Ariel was pleased with her latest numbers. Her original Instagram account was now drawing more than 6,000 unique hits per month. She created videos about her normal life, but was clever and creative enough to make them interesting to lots of others. The comments from viewers were mostly positive, after you skipped all of the trashy misogynistic flamers. She had learned to love the attention she was getting with her clever videos. People really seemed to care about her and encouraged her to create more content. Most of those just wanted her to show more skin, but she had learned to really enjoy the compliments on her body, hair, face and attitude. She had come a long way from the shy girl in Akron to a more world-wise woman in Chicago. Now she loved the attention and she wanted more.
Her friend Tommy was an IT geek and had helped several models and aspiring actors to expand their social media presence. He had been encouraging her for months to develop a YouTube channel of her own, by using expanded versions of her Instagram videos. He had also been encouraging her to sleep with him, also with no results so far.
Ariel certainly needed a better way to earn a living. At age 22 she had originally gone to NY to model for a lingerie firm. Her slim body stood 5′ 10″ with natural red hair, blue eyes, a creamy skin, C cup breasts and a firm round ass. The modeling pay was inconsistent, but was an ongoing source of income. Like thousands of women before her, she tried acting and got some bit parts in theatre productions – but Broadway wasn’t ready for her style. She eventually found a niche in upscale strip clubs in Chicago and made decent tips there. She wasn’t whoring, she just liked to show off her body. She especially enjoyed clubs with dancing cages where she could safely flaunt her stuff and enjoy the adulation of the crowd. That’s where her last vestiges of modesty were discarded and her natural exhibitionism had flourished.
Ariel had been dating lots of guys ever since high school. She enjoyed their attention and never missed an opportunity to wiggle her ass or flash something at a passing man. She loved the control she had over them. She had slept with many, but hadn’t found real love — sort of like Joni Mitchell’s description: “Now it’s just another show, you leave ’em laughing when you go”.
She had joined Facebook to expand her social contacts and found it helpful, but annoying. She could broadcast everything she did to her friends, but in return, had to watch unlimited numbers of postings from people she hardly knew. After a while, she found the whole thing tedious and boring.
She got back into the game when Facebook bought Instagram and she discovered the fun in creating short videos about her favorite subject — herself. Instead of dancing for 50 people in a club, she could perform — virtually — for thousands. She created several exotic dance routines that emphasized her best assets: her face, her hair and her ass. Her followers count soared in a few months and she reveled in the positive comments she received from people all over the world.
Her exhibitionism had grown to a new level. She continued to push the envelope of Instagram’s standards with more flesh and more explicit talk until the moderators blocked one video and suggested she tone down the sex appeal. But she had created a brand for herself and wanted to expand it further. There was some income from Instagram Badges, but that wouldn’t even pay for groceries.
Tommy followed her progression and suggested that she should move on to YouTube.
“With your looks and screen presence you could start to monetize those videos. It’s nice to be popular on Instagram, but it’s even better to be rich.” He advised.
Moving to YouTube would require her to create a more long-form video format that had more content than just her cute ass and flirting remarks. Tommy promised to help her develop the content and to get it publicized. She could point her Instagram followers to her YouTube channel, but there had to be some new, more provocative content. She and Tommy discussed the limits of most online platforms when it came to sexually themed videos. You could talk about sex, but you couldn’t show it.
Tommy’s analysis of her followers’ profiles revealed that most were 18-30 years old, mostly male, but with significant female interest as well. Recurring comments asked questions about sex, love, relationships and sex. Ariel’s online persona had given the impression of a smart, worldly and open-minded woman who wasn’t shy about her sexuality. Her followers believed her to be an expert on all things sexual. And that was the key to her next endeavor.
Tommy and Ariel agreed there was plenty of raunchy porn-adjacent video on YouTube, but there was a also vast demand for educational videos on any subject: how to replace a water heater, how to tune-up a 2012 Hyundai, how to apply for a student loan, etc. Could they combine that how-to model with her sexual themes and create a popular project?
It was Ariel who first verbalized the concept. “We should create how-to videos for sexual activities. You know, how to give a good blowjob, how to extend your orgasm, how to convince your partner to try anal, etc.”
