One of my favorite plays is a work by Elmer Rice entitled "The Adding Machine".

The play's protagonist is a man named Mr. Zero who makes his living by adding up columns of numbers all day. After twenty-five years of loyal service, he is fired and replaced by an adding machine. Zero responds by killing his boss. Zero is tried and executed and ends up in a sort of purgatory where he comes this close to finding a type of peace when ultimately he discovers that he has to return to Earth for the sake of recycling.

"Anyone can still make a go in the adult Internet business and if you're already making a living at it, you rock. Just don't rock too hard and forget that nothing is forever."

This play was written in 1923 when Rice wasn't the only person afraid that the advent of mass production would create a machine-operated world. The earlier machine age -as well as mass production- changed the landscape of the American job market. We went from a farm-based workforce to a specialized workforce. We moved out of the country and into cities so that we could toil in candy factories and paper mills. One can only imagine what Rice would have written if he had known about the pocket calculator.

A lot of people familiar this play feel sorry for Mr. Zero. The poor man. He worked so hard. His wife was a major bitch. It's horrible that a person can work for all those years only to be thrown away for an object that is cheaper and better. Just when he's happy for the first time, he's reincarnated into another meaningless life. It's just not fair.

But then, The Adding Machine is a cautionary tale. Zero might be the protagonist but he's no hero. He remains in a miserable marriage, is too afraid to flirt with his willing co-worker and the only thing keeping him together is his crappy job. The quiet desperation of the average drone is a story for the ages now. Today we're more drone-like than ever. People drudge away in cubicles, sitting in front of glorified adding machines. We go to our jobs and perform the same tasks over and over, year after year. Every once in a while, one of us snaps and turns into Mr. Zero. Cautionary tale indeed.

Maybe that's why you chose to escape the rat race and become an adult webmaster. You realized that we're in an age where dependable jobs are almost legend. Many of you became proficient on computers only to discover that your skills aren't needed thanks to the wonderful concept of outsourcing. Could be, you just wanted your destiny back. You decided to claim your piece of the future and you chose one of the only products in existence that hasn't (and hopefully won't ever) become obsolete: Porn.

Congratulations. If you've made it this far, you have a chance to be as successful as any other newbie. Anyone can still make a go in the adult Internet business and if you're already making a living at it, you rock. Just don't rock too hard and forget that nothing is forever.

Anyone that has been at this for a few years knows that this industry isn't nearly as profitable as it once was. Let's face it, some of us got rich with some pretty cheesy business tactics. Others of us gained our fortunes more for being early birds than masterminds. Quite a lot of us are out of the business altogether. We've begun to self-police our profession and at the same time, our various governments are passing laws in an effort to corral us. Sex is dependable. Porn is dependable. The future of the adult webmaster? Not so dependable.

The adult Internet is a good, solid business. Some people are making millions. Others are making hundreds of thousands. Quite a lot of us make enough to keep us happy. That doesn't mean things will be bright and sunny in adult webmasterland forever.

Our industry is in evolution. Our environment is changing. Surfers are becoming smarter and more cautious when it comes to Internet smut. Legislators are doing their best to put an end to free porn. The credit card companies either won't work with us or penalize us with oppressive fees and fines. Mega corporations would like us to disappear so they can take all our business.

The only way any of us will survive is through good old adaptation.

You see, it all comes back to Mr. Zero. The reason he went nuts is because he only had the one skill. All he knew how to do was add numbers. He blew a gasket because he couldn't adapt. His loyalty didn't matter. His reputation didn't matter. His special talent was obsolete and that was that.

Be an adult webmaster. Make money. Work hard but don't get too comfortable. You found a niche or a format that works for you. Go forth, but keep honing new skills and exploring new technologies. You've chosen a highly-competitive profession that's on the edge of everything, including society. Don't become obsolete. Don't let yourself go the way of Zero, or adding machines for that matter.