (UK,SE), as well as Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Visa, Mastercard & Maestro.

 

[naaked_net]

No, that's not what I am suggesting. I am suggesting that there are cheaper alternatives and that money can be used wisely and does not have to be wasted. Also, I am in Europe and *prefer* using a European payment processor because it makes life a lot easier (and safer for everybody!!) for example when it comes to bank transactions and being able to pay out my customers. And frankly, that's all that I am going to say about this topic. You know, just because some people drive a Maybach doesn't mean that everybody has to. A Mercedes will do as well.

 

[naaked_net]

Now, please, please, please: If anybody has something constructive to say, I am again more than willing to listen!

 

[Teagan]

By constructive you mean us telling you something you wanna hear obviously. We mentioned Epoch because it is what WE trust. Not what is easiest (and cheapest) for you.

being able to pay out my customers

Also we are not your customers. Girls who would trust you and put pics on your site are working with you and for you. Therefore we would be your freelance employees. You pay us. Customers pay you.

 

[naaked_net]

By constructive I mean that I want to work WITH YOU to build a better site but my message does not seem to be coming through to you and I really don't know why. All I am asking for is some input. "What do you want to see on a new site? Is there anything that can be done to make it a better site? What is it that you don't like about existing sites?". But all I am getting from everybody is that I should throw the whole project in the bin because I don't want to use Epoch!? WTF, people?? You're not even looking at what I am offering...!

Let me also be clear about Epoch. This is where money is supposed to come in, and it has absolutely nothing to do with how money is paid out to you, this would be Paxum or perhaps Payoneer. So what is all the fuss about Epoch about anyway?? Money that doesn't come in can not be spent anyway, so what are your worries??

Btw, by customers I did not refer to anyone here, since I am seeking a payment solution for other projects as well. I am sorry, I did not want to insult you and of course I want to work with you!

Please know that I am taking your criticism very seriously, I already dropped PayPal support and I am looking for alternatives - there are many but it takes a little time! If nobody here wants to contribute in a positive way, I assume that everybody is happy with what they have got and I will move on, but that would not only be sad since I put a lot of time, energy and money into the project, but I believe it would also be a missed opportunity to create something new and unique. Not only for me, but for everyone here.

Also, how do you think that other sites started? Nobody had tens of thousands of models from the very beginning.

Now, it's up to you to decide. Support a start-up and help me create something *new and cool* or stick with what already exists. Your choice. Haters gonna hate.

 

[Teagan]

Right because since I do not support your start up I MUST be a hater. I couldnt possibly know what the hell i'm talking about instead and see how a site dedicated to pictures would be a complete and utter failure. WTF to yourself. Way to show how much you wanna work with people. How can you not see how your messages might be coming across wrong? Just HOW???

And lemme just inform you there are successful sites who already offer your new and cool idea as part of themselves and have for years who have traffic already and the picture part of their site has pretty much zero sales. Why? Cause there is a million bajillion gazillion pics to be found on the world wide interweb for free. There just is. A site dedicated to selling them is nothing new but more than that sites dedicated to them for free are in the hundreds and will outdo you any day of the week for that alone. You offer nothing new therefore can not compete. Hell follow the right bot on twitter and you can get pics sent to your phone even for nothing. You are not unique in any single way in any single use of that word.

You are not creating a new thing here. You created a wheel and I hate to break it to you but we already have those. Good advice I got long ago is do not go into business in a market when you are not bringing anything new or different into the field. If you do you will fail. So i'm sorry you put so much time/energy/money into this project however had you of done your research beforehand you would have known this. If you looked into it 10 years ago you would have known this even. Since you didn't i'm afraid you are gonna be sad.

 

[JoleneBrody]

WTF, people?? You're not even looking at what I am offering...!
.......................

Haters gonna hate.

You really need to take a step back and brew some professionalism tea. As a model I would not want to work with a company who's owner can't keep it together in the face of criticism and as the owner of a production company and management behind other reputable successful brands and websites... I would want nothing to do with your brand. You haven't dug yourself too deep here yet, you still have a chance to save face and if I were you I would jump on that save face wagon fast.

 

[AmberCutie]

But all I am getting from everybody is that I should throw the whole project in the bin because I don't want to use Epoch!?

Didn't say throw it in the bin, just that Epoch is worth the money since it is a trusted way for people to pay for adult content. But meh, you don't wanna, and that's fine. But you aren't getting much other feedback because your site isn't really new and innovative, it's just another site that hosts pics. I'm not a model for ManyVids, but I feel like they already have a platform for this on their site, but videos are clearly the focus because those are the real moneymakers in the biz.

