My very first published curated list was Consume To Stay Informed, where I discussed the importance of being a well informed consumer when it pertains to not only products but for websites as well. The website in discussion is dating site AdultFriendFinder. AFF, for short, is highly popular and is considered one of the top dating sites to experience. I became a member of AFF in my early twenties with nothing to compare the site to and even had successful meetups. However, with time there were incidents that occurred that got me to inquire who is behind this website and why was I getting a feeling that something just was not copasetic. The incident that first triggered my curiosity was when someone asked me when I started promoting a Tip Menu on my profile. Now to be clear, yes I am a Live Streamer professionally on camsites such as Chaterbate, Stripchat and MyFreeCams and I do display a Tip Menu for viewers to refer to when making requests. I complete a W-9 for tax purposes, am labeled a freelancer/subcontractor and as a solopreneur, am registered with an EIN (Employee Identification Number). So I take what I do and how I do it professionally and follow practices that a self-employed business person would take. As for AFF, I was not there in a Live Streamer capacity, I was there as a member of the site open to meeting and interacting with other members. I never saw AFF as a potential income source and never posted a Tip Menu. So when this person told me what they saw I was in total shock, especially because I wasn't seeing what he was stating. That's until he took a screenshot and showed me that apparently there was a page on the site that I had no access to, displaying my profile with a Tip Menu, acting as if I streamed there and using my image as a way to market for the site. Angry is not the best word to describe how I felt but I was stunned at how sneaky AFF was. Oh and let me not forget the blantant set of balls AFF has on them, a few months prior I had been offered a 50% discount on their subcription, I saw it as a good deal and took it. So AFF basically spitroasted me on both ends. Free marketing and I was paying them for their membership.
So I contacted support and asked for an explanation. Since when did I give consent to use my image to market their site and to make it as if I Live Streamed on the site professionally. Mentioned that I never filled out a W-9 and how could they have me pay for a site that I apparently worked on. I demanded a refund of all the money and how they saw fit to act as they did. I received a refund for all the months I payed for but received silence on the matter of misusing my image. So this incident sparked the motivation to dig deeper into finding out what I had been involving myself in for all these years and also the catalyst for exposing the unethical business practices within the Adult Entertainment Industry.
I am transparent to inform my experiences with the site, I have also conducted my own research as well to provide factual data that gets hidden from the public with the help of Reputation Improvement Companies and Reviewers that don't publish unbiased and honest statements to assist their readers but to gain commission, click bait and pad their own wallets while the consumer is dealing with multiple data breaches, hackers and dead profiles. When I curate the information I obtain I do it in a matter of not summarizing what I read or expressing my interpretation of the information. I locate and provide for my readers to read for themselves and come to their own conclusion and take whatever action they see fit if any action at all. Influencing another's mindset has gotten careless and too much reliance on supposed numbers of likes or following has created a false perception for people to adopt. Negative factors about companies can and have been hidden, followings are bought and not enough questioning is being implemented. This is only the beginning of my findings with AFF, with more to report.
