Stripchat is pleased to announce Max Bennet as the organization’s new “Head of New Media.”
In a recent interview published on Stripchat’s blog, Bennet spoke about his new role and the future of the webcam industry. Bennet, who previously worked in mainstream media production in New York and London, joined the Stripchat team in April.
“I’m actually quite private, so this sort of thing doesn’t come naturally to me,” Bennet shared. “I came to Stripchat without a lot of familiarity with the adult industry. I was working in New York, where I had over a decade of work in media, developing video content for news sites and developing what we call new media. That is, media that breaks the boundaries between print, digital, video and social.”
He explained that it was a “chance conversation” that brought him to adult.
“I was at the Mercer having a drink and got into a conversation with a couple who were there on vacation. Or so I thought. It turns out, they were a very successful cam couple. We got to talking, and it all came out rather slowly,” Bennet said. “To me, even though it was sex, it seemed like what they were doing was light years ahead of what we were doing in other media. They had a contact at Stripchat, and on a lark, I wrote to the guy and told him how impressed I was. We started a conversation, and a few months later… here I am!”
Bennet has since been experimenting with the potential for the webcam platform.
“I look at it as the future,” Bennet said of camming. “Those who work in media are really resentful of the way in which social media platforms dictate what we produce… Unlike the rest of the media, [adult has had to learn] to survive without them.”
Bennet also discussed his decision to bring sex therapists on cam to help consumers deal with anxiety and why he’s talking with comedy agents about bringing them on the platform.
“Right now, I’m working with the team to identify entertainment that’s most stifled under the rules of mainstream social media — sex and sex workers, obviously, but also LGBTQ content,” Bennet shared. “I’ve talked with dozens of content creators, and they live in fear of YouTube’s regulations — near constant blocks and demonetization. You know who else needs a platform that doesn’t censor? Comedians. They’re under assault, and that self-censorship is terrible for their craft.”
Bennet feels that pairing these groups with adult entertainment is “a natural fit.”
“What I love about Stripchat is the understanding that good tech doesn’t just have one application,” he said. “It’s a medium for people to express themselves. Sex has, historically, been a driving force in tech, from Polaroids to the VCR to video streaming. But we haven’t been great about capturing the audience that follows in its wake. THAT is what I want to change.”
Read Bennet’s interview in full right here.