“You know that won’t fly.” Tommy objected. “You can’t show explicit sex on YouTube. Their automated review process has plenty of algorithms to recognize it and block it.”
“I know dummy.” Ariel smirked. “But you can talk about sex and describe everything and make it seem real enough. Heck, you could even use medical anatomy diagrams to explain things. People would love it! It’s not pornography, it’s educational.”
They both agreed that they had a workable model for success on YouTube and started assembling the pieces. They set up a bare-bones TV studio in her spare bedroom with lighting and a crude backdrop. They hung large bath towels on the walls that weren’t seen on camera to reduce the echo in the room. Tommy already owned a hand-held HD camera with a zoom lens and other features and a laptop with significant video editing capabilities. He created some graphics with a logo, her name and titling ability.
The only thing missing was the sexually implicit, but outwardly clean, content. That’s where Ariel’s experience proved so valuable. From her interactions with her thousands of followers, she knew what questions they had. She intended to satisfy that demand by playing an experienced sex counselor onscreen to expand her brand beyond just being a hot body. A sex counselor with a wink in her eye and a giggle in her voice.
Her first YouTube video was basically an introduction of herself and her admirable goal of “helping everyone improve their ability to give and receive sexual pleasure”. She wore a conservative suit, but with a frilly blouse unbuttoned to reveal some cleavage. She wore enough makeup to emphasize her features, but not overdone like a hooker. She sat behind a table, but made sure her long legs were emphasized in the zoom-out shots. She wanted a backdrop showing naked people, but, knowing the YouTube standards, they chose DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. Who could object to great art from the 15th century? She named the show: ‘Making It Better with Ariel’.
Ariel posted a few new videos on Instagram, each of them mentioning her new YouTube channel. Several thousand of her followers followed the link and saw her new image as the savvy and witty counselor. Over 2,000 immediately followed her on YouTube, but she knew she would need something bold to start some real buzz. It had to be a question that was sexually interesting without being overtly sexual.
Tommy suggested the idea of “What is an orgasm?” and Ariel agreed that was perfect. She started doing her online research and read several boring medical research papers and psychological theories about sexual climax. Definitions varied from “sexual trance and climax via rhythmic entrainment” through “le petit mort” (the little death). She figured out the most effective balance between scientific jargon and common, crude terms. Those terms could be enhanced with the right meaning when delivered with a subtle wink, sideways glance, smirking smile, knowing nod or whole body gesture. And Ariel was very good at all of them.
“The male orgasm seems simpler than the female.” She explained on camera. “Men can reach orgasm faster than most women (sad frown) and after ejaculation their organ quickly shrinks (slowly moves thumb and index finger together with disapproving downward gaze). Many people, male and female, vocalize their feelings very loudly (holds hands over ears and grimaces) which seems to increase their pleasure.”
The first orgasm video was a hit. People thought it was both informative and funny. She plugged it on her Instagram account and drove the numbers sky high — for her – 10,000 hits in the first three days. She had joined the YouTube Partner Program so she could earn income from ad sales and got her first real taste of online revenue.
In the following weeks they created more “lessons” based on masturbation, oral sex, anal sex, threesomes and BDSM. All of them included clear verbal descriptions of the acts, some artful diagrams or artistic images, but no explicit demonstrations of the real thing. It was full time work, but the revenue continued to rise, slowly. Ariel got better at writing and presenting the shows and was proud of her work.
Ariel and Tommy paid attention to all of the initial user comments from the first few YouTube videos. Beyond “Thank you”, “great video” and “you’re a slut” comments, there were lots of people asking for more explicit demonstrations of the subject matter. “Ariel, please make a video of YOU having a real orgasm! I would pay to see that.” Tommy and Ariel looked at each other after reading that one.
Again, it was Tommy that saw the opportunity first. “Well, we can’t do anything like that on YouTube, but you could build your own website and post almost any content you, or your followers, wanted. We could make a companion video for each of your sex counselor videos where you actually demonstrate the concepts. You could make a lot more money by charging for subscriptions or video on demand. Would you consider becoming a porn star?”