A subscription picture gallery to view an escort's pics?

[Guest TomBuStone]

A sincere THANK YOU to everyone who offered their suggestions both publicly and privately to my previous posting. (RE: Should I change my policies regarding releasing my pictures and about requiring a phone conversation b4 hooking up). I found it illuminating and helpful.

 

I am now considering creating a new website to include a picture gallery which, for a small fee, would allow for folks to see what I look like (face, X and all). My thinking is that this would allow me to retain control of my visual property and allow potential clients to view my images without risk of worrying about the image being discovered on their computer by their boyfriend, wife, lover, computer tech, boss etc (a very real problem).

 

It occurs to me also that there are guys out there who for a variety of reasons can't see me in person (situationally, geographically or financially) and that something like this would afford them an option of sorts. I am thinking that $19.95 / month for an all you can view gallery would be a small price to pay for any reasonably qualified client..

 

I'd be very interested to hear feedback on this from both clients and escorts alike. I'd be escpecially interested to hear from any escorts who have engaged this type of system themselves on their own site.

 

Thanks and I look forward to your responses.

 

Tom BuStone

TomBuStoneXXX@aol.com

415-256-6743

[NY Observer]

I am confused by this concept. You wanted to protect your identity, but now you are willing to sell it? This is quite inconsistent. I thought that the reason you didn't want your pictures on the internet was reasonable, but an expensive subscription to make some money is ok? I, for one, am not the least bit interested.

[CT Dick]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-00 AT 09:12PM (EST)[p]Nope!

 

I do pay for sites with good pix but I wouldn't pay to see a prospective escort's pictures.

 

I want the pictures to help me make up my mind; they are like advertising. You offer them to me to convince me that you are the one I should hire.

[Guest albinorat]

NY Observer, I think we've been had. I took him seriously too first time around -- assumed he was a shy lad with stars in his eyes and hopes for an appointment to the Supreme Court, at least as Sandra Day O' Connor's cunilinguist and thus dare not bear his face. I fantasized a nice blond face, twinkly eyes and a modest dick with a roughed tip and ribbon.

 

But he wants to charge $19.95. For what? That is what most ISPs charge. Maybe this fellow thinks he can connect us to the Milky Way or something. I can't believe somebody would think a couple of pix of their face and body would be worth that much (even a couple of hundred pix). Most pay sites don't charge that much and those that do offer lots of entertainment (though most aren't worth it and don't ask me how I know, my accountant lurks here).

 

You can go to e-groups and join about 1000 clubs for free and see EVERYTHING disgusting but great looking humans can get up to. You can hit the Yahoo clubs for free, ditto, ditto. If you're on MSN you can go to their web sites and -- TREMBLE -- at some of the stuff freely on display there. (I'm doing research I'm not really interested in anything of an erotic nature). And this ONE GUY wants to CHARGE a small 'net fortune just for HIM. Does he have a donkey at least?

 

Al

[Michael]

I agree with the other comments.

 

As an escort your web site is primarily there to advertise your services - that's just part of your cost of doing business. Whether or not you provide pictures of yourself and, if so, what kind of pictures is entirely up to you. You will be able to judge the effectiveness of your advertising by the number of paying clients that it gets you.

 

You may also choose to use your web site to sell goods as well as your services - that's fine too. However for $19.95 a month most people are going to expect a *significant* quantity of original content - just look at what other web sites are providing - BadPuppy only charges $14.95 a month and they have a *lot* of content.

[Guest TomBuStone]

Wow...

 

Well, now I know more about what goes through people's minds about this stuff. I honestly DON'T know what people charge for this kind of stuff, because I don't sit around on my PC all day long looking at it.

 

I am not trying to deceive anyone.. what I am thinking is a way to allow people who want to see what I look like who may be interested in hiring me to view more revealing pics of me. I would create a small hurdle to keep away the legions of pic traders and those who would capitalize on my images by posting them on THEIR websites. (that's already happened to some of my pics I found out..) I feel that if anyone is going to make money from my images, why SHOULDN'T it be me?

 

I felt that some of the reasons that people voiced for seeing images ahead of time were valid and I am attempting to construct a compromise that works. Apparently it has offended those who need an unending supply of cheap or free porn to view.

 

It is more important to me that my images be protected from being copied and disseminated indiscriminantly on the web by the general public than for me to charge for them, but a site that would make this possible costs something to maintain.

