The Man Behind Online Porn's 'Steve Lightspeed' 246
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.'"
Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Slashdot (Score:5, Insightful)
Except shortly everyone Googling for his name will know who he is and what industry he works in. Nice responsible journalism. Why not ruin someone's life so you can write an interesting article.
The media stooped lower than usual this time. The least they could have done was shown some slight respect for the guy and his kids, and obscured the names.
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Insightful)
There is no mention of his wife's or his kids' names anywhere in the article, and having a last name of "Jones" is innocuous enough.
Re:Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
I guess in this case, "keeping up with the jonses" would have a whole new meaning eh?
Re:Slashdot (Score:2)
Uh, no? (Score:3, Informative)
Guess his secret is safe enough, even if that is his real name. I bet they DID obfuscate it, anyway.
Re:Slashdot (Score:2)
This particular one doesn't even show up in the first several pages of Google [google.com]
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Interesting)
"A few years ago, Mr. Jones relocated his family after some neighbors learned of his profession, and forbade their children from playing with his. "It was kind of heartbreaking," Mr. Jones said. He added: "My kids have no clue what we do."
I can't belive how hypocritical people can be. What do you want to bet that the same dad that didn't let his children play with Mr. Jone's kids could be found surfing his sites after the kids were in bed?
I am one of those "neocon" republicans that everyone here hates
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Insightful)
Are you SURE you're one of those Republicans? I didn't think treating people like equals was allowed. Maybe you've got the wrong Christ or something. The Republican Christ seems to love segregating people, ideas, and countries. Not to mention the whole warring/conquering nation thing.
Re:Slashdot (Score:2)
Yep, he should have gave his neighbors the free month pass like they wanted - this could have all been avoided.
Re:Slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
Google Steve Jones (Score:2)
Do you really think that googling "Steve Jones" is going to result in a plethora of focused information?
Re:Slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
Boo-fucking-hoo!
He's a pornographer. If he has a problem with his friends and family knowing that, maybe he should work in that field. This is as absurd as some guy driving race cars being terribly secretive about his job because all his family rides bikes.
Re:Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
Or shouldn't work in that field even.
Re:Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
pr0n... the $14 billion business (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:pr0n... the $14 billion business (Score:2)
But thanks to Google and other search engines, very easy to find... which makes you wonder when Google going to buy this guy out.
Re:pr0n... the $14 billion business (Score:5, Funny)
beta of course
Re:pr0n... the $14 billion business (Score:2)
Re:pr0n... the $14 billion business (Score:3, Informative)
Wall Street Journal (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wall Street Journal (Score:2)
Re:Wall Street Journal (Score:2)
Of course they could just think that, for some reason, the Slashdot community would be interested in pr0n.
Check out Novell's site. (Score:2)
Look at this page. http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/tip/17134.html [novell.com]
...
Hey, they make it easy for you to submit it to digg and slashdot. And those links seem to be part of their page template. Could be a wave of the future. Provide links from your material so people can easily submit it to other websites as "news".
Now, if there was some way to submit slashdot stories to Novell
This being slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:5, Insightful)
I have no problem with him or the WSJ submitting articles to Slashdot
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:4, Insightful)
amen. especially since they are honestly attribute. not beatlesbeatles shennanigans here, he says who he is upfront, it's all on the up and up, and the articles are usually of interest.
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:2)
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:2)
Which contrasts quite nicely with the usual crap summaries that we get on
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:2)
Correct me if I am wrong. (Score:2)
Re:This being slashdot... (Score:2)
Using you? Using you how?
I work for a technology magazine that covers news, reviews, and feature articles related to application development, Linux and open source, databases, security and identity management, yadda yadda. If I submit my magazine's articles to Slashdot, am I using you? Maybe I should just wait around for someone else to submit them -- would you feel less "used" then? Suppose I submit stuff for friends who
Re:Wall Street Journal (Score:3, Funny)
If this is the guy from Lightspeed University.... (Score:2)
Re:If this is the guy from Lightspeed University.. (Score:2)
Re:If this is the guy from Lightspeed University.. (Score:2)
And if you've ever watched the Tawny Stone videos...that girl is a clown, and a freak. Not a bad combo.
Re:If this is the guy from Lightspeed University.. (Score:2)
Steve Jones, the 39-year-old married father of two behind the Lightspeed persona
...before I started reading the comments, I thought that this guy sent his two girls to work in his business.....or two boys (!?!?)
Re:If this is the guy from Lightspeed University.. (Score:3, Funny)
You don't owe him anything. If anything, he owes you a few boxes of tissues.
P0rn News (Score:4, Funny)
Obligatory Futurama-quote (Score:4, Funny)
I can just imagine... (Score:2, Funny)
"Uhh, he brings much joy to Slashdotters around the world."
This is news? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is news? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
Re:This is news? Oh really? (Score:2)
Porn jokes aside, I'm kind of interested in how that business actually works. Does Jones generate all of his own content? Does he license content from other providers? How does he handle distribution of phy
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
I don't know about most others, but it would not be a happy conversation for me if I told the MRS. that I was 'an avid viewer of porn', and wanted to start photo-shooting models and making a career out of it.
