big changes at abbywinters.com

[wolfgangbuster29]

Yay for all the exciting things underway at the new AWHQ! All the best guys xo

p/s: I will miss Chloe B heaps, especially after my last shoot

Ahh, that's the spirit, Lallie. Good to see that you're up-beat about the move and the changes as I am.

[Blake1]

Peter, I cannot comment on GOW and IFM. Please email me on garion.hall@abbywinters.com to discuss marketing opportunities.

How can you not comment on GOW & IFM - there GM Bill companies - YOUR companies?

[ren]

How can you not comment on GOW & IFM - there GM Bill companies - YOUR companies?

Maybe because this is NOT those sites and as such this would be an inappropriate place to competitors business? You know...for a start.

[ren]

So: When do we get photos of the New HQ?

[BigSpud]

How can you not comment on GOW & IFM - there GM Bill companies - YOUR companies?

GM Bill does the billing. That doesn't mean they own them any more than CCBill would own or comment on any of the sites they bill for.

[garionhall]

welllll, the thing is, it's not that impressive yet. Give us a few weeks, then we'll post some pics.

More to the point: when are you visiting us in Amsterdam?!

[ren]

welllll, the thing is, it's not that impressive yet. Give us a few weeks, then we'll post some pics.

More to the point: when are you visiting us in Amsterdam?!

If you can promise me work in Amsterdam I'm taking holidays next year to Sweden, which I hear isn't very far (I'm bad at geography!!). I could always scoot across for a few days. or I could go to Amsterdam first then Stockholm.

[Frans]

Return trip Amsterdam<->Stockholm is approx 300 Euro. Far cheaper than Melb<->Stockholm One heck of a trip btw, good choice to go during their summer... Swedish winters are just.. not pleasant

[BigSpud]

... Swedish winters are just.. not pleasant

Swedish winters are WINTER

[ren]

LOL! Just like our summers are real summer! The friend I'm staying with was complaining its too hot at 30 degrees, and that him and his partner where 'dying' from the heat. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh dear. No, I definitely won't be going to stay with them in winter, i would probably actually die! 300 euro isn't bad either

[BigSpud]

LOL! Just like our summers are real summer! The friend I'm staying with was complaining its too hot at 30 degrees, and that him and his partner where 'dying' from the heat. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh dear. No, I definitely won't be going to stay with them in winter, i would probably actually die! 300 euro isn't bad either

30 degrees is COLD (actually 30F is cold. 30C is 86F and (depending on the humidity) very warm or uncomfortable). Of course the AW team is going to find the seasons topsy turvy. They are going to skip winter this year.

[Frans]

But have a white Christmas for once.. I'm fairly sure Chloe would like that

[BigSpud]

...white Christmas for once..

Interesting point. I had not thought of that having had White Christmases for the last 26 years. Didn't have them when I lived in California.

[wolfgangbuster29]

Last Winter many of the US states had waaaaay too much white way too late after Christmas. When Floridians are able to make snowballs and have to scrape ice off of windshields you know that's enough.

But what're the general weather patters in the Netherlands and what do the seasons consist of?

[penur70]

LOL! Just like our summers are real summer! The friend I'm staying with was complaining its too hot at 30 degrees, and that him and his partner where 'dying' from the heat. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh dear. No, I definitely won't be going to stay with them in winter, i would probably actually die! 300 euro isn't bad either

You'll probably find even cheaper tickets than that. From Oslo, Norway it's about 100 Euros round trip if you shop around. Scandinavian summers can be very nice, and if you're lucky with the weather it's hard to beat the combination of nature and midnight sun. If you can handle the somewhat fickle weather and obscene beer prices, sending a shooting team to northern europe could produce some stunning shoots. Oh, and the girls are nice as well. Too many blondes though...

[66paddy]

sending a shooting team to northern europe could produce some stunning shoots. Oh, and the girls are nice as well. Too many blondes though...

Can you have too many blondes? I think not

[BigSpud]

Can you have too many blondes? I think not

EXACTLY my thoughts........

[betterrandomguy]

this discussion seems to have gone off topic a tad. Just saying.

