What has camming taught you?

[brooklynnexo]

Hi everyone!
I'm new to the forums & new to camming. I did a search and didn't find anything quite like this topic but forgive me if I missed something. Anywho - I'm in my 4th week on MFC (Brooklynnexo) and currently making much more $$ than I thought I would. Yay! But more than that, I've come to find out that camming is forcing me to learn a TON of other skills, too. I'm in grad school right now (hence the decision to cam in the 1st place) for Marketing and I'm finding out I'm learning SO MUCH about marketing (and selling!) being on MFC.

I think it'd be interesting to hear some stories from you ladies about what you've learned camming. Tech skills? How to hustle? That you look totally sexy from behind (check!)?

I'll start. In just 4 weeks, I have learned how to edit iMovies, use Dropbox and MediaFire, design some of my own graphics in Photoshop, NOT give up on myself (this is a biggie!), send packages internationally, film HD video, BE ACCOUNTABLE, that I'm way more creative than I thought (and way hotter on camera than I could have imagined), men aren't interested in one "type" of woman and there's SO MANY people out there (some totally kookoo, but others, pretty cool!)

I spent about 4 months working as a temp copywriter at one of the largest e-commerce retailers in the world and I'm telling you, I've learned more about business and marketing in my 4 weeks camming than I ever did there!

Anybody else care to share? And I'm so glad to have found Amber & this forum!
XO

 

[Evvie]

I believe that there are two important (and kind of meta) things that camming teaches lots of models.

They are autodidactism and self-employment.

There is (as far as I am aware) no course you can take on "how to be a cam model". Unless you sign with a studio that does absolutely everything for you, the average model is going to have to learn a lot of skills from scratch. I am going to wager that many successful models have not only learned new skills, but they have learned how to learn new skills without formal instruction. I have met a few people in my life who absolutely do not understand the concept of tackling a new skill by Googling the key words and going from there. I think it is very valuable to learn how to hash some education on the Internet, and also to gain the confidence that if you need to learn how to do something, you can do it on your own. I dare say that many women learned how to be a good model not by taking classes on sexual energy and acting, but by sitting at home watching live models perform. I believe camming is an excellent environment to teach a person how to teach themselves things, because learning new skills is necessary, but there is no formal instruction given.

The second point may seem a little redundant, but here is what I mean: I believe that the average person who works at a regular job with a boss vastly overestimates his or her own ability to work every day without a boss there to threaten them.

Just speaking from my own life, not working has always had negative consequences. If I didn't do my chores, my parents would lock me in the closet of punishment; if I didn't do my homework, my parents would lock me in the closet of disappointment; if I didn't mop the floors at the restaurant I worked at, I would get fired; if I didn't complete my college coursework, I may let down my classmates or even get kicked out of class by my professors. But when it comes to camming, so what if you skip a day? So what if I take a little longer on that custom video? So what if I don't feel like working for five hours? So what if I want to take another break? I can always make up the work later, I can afford to take another day off, he won't mind if his video is a little late (it's not like I gave him a timeframe, anyway).

Learning how to be your own boss and do work even if you don't NEED to do work is a skill that I think is super duper important for lots of people to learn, and something that cam models face all the time.

 

[southsamurai]

i know this post was intended for models to answer, but i gotta stick my nose in

i never ceased to be amazed at the amount of skill, brains and time it takes to be a good cam model.
the business sense to run it at a profit, the people skills to get and maintain clientele, the end user computer skills to produce and distribute content. thats just brushing the surface imo. mad kudos to all of you!

 

[Aella]

Because of camming, I learned how to mime, ride a unicycle almost, do handstands, play an accordion, and how to function while baking and smashed.

 

[SpookyGirl]

Camming has actually taught me a great deal about pushing business and making profits. It is something that I enjoy doing as an activity but I'm very goal oriented. Funny enough, I'm able to place the similar business techniques with my photography. It's helped me make the leap into becoming a paid photographer. I figure if I'm comfortable enough charging people to watch me dance around naked then I can charge people for the time and energy I put into making photographs.

 

[Camille13]

It's teaching me that I am not afraid.
This last year I have had some huge life lessons, and due to some less than stellar experiences when I was growing up, I was always damn afraid of everything.


Camming has taught me to have fun, not to be scared, and that only you can let people hurt you.

Also, if you don't decide to find assholes funny camming probably isn't for you.

Also, a silly one.... years on from high school and incorrect grammar still pisses me off. Sometimes I want to tell members, here is the answer to your question, but please spell like this next time.

Incurable nerd I'm afraid!

 

[LaceyRoyce]

I learned I have a sexy butt.