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
What's surprising is that his wife (and his mother for that matter) support running such a business that is so stimatizing. The fact that they are okay with it is surprising to me. That's all.
And, you're making uninformed assumptions about my relationship with the Mrs.
This is a comment? (Score:2)
How many people do you know in porn? (Score:2)
Face it. People that work in indu
Click here (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Click here (Score:4, Interesting)
Then, I see this little blue link at the top. "Moderate Safe Search is on". So I switch it off. Ergo: Maybe I should try that trick with my own name once in a while...
Slashdot can keep a secret! (Score:5, Funny)
Have no worries, your secrets are safe with us.
Obligatory Airplane! quote (Score:2)
Elaine Dickinson: When will you be back?
Ted Striker: I can't tell you that. It's classified.
Re:Slashdot can keep a secret! (Score:2)
"The Steve Lightspeed character is a little bigger than life," said Mr. Jones, who often sports a baseball jersey emblazoned with "Lightspeed" in capital letters. "I heard people say we once raced helicopters down the Las Vegas strip."
Way to keep it on the down-low, dude.
Re:Slashdot can keep a secret! (Score:2)
HEY, WE ARE ALL VICTEMS of the Grammer Nazi's here, you insensitive clod !
Well, I have to say ... (Score:3, Funny)
They do now.
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
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?
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
No, but having a successful Internet business in an industry that is used by millions of people daily, perfectly legal, and yet the guy still has to hide what he does IS interesting.
Hence, "YRO".
I think it's a very interesting comment on our society (at least, American society). Even with no government censorship, the societal sanctions we impose on others have a great deal of influence. Parents won't let their kids play with his kids? What do they think Mr. Lightspeed does - porn films displayed 7x24 in his home? I guess they also figure someone who works for a gun manufacturer uses his kids as target practice...
Lightspeed (Score:4, Funny)
Excellent! I'm all set to follow in his footsteps!
FidoNet (Score:2)
Interesting to think that FidoNet may have been the cradle of the king of cyber-porn.
Re:Lightspeed (Score:3, Funny)
hahaha (Score:2, Funny)
Naive parents. (Score:5, Funny)
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 just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2)
If the answer to any of those is no then join club Lightspeed.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, if you don't start with a horse, a midget, a tub of lard and a big blue tarp it hardly qualifies.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2)
"Cuties being cute" would be more along the lines of non-nude or teasing-but-still-barely-non-nude. Lightspeed stuff qualifies as solo porn.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:3, Insightful)
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."
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2)
Also, any info on where he found Jordan? She is certainly cute and seems to have a nice personality.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2)
And yes, I actually do know a couple of people that "always wanted" to be garbage men.
Re:I just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morni (Score:2)
Amusingly enough a friend of mine (he and his wife are both college/university professors) with a young son said basically "after what I've been through I might go ahead and tell my kid to be a garbage man or a truck driver."
Question. (Score:2)
Here's a photo of the dude (Score:2, Informative)
What's wring with porn, really? (Score:2, Insightful)
I can just imagine the kids' conversations... (Score:5, Funny)
...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 :)
Re:I can just imagine the kids' conversations... (Score:3)
Re:I can just imagine the kids' conversations... (Score:2, Funny)
And in this case, they would really be popular in their high school.
Daughter: "Check out the rack on this one!"
Horny Boy: Eyes bulging "Uhh... what?!"
Family values (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Tech ignorant parents can do that till age 8 or so (Score:3, Informative)
internet policy (Score:3, Funny)
Re:internet policy (Score:2)
kashani
Then there's San Francisco (Score:5, Funny)
Time to earn the "Troll" mod again... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Time to earn the "Troll" mod again... (Score:3, Insightful)
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
What goes into a name... (Score:2, Insightful)
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 h
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)
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?
On the contrary... (Score:2)
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Insightful)
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...
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
This is truth... (Score:2)
The first time I went to Burning Man (2003 - late in the game), I was intrigued by the number of "naked people". Not oogling them or judging them, or anything, but interested in the fact of the sheer number. By the end of that first day, it all became a part of the background. The environment of the nudists seemed to me just as normal as the clothed members...
I would imagine that the porn industry would be the s
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
I always wondered about that myself. Before I got the job I have now, I used to "daydream online" from time to time by visiting a certain travel website and putting together/pricing different dream vacations. The job I have now? You guessed it - I now work for that travel website. And I'll tell you something - the last $#(@% thing I want to see when I get home is that web site that has kept me up until 3 AM more than once...
Social stigma (Score:2)
To you and middle America, maybe. Personally, I'd rather socialize with him than with someone who works for Microsoft or Halliburton. Now there are some jobs I see as having social stigma.
Re:obligitory Family Guy quote (Score:2)
Quagmire: Giggity giggitty, let's have sex!
Random guy: Who else but Quagmire?
Quote (Score:2)
What a nice chap. Quagmire indeed.