Posts tagged Mina Stefan

Mina Stefan is a web entrepreneur, but you won’t read about her on TechCrunch or any of the countless of websites tracking the social web. She’s someone who makes mula quietly, using the very same tools you and I use to spread our verbal vomit. As an adult entertainer, Mina doesn’t do full nudity, yet she has managed to build a fan base who is both loyal and willing to follow her across the social web. She’s on Twitpic, Twitter, Twitvid, and blogspot. And a few times a day a seductive picture of Mina will appear on your timeline.

What I find interesting about Mina is the value she places on the real time performance and her ability to create the perception of value by limiting her exposure online and by not having a personal website like so many adult/erotic entertainers. There’s an element of exclusivity I find really compelling in what she’s doing via USTREAM. We’ve known about sex chat rooms, which are basically sex sweatshops run by big operations, but this is entirely different. I wouldn’t dare put what she’s doing in the same category. It’s much more intimate and genuine.

Of course, many people might object to what she’s doing and there are things we might oppose on moral grounds, although, as far as I know she is not doing anything illegal. Keep in mind that a similar tactic is also being used by Sports Illustrated on Twitter and TweetPhoto, where photo editors post salacious “behind-the-scenes” images to promote the Swimsuit issue. The idea is the same–to promote and build a loyal fan base by using the social web.

So how does she make money? In an interview she told me her income stream came from sales of images, calendars, and personal items. The announcements are posted on her blog and fans can email her directly. And according to Mina, absolutely no pornography is involved. In the months that I’ve been following her on twitter and blogspot I have seen nothing that would deem her a porn star.

Is Mina innovative? To answer this question we have to understand the nature of technology and what it does to liberate us from the middle man. She’s not innovative in the technical sense. However, in the way she’s incorporated social media into her life, Mina is absolutely a creative and resourceful business woman. Here’s what she’s doing right: 1) Live streaming herself 2) Tweeting to create buzz 3) Blogging to provide sneak peeks while shooting in exotic locations 4) Making good use of her iPhone camera and Twitpic 5) Crowd sourcing photo shoot ideas which she later executes to the delight of her fans.

Mina’s strategy makes a lot of sense in a visual digital culture like ours where pictures and video are used to bolster the great illusion of free market capitalism and the notion that we are free to choose whatever we want. Through technology she is able to provide the kind of virtual intimacy traditional porn obliterated by making sex both repulsive and robotic. Mina exploits our desires for beauty and sex. At the same time, the live performance gives us back some of the unexpected qualities of seduction missing in today’s porn infected media outlets. It makes the viewing experience much more personal and turns the subject into an active agent because she decides what’s permissible.

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