 

Note: I HAVE researched enough to find at least one escort who offers photo albums on his site using this technology. His site is http://www.ganero.com/ It would appear that he charges $25.00 for a digital photo album of 6 pictures (No nudity).

 

My sensitivity to this issue has been heightened by the fact that I have recently discovered that I was secretly videotaped while doing an outcall at a client's home. (Another escort recently phoned me and advised the situation..happened to him, too). It seems that the hunger for images is so great that some folks will resort to whatever it takes to satisfy the demand.. I am unsure of any legal rights I might have in this situation (if any), but the whole experience has left me quite uncomfortable.

 

I am genuinely interested in positive and constructive feedback to the topic posted. If you have real suggestions that are workable with regard to the pricing, technology, or any ALTERNATE solutions that you think would work (or if you find that what I propose in principle is TRULY offensive) I would love to hear more. <smile>

 

Thank you again.

 

Tom BuStone

[+ Lucky]

Well, apparently this guy didn't fell he got enough attention with his first post. I don't mind at all the participation of the escorts in these forums. I enjoy their viewpoint. Some, however, see it as a way to advertise. There are icons next to our posts allowing someone to email us. Yet, certain escorts feel it necessary to include their email or website in addition to their posts. That makes me think they are just using this forum to drum up business. $19.95 a month is laughable.

Lucky

Male4malescorts.com :-)

[Guest TomBuStone]

Hello again

 

I am really new to the message board thing..

 

Are escorts not generally permitted in here?

 

I didnt realize that it was inappropriate to put down my email so that folks could contact me directly.

 

I am not wishing to advertise or promote myself in this forum. I stay largely in the SF bay area and am not yet prepared to do much travel work (and after these responses, I will think twice before heading East..)

 

I am really just trying to get some good information here, and I truly feel like I am being assaulted.. I'm astonished at the responses.

 

I feel a bit foolish that I am so out of touch with the apparent reality of the free porn-on-the-web thing.

 

I'm not sure what else to say or how else to respond...

 

Awfully sorry if I offended you guys.. that wasn't my intent..

 

 

 

Thanks =(

 

Tom B.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Well Tom, there very well may be an audience for your photos at your price but I don’t think your likely to find it among most of the people at this site (if the above responses are any indication, which I believe they are...). For the record, I also avoid such offers always. One of my peeves is that several escort sites try to suck people into subscriptions to see the ‘candid’ photos of the escorts -- I settle for the photos up front since I am more interested in the total package anway. I also agree with Michael’s comment that you would need significant original content to make it fly and that content would have to turnover periodically or you would see a lot of subscirptions cancelled after a while. A more successful approach I suspect would be a 24 hour web cam, but that is only a guess on my part since I have never subscribed to one of those either. (I have a preference for warm flesh and conversation.)

 

Lucky, I not only don’t mind, I welcome the participation of the escorts in the forums. I want to know what they (as our counterparts) think about the issues we discuss. And I always appreciate when they take the time and the chance to respond -- because they do put themselves our there for people to take pot shots and occasionally someone does. More importantly, I also learn about them as individuals which is important to me because as I already said above I prefer to engage the person not just the body, that is if I can -- that requires interaction with the escort, and their interaction on the board reveals some of the person. And I don’t mind if they include their email address and web page on the messages either, after all they are in business. I also include my email address on my business email -- seems not only approrpriate but smart as well. And on occasion I have been thankful for their contact info in messages for the convenience so I did not have to go to the reviews for the contact info.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

>Hello again

>

>I am really new to the

>message board thing..

>

We all were at one time...don't worry

 

>Are escorts not generally permitted in

>here?

>

They are permitted and even welcomed by most, IMHO.

 

>I didnt realize that it was

>inappropriate to put down my

>email so that folks could

>contact me directly.

 

It is not inappropriate IMHO, I for one appreciate the convenience.

>

>I am not wishing to advertise

>or promote myself in this

>forum.

 

That is fine, but there will be a small number of people who will view your participation as having ulterior motives no matter what; and for that matter so what if you do... We are all capable of making assessments of posts and filing them accordingly.

 

I stay largely

>in the SF bay area

>and am not yet prepared

>to do much travel work

>(and after these responses, I

>will think twice before heading

>East..)

 

Don't let these responses scare you off... most of us are pretty good people but we are candid crowd so you will know what we think. Besides, half these guys are probably on the west coast! So your probably as well off coming East :-)

>

>I am really just trying to

>get some good information here,

>and I truly feel like

>I am being assaulted..