 

[Camille13]

You do indeed Miss Lolli.

I sent a guy who was looking for the spanks to you the other day.


He was asking for a recommendation, and i was like, well miss lollipop is the sexiest on I can think of right now!

 

[curvyredhead]

They are autodidactism and self-employment.

This!

 

[mynameisbob84]

I believe that there are two important (and kind of meta) things that camming teaches lots of models.

They are autodidactism and self-employment.

There is (as far as I am aware) no course you can take on "how to be a cam model".

There are however, a series of popular Youtube tutorials :dance:

 

[IsabellaSnow]

That men are completely simple.....

Lol joking!

I think a lot of what I learned most with camming was how men and people worked, it gave me a different perspective on things. I became more wary and less responsive to mens attention in real life, which I think actually helped me in general. In real life I'm very friendly/nice to people, I 'flirt' with girls more than I flirt with guys, but men tend to take it the wrong way, since camming I am more bitchy, sadly being ruder and bitchier to men has improved my life.

Other things about men, what a lot of men find attractive, just how many people find feet sexy, the variations in different people.

I think also after camming I would be able to make a transition into doing sales fairly easily.

 

[LadyLuna]

That I have a thicker skin than I thought when it comes to being insulted directly, and yet implied insults hurt even more because I can't be *sure* that it was an insult.

How to kick my own ass, both literally and figuratively.

A bit about video editing. A lot about lighting for videos and photos. A lot about the webcam settings (things like white balance, gain, and contrast). That if it exists, someone will find it sexy (I knew that there had to be porn of it somewhere, cause of rule 34, but just because there's porn of it doesn't mean anyone will ever actually pay for it).

That I really do just like to serve people.

 

[Rose]

That saying "no" to ANYONE isn't going to kill me. It is just a word and that it is an excellent means to voice my wishes.

 

[Nordling]

That saying "no" to ANYONE isn't going to kill me. It is just a word and that it is an excellent means to voice my wishes.

And I'd like to say "yes" to your new avatar. Very "movie starrish" looking.

 

[Jessi]

- How to have a thicker skin
- Communication skills
- Negotiating
- That I'm not the homely flub I thought I was
- Self discipline

Somewhat related,
Financial planning, money management, and long-term goal setting.

 

[brooklynnexo]

This has all been so great to read. It seems everybody takes away something different, but it honestly all sounds like good stuff to me!

OH, and below...IS PERFECT. I am a recovering people pleaser and I'm learning the same thing. It's amazing, really!

That saying "no" to ANYONE isn't going to kill me. It is just a word and that it is an excellent means to voice my wishes.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

-
- That I'm not the homely flub I thought I was

Somewhat related,
Financial planning, money management, and long-term goal setting.

homely? :? . One of the reasons I want to be reincarnated as hot girl in my next life, is so I can finally understand how beautiful woman can perceive themselves as ugly.

 

[ChandraChicky]

That I am way more bad-ass than I give myself credit for, and I have a much thicker skin than I initially thought. Also, how to just let go.

The first is honestly something my husband was worried about. I get the random "Bitch you need to eat fewer cupcakes." I usually respond now with a smile, a "You are SO right. I need fewer carbs and douchebags,' and ban-hammer their happy ass without question. My regs get pissed for me, but I just let it go and have fun. I've learned that it isn't worth dealing with idiotic trolls, and that I should be proud of my body, flaws and all. MFC has taught me to be very real and true to myself. The nights when I am myself are the best.

Letting go has always been a problem for me. I always second guess my abilities as a businesswoman, as a performer, as someone people would like to look at. Since I've started camming, this second-guessing has gone to the wayside and now feels like an idiotic thought I can't remember conjuring.

Self empowerment for the win

 

[Rose]

Oh, here's one that I didn't think camming would teach me: the value of someone's opinion.

Specifically that there is only one opinion of my body that holds any value and that's my doctor's. Apparently camming has taught me that opinions (not facts) are completely meaningless and that I'm not going to die by not giving them any mirth, unless I want to. :dance: This and the "no" thing have been incredibly liberating in my life as a whole.

 

[SatanJonez]

• • People are stupid & will blame other people for their own mistakes a lot
  • The only opinion of my body that matters is mine because everyone sees it differently and therefore it's pointless to try to please everyone
  • How to hold off on cumming, although this isn't useful/needed in my real life sexy time
  • What positions flatter my body type and what positions do not
  • How to socialize nicely with other people, at least on the internet
  • How totally awesome I am
  • How much I occasionally like things in the pooper
  • That my large feet with the monkey toes attached are actually appreciated by a group of people & indeed are nothing to be ashamed of