[wolfgangbuster29]

this discussion seems to have gone off topic a tad. Just saying.

Yes it has indeed. Good observation. Lemme help... *a-ahem*

Amsterdam! Yayyy!!!

[Frans]

I wonder if all staff is in Amsterdam already. And how they're adjusting so far, weather sure is warmer (not automatically better, just warmer) .. maybe they're getting accustomed to all the clubs and bars in the area. That could take a while I do know Chloe always wanted to visit Europe, Amsterdam ought to be a good start.

Hmm.. I wonder who among staff has been Amsterdam/NL before, I know Garion visited our lovely little country some months ago.

[yusanord]

So Frans, have you visited the new AWHQ yet ?

yusa

[antheafan]

I'm genuinely looking forward to what the European team are going to produce. Don't want to be too negative, but for a while my visits have been further and further between, and my downloads even less frequent. Sometimes I've downloaded just to make sure my membership doesn't lapse.

Unfortunately, the redesign of the site has really made it less user-friendly than the old version, and then the quality and frequency of particularly tier3 shoots has gradually deteriorated imho.

I was therefore very relieved (in one sense) to read that part of the problem is due to factors beyond your control.

I'm maintaining my membership - AW is still my favorite site - though that rests on shoots and videos from the past, for the time being. It has given me the most intense erotic experiences that any website can possibly give - and I really hope that it will do that again, when European production gets into full swing.

So here's hoping you come back with a real bang!

PS: (And as a sidenote - you really can't have too many blondes! So let's hope for some great Scandinavian shoots!)

[garionhall]

Unfortunately, the redesign of the site has really made it less user-friendly than the old version, and then the quality and frequency of particularly tier3 shoots has gradually deteriorated imho.

Perhaps you could email me some specific example of the concerns you have with T3 shoots, with links to shoots that are good, and bad, so we can be clear on what you mean. You could do the same for the website, tho there are some known problems that we're working through.

You can email me on garion.hall@abbywinters.com.

[garionhall]

This is the key word, I think. I have nothing against Eastern Europe, ...

*snip*

BUT, too many sites like this that used to be good - eg Simonsans and Sapphic Erotica - declined when they started to get in too much Eastern European content. Simply because there was no English spoken in any of the videos, they just became samey and a bit pointless. I want to see humour I can understand and playfulness in the videos.

*snip*

There are two types of models I don't want. a) The almost stick-thin Eastern European ones with virtually no English, such as now appear on the two websites I mentioned, who display *no* enthusiasm and almost look like they're being exploited, even though they're probably not.
b) A type of model who seems to come up a lot in English porn who will go through a girl-girl movie shouting 'oh YEAH, FEEL THE JUICES FROM MY SOAKING WET PUSSY YOU BITCH!'

We're aware of these issues, and totally agree with you. It's one of the new challenges we face, and we have several plans in place for dealing with it. I think you'll be very pleased with our results!

[garionhall]

If by 'improving' sexiness, you go along the route, or even part-way along the route that mainstream porn has taken, then you will fail; unless, of course, you see the future of AW in mainstream porn. I, as a returning member, hope that isn't the case.

I apologise for missing this post. We have not ever, nor will we ever, take the route, or adopt the style, to which you are are referring. We know our roots, and will stick to them.

But, as I said earlier, please let us know what you think. The shoots with the most significant changes are yet to appear on the site (in the next 4-5 weeks, they will start, I think).

[garionhall]

(AW corporate strategy!)

I hope you are right, wolfgangbuster29. Just remember this: the CEO of a business is concerned with one thing - the success of the company. And in aiming to achieve this success, the directions taken may not be to everyone's liking. You say 'there are enough of us here', but more to the point, how many are not here, but could be? Maybe to some the site is lacking 'sexiness'! But let's be optimistic.

Please do be optimistic! Actually, I am stepping down as CEO shortly, as we have a new General Manager (GM) who will be taking over many of my responsibilities, allowing me to focus on my core passion, as Creative Director (CD), responsible for making sure the shoots are as good as possible.

You may have seen "Lili" post a bit on the boards in the past - she's our new GM. She's ace! She'll post on the boards a bit, but mostly, it'll be me, in my capacity of CD.