 

[CharlotteLace]

Easy, tiger. Nobody's saying for you to give up on the idea. Everybody's just mentioned a giant red flag that you need to fix asap before anybody will take you seriously. Getting upset over really helpful advice just because it's not what you wanted to hear isn't doing you any favors.

But all I am getting from everybody is that I should throw the whole project in the bin because I don't want to use Epoch!? WTF, people?? You're not even looking at what I am offering...!

From what I can see, you're offering us the chance to post content that might benefit us, but will greatly help you in fleshing out your site. Correct? And the incentive is we might get 10 Euros from you, if we're the fastest to post nude pics? And fingers crossed we'd get those 10 Euros, despite you making it clear that you haven't quite worked out a way to pay us.

Where's the incentive, again? Your site sounds a bit like MyGirlFund, which is super difficult for most models to make money on (hence why you don't hear about it as much).

Think about it from our side. Why would we post free nude content when the majority of us charge for nude photosets/vids/etc.? Especially to a site that seems crippled from the start? (Seeing how you don't have traffic and aren't concrete on how to pay us). So yeah, you're going to get a bit of "wtf no" here.

Now, I'd like to see a new site that encouraged members to pay from the get-go. The more you emphasize free content, the harder it'll be to convince people to spend money later. Maybe a site dedicated to fan clubs, photo sets, etc. How could you make it more community based without live camming? Do you mean just having members and models interact, or members interact with other members? If you're looking for a community site, maybe figure out a way to have members interact with each other, too? People are more likely to stay on a site they have friends on. If it's only one-on-one interaction, you won't get the community vibe you're looking for. (Though this idea could backfire if you get a bunch of customers with a mob mentality playing favorites or trolling).

Would you have forums? Chat rooms? Something that's an active endeavor like that would make it easier to build a sense of community. If it's simply a content site and messaging service, well that's been done before.

 

[naaked_net]

Thank you, CharlotteLace! I am not getting upset because of the really very helpful advice, I am getting upset about people telling me to throw the project in the bin because I almost accidentally chose PayPal in the beginning.

I *have* worked out how to pay you, Paxum and/or Payoneer will certainly be implemented, that part is not the problem right now. PayPal is out of the picture, instead I am looking at some other providers that provide credit card payment services. But this is for people wanting to look at your pictures, tip you, etc, and not for paying you. This is also not where my incentive comes from, which comes from my bank account.

Now, the thing is that when you post nude content on naaked.net, you have the choice to charge money for it and the content will be obfuscated until somebody decides to pay you. So, no risk there. And that's what I meant when I said that nobody was looking at what I am offering in terms of not understanding what the site is about (but also in terms of listening and implementing your wishes).

naaked.net is already prepared to be more community-oriented. There is instant messaging, you can store your favourites/friends, etc... this is just the beginning and that's why I am asking the community to share their wishes and ideas with me. To create something different. You know, most new and innovative ideas need time and at least some external input.

So, please let's not talk about the whole Epoch thing anymore. I am sorry if my words came across rude, as I said, I just hoped for a little more enthusiasm and positive thinking and all I got was negative criticism. Kind of makes you freak out after months of hard work

Anyway, I am going to get some sleep now. Good night, everybody.

 

[CharlotteLace]

How about something that guaranteed credits/income just for uploading? Essentially you promise maybe 5 or 10 dollars for a small photo set, and the model's guaranteed that income? That's something that others don't do, and it'd be encouraging to get models to pay attention to your site. Maybe increase how much you'd pay if we can generate more traffic to the site?

Just thinking out loud here. I remember there have been some camsites that got their foot in the door by promising a guaranteed hourly to the first models who signed up.

Also, really take a look at MyGirlFund. All the things you're mentioning are things they already do.

 

[swagger]

As a potential member, what are our benefits to becoming a member? Currently, aside from all the free pics and vids that exist all over the internet, if I am interested in seeing pics from a cam model, typically I can buy those photo sets directly from her on MFC, and converse with her directly there as well, what is it that you add that I currently am not getting from my current providers?

 

[Rose]

Sounds like MyPornProfile is already doing pretty much everything your site is, but they've been around longer. What would you do to stand apart? They have a phone app that I get paid to use. No other site has that, so what's your selling factor to make you stand out?

 

[fandango]

although I like the idea of an image-only site

As a member I would be extremely underwhelmed by a site that only offers pictures. This seems like the kind of site you would expect from the very early days of the internet.

Also you haven't made clear what the "community" aspect is that you mention, maybe this would be you USP and make you stand out from the crowd. As it stands I dont see anything you offer that isnt available elsewhere and for free so why should I pay you anything?