>I'm astonished at the responses.

>

Part of the initiation to the boards is quickly growing a layer of 'thick skin' .

 

>I feel a bit foolish that

>I am so out of

>touch with the apparent reality

>of the free porn-on-the-web thing.

>

If only all afflications were so easily remedied -- just surf the web a little more... :-)

>

I would just repeat: don't let these response scare you off, just file this episode under 'learning experience'.

[trilingual]

I appreciate Tom's willingness to do "market research," so to speak, here on the site and get the opinions of both clients and escorts. That's what the site is for, I think!

 

Solution to the dilemma? Not sure I have it. Tom, you need to be willing to expose yourself to some degree. You're marketing a product, and in this case the product is you. In your specific case, your key selling point is your impressive endowment, and you already show it off in print and on the web, thinly encased in a jock strap, along with a photo of yourself with your face in shadows. So there really isn't much left to reveal!

 

I also wouldn't pay to see your pix, nor do I pay to see the pix of other escorts. Among other reasons, it raises a red flag for me, because it makes me think there's a rip off coming, like paying $25 to see someone's pix and then finding out they're fully clothed, show no face, etc. If I'm in the market for an escort, I want a good clear idea of what I'm going to be paying for. I know you have a "first five minutes" policy, but with pictures I could save both of us time if I knew from the start that you aren't what I'm looking for from a physical standpoint.

 

I'm not unsympathetic to your ambivalence about having yourself broadcast far and wide, but if you're concerned about maintaining some semblance of privacy, you can always display separate shots of yourself: one that doesn't show your face but displaying that hunka hunka burnin' love (maybe with something like a beer can next to it for comparison purposes?) and another that's just an attractive face shot. Then, so what if your pictures get around? There won't be any way to know where they came from, unless someone specifically goes to your escort site, or here! In which case, you're not exactly blowing your cover! :-) Alternatively, don't post those particular pix, but be willing to exchange them via e-mail with prospective clients who sound serious. That doesn't prevent the pictures from being circulated, but it does disassociate them from any particular site.

 

Anyone else have any practical ideas for Tom?

[Matt_Vancouver]

I don't think it's a good idea Tom, I would hire you just based on the one pic I've seen....WOOOF!!!pant, drool!

I understand your reservations about showing your face, it's a tough choice to make. Yes, unless you look like the elephant man(other than your quite impressive dick) your business will go up, but everyone who has access to a computer will also know your business.

I made that choice about a year ago, and yeah people talk, but I'm comfortable and happy with the profession I've chosen, so let them talk.

As for using this message center as a marketing tool, hell why not? I've gotten business from the posts I've made on here. They've allowed me to show another side to my personality that the reviews/pix don't allow for. Yeah you can read "he has the dick of death, he's funny, he's intelligent" but other than the dick thing, how will you, as a client, know the other things, unless you have some first hand experience. And this board allows for that, to a degree.... the real me in person is so much more funny, and intelligent,and sexy and the dick of death is so much more impresive in person : )

ok enough of my unsavory marketing tactics, Tom it's a tough decision, I'm sure you will find the right solution for you.

matt (see email and web address below as another attempt to wrangle some business: )

http://go.to/mattsplace

matt_escort@yahoo.com

[Guest desertdaddy]

Matt (and Tom) The thought of the watching the two of you together conjures up an unbelievably erotic visual fantasy. Oh, to be the "filling" in that stud "sandwich"! Later... Buck

[Will]

As usual, TY speaks with a voice of reason, kindness, and sanity. I fully agree with him, Tom, that escorts are very welcome on this board. As regards the pointed responses to your idea that potential clients would spend $19.95 per month to see what they'd be getting in you, I would be sorry if you felt that you'd been attacked. It would surprise me to learn that anyone intended anything personal, only that $19.95 is a very expensive subscription fee. At all events, the purpose of a photograph is to help the client decide whether or not to hire an escort. Repeat visits to the site generally aren't necessary.

 

Amon

[Guest EvilSwine]

Jeez....I just HAVE to get to Vancouver someday..I love reading Matt's posts so much and he's such a nice guy. And he's so CUTE.

 

Tom, what you might want to consider, and which no one's brought up, is using one of the AVS's (adult verification services) like Mancheck, UGAS, etc.. Basically, with one of these, a surfer pays for an annual subscription to the AVS and you get paid a percentage of the fees generated by your site. You can also advertise paysites on your site to pull in cash from people who are already AVS subscribers who might sign up for those and who wouldn't be generating revenue for you through AVS signups.

