RMED with a webcam, 24-year-old Nikki can make upwards of $300 for a few hours a week "camming" from the comfort of her own home.
Camming is amateur porn movie-making and it's the most recent addition to the porn industry.
All you need to make it is internet access, a web cam and, of course, a willingness to "perform" - anything from various sexual acts to simple conversations with strangers, who'll pay you.
Nikki told us that along with the money, she considers the anonymity one of the biggest advantages of camming.
"I couldn't have sex for money. Sex for me is private and personal but camming means that only the people that pay for it see it," she said.
"Customers log into the free chat area and negotiate a price. I charge around $4 a minute for a private show, which means between eight to 20 people can log on and see it. I also do exclusive shows, just one-on-one."
According to a recent article in The Daily Mail, 'camming sites' like the one Nikki works for are presenting a real threat to the world's professional porn video makers, who are estimated to be worth around $US5bn a year.
Unlike more traditional sex workers, cammers work for themselves. They're independent operators, who negotiate their own terms and can easily ban any unwanted attention. Also, aside from the exchange of credit card numbers, their clients are anonymous.
Nikki uploads her content to offshore cam' sites because, as far as she knows, it would be illegal for her to produce and market her content here. She told news.com.au there were a huge range of camming sites on offer in America and Europe, each with their own rules and regulations.
Nikki said she advises other girls interested in the industry to choose their sites wisely as each also differs in terms of how they look after the cammers. They also vary in terms of how much "cut" they take from the cammers - anything from 40 to 80 per cent.
"The first site I worked for was Free.com and I felt really exploited. Even though the policy said the site did not allow full nudity, I know there were other girls on there who agreed to do stuff like that all the time. And nobody stopped them," she said.
"The other problem was the support system. When something went wrong, I'd email the support line only to hear back in a couple of days with an automated response. When I did some research I found that that whole side of things had been moved to the Philippines," she said.
Feeling safe is a major priority. The new site Nikki works for, which she prefers not to name, offers a mentoring-type service for the cammers. Instead of the automated response, when Nikki feels uncomfortable due to unusual requests or abusive comments, she speaks directly to a real woman for help and even advice.
"She is very supportive and that makes me feel better about everything because I know she will be there and she understands what's going on," she said.
Nikki said her customers are mostly businessmen from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. She said their requests vary from fetishes, such as asking Nikki to pretend she was pregnant, to S-and-M bondage and humiliation.
Surprisingly, she also said that 25 per cent of her male customers just log on for a chat.
"Sometimes they'll log on and just say that they want to talk. Sometimes we talk about their sexual fantasies, it's like they need reassurance and they haven't told anyone before. Other times, I'll do a little show for them and then they want to talk about stuff that's going on in their lives," she said.
"I've had a couple of women and they are mostly doing it because it turns their husbands on to know they are watching other women online."
Dangers do exist. Nikki said she was recognised by a punter who claimed to be her ex-boyfriend.
"I thought he was kidding around but once he mentioned my suburb I told him I was going to terminate the session and I banned him," she said.
The fact that the industry remains unregulated has also meant that the sites are being swamped by people charging super low rates, leaving the more seasoned cammers such as Nikki forced to drop their prices.
"Camming is starting to get really popular because girls realise they can make quite a bit of money on their own. I know lots of people who are doing it to help them get through university and help pay the bills," she said.
"Lately I have noticed lots of couples, like married people or whatever, who are doing it as a way to make money together. I have no problem with them trying it but it makes it harder for the rest of us to charge a decent rate," she said.
Eden, 25, is part of the former group. She told news.com.au that camming was one of the only jobs she could squeeze in around her demanding university course.
"Because of my studies it varies, but I try to spend at least one night of four hours per week on there. When I'm not on holidays from university I aim for 3-4 nights per week of 4-6 hours. It can range from a very quiet night of a few hours not breaking $50 to my best night of $450," she said.
Like Nikki, Eden also appreciates the relative autonomy and level of control camming allows her to have over clients.
"My rates depend on what it is the client is after. If it's something basic and something I'm very comfortable doing then it will cost less than something that takes more time or effort, or I'm reaching the edge of my comfort zone," she said.
Both Nikki and Eden told news.com.au they see camming as a money making solution, to support their outside lives. They have both been surprised by how decent and polite most of the punters are once they're online.
That said, there are also plenty who Nikki said just waste time and try to get a performance for free.
"When I politely explain that this is not a free service, they call me a whore or something like that, or they tell me that I'm not worth paying for," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment