Webmaster's Corner

Interview with Robbo

DFN: This week's interview is with Robbo.

Lets get the real basic stuff first...
Robbo My name is Robbo, I'm 37 and I live in the New York, USA.

DFN: How or why did you pick your nick?
Robbo Well my real name is Rob and the board I first started posting on Thorn was taken. I actually took it from a guy I use to work with that always said "Robbo, Robbo". I hope he did`nt get it from some cheesy movie or something.

DFN: How often do you try new building ideas, or using new sponsors?
Robbo I`m more on a weekly schedule in that respect nowadays. The NPOW`s keep me going on one hand and then all the light bulbs that went off I try to incorporate into new sites and ideas. The more I learn the more new ideas I can come up with. In todays adult market I think it`s critical to keep trying new things and diversifying ones interests. I`ve been trying more new sponsors lately as many of my old standbys are drying up like the deserts of Asia! But there are others turning on in their place. The more you build the more you find need for new and different sponsors.

DFN: And how often do you build new sites?
RobboI try to build new free sites every few days. With all the mirrors, gallery spinoffs and submissions I seem to stretch it out a bit and keep my bandwidth usage in check. As of late much of my time has been taken up by my one year old daughter but optimally I like to be building everyday. Even if just a part of something. And the search engines are always ready to accept a submission! ;)

DFN: How many hours a week are you able to put into your business?
Robbo That is something that always varies. But I usually put in a minimum of 20 hours a week. It`s been as high as 80 or 90 hours per week. In the real world I am a record producer and recording engineer and when I`m doing that it usually takes up every available moment. But with my families recent cross country move there will be less music and more porn to cum! Once my wifes new work schedule smooths out I`ll be turning on the steam again.

DFN: Do you do everything by hand? or do you use some scripts to automate your work?
Robbo Hi my name is Robbo and I am a reformed wysiwyg editor addict! LOL I`m proud to say I code everything by hand as far as html goes. Javascipt I`ll copy and paste and do minor edits but that about all so far. For now I do all my submitting by hand. Fortunately I`ve taken some great organizational advice that really helps me speed the process. But I`ve about reached the point where perhaps a gallery builder or autosubmitter of some sort would probably help me out. Some things I need to learn more about anyhow. The only script I use to date runs my toplists.

DFN: Do you have any tips for us on how you stay focused and organized working for yourself?
Robbo Organization is not much a problem for me. It`s the focusing part! LOL It`s not easy wearing as many different hats as I often do but the desire is there to succeed in a business of my own creation. It`s such a rewarding thing to manifest something from nothing! And by relying on my webmastering as a part of my income the incentive is there for a kick in the ass when needed.

DFN: Can you touch on how and why you got involved into this industry, and how long you have been doing it?
Robbo Interestingly enough I signed up with my first sponsor on 9/9/99. My wife got a computer that year and up until that time they were nothing more to me than big video games. Otherwise I was ... what do they call it...that big word they call people who are against technological advance when they are really just concerned about it`s applications. Anyhow being me if I think it could pose a threat down the road I will become a master at it as well! But my real goal was to get that box paying for itself and getting my ass a piece o web! Not long after it became evident that there was money to be made in the adult web. And it can be a very fun and challenging process.

DFN: Can you give a brief background on your history in this business, and where do you see yourself in one year and several years from now?
RobboI started out making free sites and galleries on free hosts with a web page editor that was butchering my pages as much as I was the sites. Eventually most all of them disappeared or went under and having had enough I made the logical jump to paid hosting. I had been lurking around Voltar and it was at that time I finally de-lurked and started getting more serious about all this. That`s been just over two years now and I`ve just been cranking out the sites and galleries. I`ve just recently reached a point of looking at the next possible avenues for my business. My toplists were one step. In the years ahead I hope to have kept growing exponentially. Not to say I don`t set goals but I tend to keep a very open approach to things. Taking the best roads each day as they come and trying to accept the natural progressions in life rather than forcing preconceived ones. Besides with the wealth of new things to learn and tackle the sky is the limit. You just have to keep flapping your wings!

DFN: What area in terms of site building do you specialize in, if any?
Robbo I hesitate to pick a specialty just yet. After all I am my own worst critic! But my toplist game has been coming along nicely and my free sites and galleries becoming more effective.

DFN: What do you consider to be your strengths in this business?
Robbo My creativity and determination have been my greatest assets so far. My focus has been shifting toward networking more and staying open to learning.

DFN: What do you consider your 3 best niches?
Robbo I`d have to say shemales and bbw have been my best niches so far and I am undecided on a third. But it is something that fluctuates alot for me. Like they say the net ebbs and flows.

DFN: What is the best advice you were given when you were first getting started in this industry and what advice could you give a newbie just starting out these days?
RobboI`ve been fortunate to get alot of great advice made possible only by the people that make up this community. But some of the best advice is to get your own paid hosting and learn to hand code! The former pays for itself and the latter takes all of two days! To a newbie generally I would say be patient, remain teachable and approach it professionally as a business. Done correctly time and experience will take care of the rest.

DFN: What do you think the worst thing going on with future of our industry right now? ...and what is the best?
Robbo Did someone already say the proliferation of free porn and escalating site requirements. That`s something that started a ways back and has had me clawing up the money tree ever since. It does`nt make it easy on even the most serious newbie. I respect each individual but also see the big picture. Fortunately one of the better trends is a shift by some in the opposite direction. A realization of the fact. Admission is the first step to recovery. That and the fact that mainstream media now goes niche to target audiences which I think helps break in potential customers for us. They`ve seen porn work so they bring it to the masses in their palatable formats. Then when the masses get online they are all ours!

DFN: Any additional insight you would like to give on being an adult webmaster?
Robbo Keep building forward and always backup!

DFN: And finally... do you have a URL you want to plug?
Robbo Sex Nexus