YNOT Veep Jay Kopita and Pink Visual's Quentin Boyer to Speak at SXSW
by Sue Denim
YNOT – YNOT Vice President Jay “LAJ” Kopita and Pink Visual Director of Public Relations Quentin “Q” Boyer will lead a discussion about the adult internet industry during South By Southwest Interactive. SXSW Interactive is an extension of the long-running mainstream music and entertainment festival SXSW, which occurs every spring in Austin, Texas.
The interactive component, which addresses technology’s impact on digital entertainment including the web and games, runs March 12-16. The film component runs March 12-20; the music portion runs March 17-21. Twitter Chief Executive Officer Evan Williams is expected to present the keynote address.
Kopita and Boyer will present a participatory seminar entitled “Future Smut: How to Become an ‘Adult Webmaster,’” scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. March 15 in Hall E at the Hilton Austin hotel. According to the synopsis on the festival’s website, “From selecting a hosting solution to acquiring content, legal issues to the basics of search engine optimization, the panel [will] cover a wide swath of issues and challenges that face entrepreneurs making their first foray into the internet-based sector of the adult entertainment industry.”
“It’s pretty cool to be included as a speaker alongside so many luminaries from the mainstream tech world,” Boyer said. “I see my role there to be to dispel some myths surrounding the industry and to emphasize that although it’s undeniably tougher sledding in this sector than it was 10-12 years ago, there is still opportunity to make some serious money in the adult space.”
Kopita, a transplanted Texan who also serves as director of operations for Cybernet Expo, spoke at SXSW in 2009, as well. He has worked in the online adult industry for 10 years and has spoken at a variety of mainstream and industry-centric events for the past seven.
“SXSW is hands down the best time in Austin,” he said. “What started out as a music festival over 20 years ago has since added a film and interactive festival, and the amount of fun and business opportunities to be had are enormous. I’m stoked to be speaking with Quentin to what will be a group of informed and enlightened people.”
“I’ll add that I picked up several business opportunities [at the show] last year,” Kopita continued. “YNOT has been a resource for SXSW for a couple of years now, partially because I live in Austin and partially because I take an interest in hometown opportunities. Austin is rich in tech, music and social opportunities and is about as adult-friendly as a city in Texas can get.”
For more information about SXSW, visit SXSW.com or contact Kopita via email.
Sue Denim is a freelance journalist specializing in sexuality and the adult entertainment industry.
