Slashdot Mirror
The Man Behind Online Porn's 'Steve Lightspeed'
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "'In the online pornography business, just about everybody has heard of Steve Lightspeed,' who runs a network of sites, reports the Wall Street Journal Online. 'But few in the porn world know much about Steve Jones, the 39-year-old married father of two behind the Lightspeed persona -- and that's the way he wants to keep it.' In WSJ.com's profile of Jones, tension between his job and the rest of his life is evident: 'He said he and his wife mostly socialize with others inside the porn business, in part because it avoids the awkwardness of explaining his line of work. "Most of our friends tend to be in the industry," he said. Relationships with family members can also be tricky. Mr. Jones's mother works for Lightspeed Media, handling customer service duties, but he said some relatives don't know about his work and likely wouldn't approve.'"
'But few in the porn world know much about Steve Jones, the 39-year-old married father of two behind the Lightspeed persona -- and that's the way he wants to keep it.' I hear slashdot is a great place for a porn king to be noticed.
..nobody seems to know anything about
..don't panic
Cool. The Wall Street Journal is submitting their own articles to Slashdot now. Nothing like a little free advertising.
Download my free songs!
now there's some news for nerds.
Linux : Hotrod
"Lightspeed fits today's active life style, whether you're on the job or having fun. Lightspeed Briefs - style and comfort for the discriminating crotch."
The owls are not what they seem
"Uhh, he brings much joy to Slashdotters around the world."
Friends don't let friends line-dance.
I am unsure as to why this is news. Subject X works in the Y industry, an industry not looked upon with great respect by a majority of the public. Because of this X does not want his family to know he works in the Y industry and generally associates with people from the Y industry so as to avoid embarassment due to his profession.
You know you want google to always remember you searched for Tawnee Stone. How old is she now, like, 25?
"But few in the porn world know much about Steve Jones, the 39-year-old married father of two behind the Lightspeed persona -- and that's the way he wants to keep it."
Have no worries, your secrets are safe with us.
... but he said some relatives don't know about his work ...
They do now.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
I'm not at all clear why this is a story for Slashdot.
Having an successful Internet business doesn't make an interesting in and of itself.
Is this supposed to make those of us not in the porn business feel grateful that we don't have his problems?
Excellent! I'm all set to follow in his footsteps!
A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
"Mr. Jones's mother works for Lightspeed Media, handling customer service duties..." I'm sorry but that just makes me LOL!
Steve -- http://tail-f.net/
Yeah right. And Steve Ballmer's children have never touched an iPod or used Google.
They'll have an idea something is not quite right. Moving house because the neighbours won't let you play with their kids? Not at all suspicious.
Keep up the good work though, Superdad! Shame you can't get that bumper sticker "Your AP kid gets DP'd by my kids".
I have no problem with WSJ submitting one or two articles that we might like now and again, but if it happens more than a couple of times, I'll start getting really worried.
Bottom line: The occasional submission; OK, regular submissions; they're using us.
Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
Great, exploit other people's family members, just not his. Personally, if I was working in something that I was ashamed to tell my family members about I think I'd rather be digging ditches.
Why? I wouldn't want his job or any job like it. The guy has a job that carries social stigmas. FTA, he said that he had to move his family when peopel found out about his job, and he generally only associates with people that are in the business. Sure he may get to look at porn, but when he has practically isolated himself and his family from the real world is it really worth it? In fact his daughters have no clue what their Dad does. Why on earth would you want to work in an industry that carries such a cost? Sure he may be financially secure, but sometimes the costs of wealth are too much.
The other thing that really made me wonder is that Mr. Jones shields his daughters from his business. It makes me wonder why he shields them? What exactly does that mean?
The views expressed are mine own and do not express the views of my employer.
Steve Lightspeed - He seems to enjoy his job.
I don't see anything morally wrong with it, as long as it is done by consenting adults. It's entertainment.
...when they become teenagers.
Joe Ordinary: "I found my dad's secret porn stash - four copies of Hustler!".
Lightspeed Jr: "*cough*, well..."
I have a feeling they'll be very popular at High School :)
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
As his children get closer to adulthood, he said, he'll explain what their parents do. "I wouldn't mind if my kids get involved in this business," he said. Then he added: "Behind the scenes."
These statements are in no way contradictory or hypocritical. Steve is behind the scenes, and is recommending the same to his children.
There may be more to Steve Lightspeed than I know, but I've seen some of his work and it was primarily very young and young looking girls doing naked dances and/or heavy petting with another similar girl. Jordan Capri was/is his star model, and she is extremely cute. AFAIK, there is no guy/girl stuff or hardcore, just cuties being cute.
In my eye, its not even porn. But there is no clear definition of porn at this time.
And it's as simple as that, even if you yourself are in the porn business. If only more parents would take the time to do this, we wouldn't suffer the spectacle of holier-than-thou types demanding that the government step in and place the entire Internet under a giant, child-proof cap.
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
I wouldn't want his job for even more basic reasons than that:
He works 12 hour days
7 days a week
travels often
and isn't even rich.
I also hear about young lawyers and doctors making well over 6 figures but I'm not jealous of them, either, because when you divide their salary by the 100 hours a week they work I'm making a lot more than them AND I have time to enjoy it.
