Or maybe porn drives the tech industry here. In either case, it's an interesting consideration, since both industries are on the rise and both are huge sectors of employment in the orange juice capital of the world.
Most of the actors who come to Florida don't do it to get onto the big screen, as they do in Los Angeles, or on Broadway, as they do in New York. They do it to go straight to HD in the fastest-growing movie industry on the planet: online porn. The tech industry is also growing in a huge way with swaths of young people coming to Florida not for spring break or to attend one of our great universities but to become permanent residents. And the nation's IT industry seems to see Florida as one of the rally points for all things geek.
Except today's geeks could easily be porn stars, if you've attended any of the IT conventions we hold here regularly. At Refresh Miami, you're just as likely to see hot women (who may or may not be wearing glasses) as you are the traditional geekstress. At Infinite Bits, you'll see guys who could cover GQ walking and talking geek with the traditional thick-glasses-wearing nerds we're all familiar with. Why the concentration of hotness in Florida? Well, for the porn industry, the choice is Vegas or Florida, apparently. And Florida has better beaches.
For IT, techheads can choose Wisconsin or Florida. That's pretty
obvious to anyone, I think. Both industries are on the rise, even in
today's economy, and both industries are seeing Florida as their focal
point. According to Enterprise Florida,
Florida is home to more than 24,000 tech companies employing more than
a quarter of a million people. At the same time, several big-name internet porn companies and sites are located in Florida. Two of the
most popular are the Reality Kings and Bang Bros
(links are obviously NSFW) and their related sites. Neither company returned my request for an interview. The infamous Girls Gone Wild series sees Florida's beaches and
resorts regularly, and Playboy has done photo shoots here more than once.
There's
definitely a lot happening in Florida, and it's not centered around
quiet retirement and boring shuffleboard games either! Even Granny
porn is making it mainstream down here.
Quick introduction: I am Craig Agranoff and
will be covering the tech and social media space on my new blog, titled
TechSqueeze. On my part, I come with a background in ever-developing
technology and social media. Currently, I edit Rev2 and sCommerce
daily, two sites that deal with new technologies and cutting-edge
websites, as well as Social Commerce. I cofounded and currently write
technology reviews for the first Social Sourcing site, VOIS,
which enables freelances and buyers of their services to meet in a
decentralized social setting. Before the death of the Boca News, I
covered its technology sector.
If you ever have any questions or comments, I can quickly be found on Twitter @lapp. I look forward to hearing your feedback, and please send me ideas for stories you would like to see appear here.
