If you are part of the webcam model community, then you already have heard of Jay Kopita. If you haven’t, you probably still heard of his companies: YNOT.com, YNOT Mail, YNOTCam.com, or the #Cammunity convention that will be hosted in Hollywood, California.
We at CamBased are massive fans of his work and his staunch support of everything camming. When we were able to sit down with him and chat about his journey, we immediately took it. Here’s what this business guru had to tell us…
CamBased: Jay, we’ve seen you make the adult-friendy email client YNOT Mail, create a full news site about camming, and a convention too. How long have you been in the community? How did this all come about? How did you get started in the adult world?
Jay Kopita: This year makes 20 years for me! I’ve worn many hats all along the way, with the exception of anything technical, and I’ve had to shift gears and adapt several times.
After a fledgling mainstream acting career in the 90s (Yes, I have an IMDB page!) in LA didn’t go the way I wanted it to, I needed a backup plan. After working for a public relations firm for a couple of years and honing my writing, speaking, selling and organizational skills, I transitioned over to the adult industry in May of 2000.
The money was better, the product was much more interesting to me, and the people were friendlier and more my style in general. All I had to do was answer an ad and I was pretty much hired on the spot at my interview. I would later go on to be one of the owners of the company that hired me.
That’s awesome. You’ve definitely seen the industry evolve since then. What is your opinion on the current social media ban going on? Do you think it’ll be successful? Do you think that the adult industry will survive this?
I think it stinks, and it’s a sign of the times and more proof that in many ways we are moving backwards in America. I get the reasoning behind it, but it’s all preventable. If you work in any facet of this industry just respect the rules on whatever platform you are on.
As with anything, if we can’t regulate ourselves, someone outside of our industry who doesn’t care about us will do it for us. And unfortunately, some of the biggest social media violators aren’t even in the industry and it makes us all look bad.
Remind people that nudity in your avatar or header will get you banned. Report those who clearly abuse it. Unfortunately, discrimination plays a huge part in all of this as well. We’ve seen double standards for mainstream vs. adult on Instagram. We’ve seen Tumblr completely remove us. Facebook has never really been an option, and with the exception of Twitter, the traffic isn’t there.
Will the push to ban adult content be successful on Twitter? We are already seeing the ramifications of it. Very hard to say how far away we are from complete removal, but I’m hoping that will never happen. People need to respect Twitter though, because it truly is the last great and accepting MAJOR platform for adult content. Even though the casualty rate was high, we survived tube sites, the recession, tons of illegal business practices, and hostile governments and admins. We’ll survive this too.
I hope so! Do you have any advice for performers or adult content makers who want to avoid social media bans?
Read the rules. Ask questions. Familiarize yourself with the Terms of Service. Ask other content creators for pointers. You don’t have to be friends with anyone or everyone but given that this biz is LOADED with resources and rules… use them and respect them.
That makes sense. With your experience in the industry, we’re willing to bet you have insight on where it’s headed. Where do you see the camming industry in 10 years from now?
If only I had a crystal ball! With the industry at large seemingly changing and going through some kind of revolution and evolution every six months or so, I couldn’t even begin to fathom what camming will be like in 10 years, much less two! I think that it’s still going to be a very relevant industry, there will be much more interactivity, and I think that content creation will continue to be Queen.
True, true. We bet that you know where YNOT is headed, though! Do you have any teasers for your fans about the upcoming revelations?
You will see the launch of our second annual Cammunity model summit in Hollywood coming soon. Dates will be July 20-22, and you’ll also see the third edition of the YNOT Cam Awards, also in Hollywood being launched. The date for that will be July 22.
We will be present at many of the trade shows across the US, EU and Colombia this year, and we might even add another event or two of our own. Whatever the market demands and whatever isn’t being filled. We will continue building our brands, and our strategic partnerships with several of the platforms, networks and other trade show owners and will continue to be the #1 media organization for the webcam industry!
We can’t wait to be there with you! Thank you so much for your time!
Jay Kopita entered the adult online industry in early 2000 originally handling PR, writing and trade show management for the original webmaster resource site YNOT Masters, and is currently Co-Owner and President of YNOT Group, LLC, the parent company of YNOT.com and YNOTCam.com news and resource sites, YNOTMail email marketing software, Cammunity (Model Summit) and YNOT Cam Awards Hollywood, and the YNOT Awards for business in Prague at TES. In his spare time Jay enjoys traveling, keeping active, enjoying theatre and punk rock shows, and building up his IMDB credits.
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