But back to the other guy, it would be nice to be surrounded by nude models all the time...
which it'd be hard to assume it isn't, then sir, I owe you a drink.
You don't owe him anything. If anything, he owes you a few boxes of tissues.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
I wonder if you work for Lightspeed Media Corp, do you get in trouble if porn is NOT found on your PC?
Yeah, you'd think so but really, after a while they all blend together and the enjoyment ceases.
I'm saying this not as someone who works in the industry but rather from every story I've ever read written about people in the industry (the adult industry as a whole, not just online). To a one they all say the same thing: it's just a job.
Sure, looking at cute/hot girls seems like it would be great. They come in and you get look them up and down without fear of them calling the cops on you. But you're not looking at them and imagining all the lascivious things you could do with them (well, maybe a little) but rather, do they have the look? How do they react in front of the camera? Can they follow directions? Anything about their body that might turn people off (big feet, hairy butt, etc).
When I was getting my photography degree we were required to do sketches of nude models. Both male and female. I can assure you that when the model is on the stand you're not thinking, "Whoa! She's hot. Wonder if I can take her out to dinner or something else, hint, hint, wink, wink". Rather, you're thinking, "Holy shit, how am I supposed to draw her elbow in that position?", "Dammit! Why can't I get that shadow around her hip right?", "It would be nice if I didn't have to see her fingers in profile" Repeat for every session you drew a nude model.
For the record, in case you were wondering about getting a programming job for an adult website, check my journal for a lengthy article about what the reality is like. You may have to go back a bit to find it. It's called, 'Getting a tech job in the adult industry'. It was never accepted which is why it's in my journal. After all, why would the editors accept a story about programming and porn.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
In my eye, its not even porn. But there is no clear definition of porn at this time.
Yeah, if you don't start with a horse, a midget, a tub of lard and a big blue tarp it hardly qualifies.
Then there's San Francisco. I stop in at a bondage shop to see a friend who works there and find the manager, a striking blonde who's been in several pornos and is unashamed about it, working the cash register. She usually has her clerks doing that, and I ask her where everyone is. "Oh, they're at dildo training".
Guess his secret is safe enough, even if that is his real name. I bet they DID obfuscate it, anyway.
Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
I always wonder what some names really mean. For example, before I read the article I assumed "lightspeed" was an indicator of ... well ... something else.
I wish the article would say a little more about how he got started and also how he got his wife and mom?!? (wtf?) involved. That just seems odd. I wonder how many porn company owners have either their wife or mother working for them?
"...he and his wife mostly socialize with others inside the porn business.." And that's a bad thing? Damn, I wish I had those problems!
For those bitching that this isn't news: maybe you're right, but put the word "porn" in the title and it'll get posted on slashdot!
YES4Adults discussion forums!
You gotta be kiddin' me.
"Kids, I just want you to know that we would be very proud for you to be in the family business. We're very proud of our business. Uh, NOT the product, mind you, just the business.
"You'll go into the 'production' end over my dead body."
Your take on this is like saying it's "not hypocritical" for a narco-trafficker to punish his kids for taking drugs.
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
>But there is no clear definition of porn at this time.
I can't claim I made this up but I read a great definition hereabouts, that I think is absolutely accurate: "if you lose interest in it once you've come, it's porn."
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
It seems to me that for someone to be concerned about shielding his children, etc
Do you drink? Do you want children to drink? I guess you're concerned about alcohol then. Do you think someone that works for Anheuser-Bush shouldn't shield their kids from alchohol because they work for an industry that sells it?
There's such a thing as age appropriateness. I fail to see how there's anything inconsistant here.
and that people who find out won't let their kds play with his because they don't like his business, and this bothers him
He's protecting his kids from the intolerant people of the world. Wouldn't it bother anyone if neighbors went so far as to punish your kids because they didn't approve of you? That seems like more of a problem with the neighbors. They don't have to like him, or what he does, but banning their kids from associating with his kids is just bigotry.
AccountKiller
then a lot of men are married to porn stars
He has a nice business, a dozen of employees get a living thanks to it. Models are paid. Customers get what they were looking for. He doesn't promote anykind of violence. There is strictly nothing to be ashamed about. He should be proud of his achievment.
:-) but...Sincerily what is the worst? Producing a movie glorifying the war; singing how great the drug dealer life can be or making a video clip about a beautiful nude girl?
This is quite strange the fascination/repulsion the society has for this "traditionnal" business. It exists for centuries (first were drawings, then black and white pictures, magazines and now web sites) and so many people are still so unconfortable with it.
I don't want to sound like a hippy
I prefer the last one.
Olivier
I as a nerd am not so interested in the pornbusiness. I can understand the link between the internet and the porn business. But what I don't understand is why this should be stuff that matters and how this is new for nerds. In fact I don't get the news value of this post at all. Being a nerd doesn't mean we wank all day so that these kind of superficial topics would be of any interest.
If this guy knew what he was doing, he'd have his cable modem/DSL connected to a proxy server that only routes http (e.g. Squid) in a locked closet and tell the kid they can surf whatever they want, but he'll know all about it. That child protection software will do no good once the kid figures out how to download and burn a copy of any live Linux distro...
*** Sigs are a stupid waste of bandwidth.