 

What most of the posters who had a negative view of your charging for viewing your pictures seem to object to was paying a monthly fee for strictly gaining access to pics of just you. With the AVS, anyone wanting to see what you look like would have access to the thousands of other sites using the AVS. You could even make multiple sites with themes like "Showering with Tom", "Tom's Cumshot Pics", etc..

 

There seem to be a lot of escorts who use AVS for their XXX pics of themselves and it's an easy way to restrict access. You might even make a little extra cash along the way. You just have to remember, though, that once you put your pics on the 'net, all someone has to do is right click and save the image and they can still end up in newsgroups, Yahoo clubs, etc.. But that could happen with a $19.95/month site, too.

[Guest ProfTBear]

I like the AVS idea. And I believe you even get a small amount of money for each access, not sure.

 

I suggest you look into a Java Script that turns off the Save Picture function of the browser. This would eliminate that avenue for copying your pic. However, like all technology there is a work around, a screen capture would still grab the photo, but only if the person knows how. I have seen some sites where even that didn't work, the resulting capture had a blank place instead of the image. Not sure how that was done. Maybe more Java.

 

Perhaps the AVS with the Java Script might be a good soultion to reduce the amount of 'prating' of your photo significantly.

 

I am particularly impressed with your attitude here. Even after the negative responses (I must admit I almost added to it yestrerday - the subscription idea IS awful) you came right back asking for alternatives. Good man! : )

[Matt_Vancouver]

*shameless marketing alert*

Daddy, I'm sure that can be arranged, you have my email, you know what I like, let's do it: ) Tom??

matt

http://go.to/mattsplace

matt_escort@yahoo.com

[Guest TomBuStone]

Matt; Daddy..

 

Hmmmm could be fun..

 

Cawl me.. We'll tawlk..

 

(or e-mail..)

 

Tom B.

TomBuStoneXXX@aol.com

[Guest Kenneth]

"I am not trying to deceive anyone.. what I am thinking is a way to

allow people who want to see what I look like who may be

interested in hiring me to view more revealing pics of me."

 

 

To be brief: If I hire an escort, I want to see what he looks like before WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR IT. If the escort isn't willing to supply a FREE PIC, I look elsewhere. As for your privacy, once just one pic of you has been sent, you no longer have any privacy. It's very possible if not probable that that pic will be sent over the internet. I'm afraid that I have a suspicious nature and question your motives in charging $19.95 for the priveldge of seeing you. Undoubtedly it may work for some guys but not for me. There are plenty of free pics to be had if that is truly what someone is after.

[Guest Travis69]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-00 AT 07:18PM (EST)[p]About 3 weeks ago I saw that an escort would be in my town after reading the "escort travels" section of this site. The escort provided a totally free website for me to view his pics. His face was included in the pics. I then sent him an email, arranged a meeting and had a great time. All very simple. If I had to send an email requesting pics or subscribe to an AVS to see his pics, I doubt I would have taken the time or trouble.

[Guest TomBuStone]

Hello Again

 

Well, thank you for all of your insight.

 

Since it appears that a reality of the new economy is that everyone is going to be cheap, and that sacrificing privacy is an acceptable part of doing business on the web, then I think I have a solution that will satisfy all of us. <smile>

 

I can implement the secure viewing technology on my new website.. for FREE!! (as I mentioned in my first post.. has nothing to do with sending anybody anything.. you could download nothing.)

 

But this technology is e x p e n s i v e. I'll have to find a way to pay for it somehow.

 

So what I will probably do is do what all other 'Free' websites do.. (INCLUDING this one).. I'll employ cookies.

 

Cookies are programs which are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge or permission most anytime you visit a website (especially the free ones).

 

Cookies can perform tasks ranging from adding your visit to the website's visitor counter to remembering your password to tracking your every move and gathering personal identification information about you stored in various areas of your computer.

(That information is usually sold for a price). There is no way to tell what these programs actually DO.. they just sort of magically APPEAR in your browser as you visit these websites.

 

So, you see, everybody wins!

 

*You get to see revealing pictures of me.. (for FREE!!)

 

*I get to retain control of my visual property by preventing downloading, copying, sharing, trading, reposting, reselling and general posting-my-image-all-over-the-net-for-all-to-see kind of behavior..