However, when I wear the CEO hat, and and when Lili is GM, and in fact all managers and staff, work towards three core goals, which have equal priority, and the achieving of which define the success of the company. This is unlike most companies, where profitability (and 0 deaths!) is the only index. Here they are:

1. Sexy
2. Frictionless
3. Profitable

Sexy means both literally, provocative shoots, as well as solutions to Things that are cool, elegant, look good and feel good. We always look for sexy solutions, not "good enough" solutions (every project we work on has a defined "utopia" - what's the best possible outcome?, that we work towards).

Frictionless means that everything we do should be easy to do. That things, when done, are done right the first time. We develop systems that allow for creativity where it's required (eg, shoots!), but everything else follows strict processes, to ensure things are done right, reliably and professionally (for example, in our accounting department, or copying model's ID, or completing a model release form, or updating the website, or providing information to a model, etc). These things should not involve creativity each time they are performed, they just need to be done right. Reducing friction saves time, and makes things fun.

Profitability, of course, means providing financial value to the shareholders (most of which gets re-invested back into the company for future growth).

So you see that simply being profitable is not enough, and is not the only driver for making the site. The entire company (as a group, and individuals) are measured on each of these attributes in their Key Performance Indicators in their 3-monthly Performance Reviews. Pay grades are based on them. Performance bonus are based on them - the company must reach it's sexy target, it's frictionless target and it's profitability target to succeed.

So, there's a healthy tension between these three goals, that keeps the company balanced, keeps the shareholders happy, keeps staff happy, and keeps members happy. Otherwise, we'd have the problem many companies have - shooting the cheapest models, for example. Sure, they are cheap (means, more profit), but the shoots are not as good... but we make more profit! But not at AW.

Sexy + Frictionless = Profitable

[Frans]

I'll copy/link that reply to this thread where people got worried over 'increasing sexiness' as well. Must be hard to judge staff on sexiness (of the shoots done, heh) though.. def. makes for a less mundane evaluation

From what I read I gather you're not so much stepping down as CEO but delegating the boring/business stuff that usually comes with that role to Lili, right? That should workout fine, plenty to get creative with in your new environment as well

[foolsfortune]

I apologise for missing this post. We have not ever, nor will we ever, take the route, or adopt the style, to which you are are referring. We know our roots, and will stick to them.

But, as I said earlier, please let us know what you think. The shoots with the most significant changes are yet to appear on the site (in the next 4-5 weeks, they will start, I think).

That's reassuring to hear, Garion. I was browsing the behind the scenes archives the other day, and I gotta say, the next few months should be epic! So many potentially great models and shoots on the horizon. Especially Miss Viola... Lord, give me strength to endure the wait!

[nell]

Jacki, your post was very eloquent and summed up exactly what I was thinking. I am very disappointed that I won't get to model again for AW (at least without some travel on the cards!) but more so I am disillusioned and disheartened by the entire situation. Australia is supposed to be a place for freedom and democracy, not censorship. It is beyond my comprehension that AW, an ethical, beautiful source of erotica who treats the models with utmost respect could be forced to relocate because of bigoted, uneducated conservatives. On what planet would we NOT want to teach our society that girl next door diversity is natural and stunning? The implication of this is that our boys, men and women will continue to believe that fake breasts, bare ribcages and degrading women in a sexually explicit way is normal and okay.

We have a federal election coming up and I almost wish I didn't live here any more- for the very first time! Asking around I discovered that lots of people view the women who work in the sex industry as filthy, 'whores' or desperate. Well I am university educated, I find employment easily, I have a relationship, house and lots of supportive friends and family. I did an erotic shoot because I wanted to gain confidence in myself even though I might not fit a media definition of 'beauty'. I am also a feminist- not working from a theoretical checklist but from the values in my own heart: anything I do as a woman I do for me and nobody else, from shopping to nude modeling; I do everything with informed consent as ethically and safely as I possibly can.

kisses, Nell.

[nell]

Oh and forgot to mention: I have complete faith in the AW team to stay strong and true to their values. This will not impact the site negatively, and just think- girls with hot accents! I'm already weak at the knees
kisses, Nell