 

* I get information about YOU that IO can resell to pay for the advanced technology.

 

SO some of your personal data along with every website you visit gets distributed to a few marketing firms.. or maybe all over the web.. and you get a little more spam..

 

What's that? Oh.. you feel that your privacy is being violated? I see. well um.. I guess that's just the price of doing business on the web.. right? OH but thats DIFFERENT? we're talking about YOU'RE privacy.. I SEE.. how SILLY of me to think that this mattered to you..

 

Oh by the way.. to check to see if you have cookies on YOUR computer.. Go to your browser's temporary internet file area and open it. If you see program lines that say things like SEXTRACKER or DOUBLECLICK, well then, you have cookies! <smile>

 

(AOL users, go to MY AOL, select PREFERENCES, select WWW, select SETTINGS, select VIEW FILES.. stand back...)

 

So I hope that you all are thinking about this the next time you click onto one of those delightful free websites offering all those free pics...

 

It is (was?) my hope to create a cookie-free website that would respect the privacy of those visiting it. After viewing the spirit of many of the responses to my post, I must say that I am a little surprised (shocked actually) that the privacy and consideration that most clients would value so highly for themselves (and taken for granted that an escort would provide) is considered so easily expendible when it comes to the escort.

 

Honestly, I'm very glad I posted this query. I have found it VERY illuminating.

 

Tom B.

[Matt_Vancouver]

Aren't you being just a bit Orwellian and over dramatic? Yes certain web sites do gather information, but cookies aren't necessarily a bad thing.

You've made your point though, it is a privacy issue, and we do as human beings have issues with privacy. But the posts you've seen here are a clear reflection of what consumers want. We aren't going to shell out good money for a stereo we've never heard nor seen.

I'm not sure it's absolutly crucial for you to show your face. You are on review 10, this must mean you've got business, so do you need to disclose your true identity? (superman??) That is ultimatly your choice.

I think you can have a private page, that is only accessable with a password that you give out to persons you deam appropriate, without a charge. And this can be done without you selling of information, or invading anyones privacy: )

Now enough of this shit, let's talk about your cock!! whoa mama, someone put a puppy in your underwear?

 

matt(shows cock and his face, and wants to play with puppies: )

http://go.to/mattsplace

matt_escort@yahoo.com

[Michael]

Tom, I'm afraid that you still have a lot to learn about the web.

 

If there is one thing worse than not having any privacy it's imagining that you do when, in fact, you don't.

 

Whatever scheme you adopt you are not going to be able to stop images which you make available on your site from being copied.

 

Sure, you can make it more difficult - you can only allow access to the images through cgi-bin scripts, you can make it impossible to download the actual image files, you can keep track of everyone who accesses the images, you can add digital watermarks to the images and finally you can threaten to sue anyone who violates your copyright. (and, by the way, none of these techniques have anything directly to do with "cookies" - a subject upon which you seem to be more than a little unclear - cookies are not "programs" - they are pieces of information)

 

However, *NONE* of this will make any difference if the images that you put up on your site are sufficiently interesting that someone (and it only takes *one* person) decides that they want to copy them and upload them to other web sites or post them to news groups. While you can make it a *little* more difficult you can't prevent it from happening.

 

So, at the end of the day, why bother?

[Guest graymit]

Matt from Vancouver is absolutely correct. Tom can do whatever he wants with his pictures, but as a good paying avid consumer of escort services, I will only pay for something that I have seen at least a little. And truthfully, as I have more experiences with the guys that I have grow accustom to, I will search out other escorts less and less.

 

So Tom, I am sure you are a great guy, but when I'm in SF in Feb., I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be contacting you.

[Guest ProfTBear]

I take back my earlier kind comment about you!

 

As to cookies, they contain and give absolutely no information about me as a an individual. They usually contain a database index number that will let them focus ads at me based on the ads I have responded too previously or the sites I have visited. This only allows the tracker folks to collect aggreagte information to justify the prices they charge you for their high price technology. Welcome to the vicious circle. They WILL charge you more than they give you. And we, the consumers, will select someone with a better outlook.

 

And if you plan on selling that kind of aggregate information and make a profit, you will need thousands of hits daily if not hourly to do so. Kind of a laughable proposition.

 

When I delete their cookie (which I do every week or so), they have to start all over with me (and add a new database entry). As you just did with the sour attitude displayed in your last post.