TAMPA MODELING BLOG
Tampa
Modeling Blog By Tampa Modeling Expert and Tampa Bay Modeling Director
C. A. Passinault
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Friday,
April 16, 2010 - 8:05 AM - Tampa Modeling
Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
The
Next Modeling Industry
The
next modeling industry was born here
in Tampa Bay. This is ground zero for
a new industry, and if you’re
an unethical modeling agency, a modeling
scam, an unethical modeling job, or
someone who is unprofessional, someone
who is trying to swindle your way into
the modeling industry, you might want
to quit now. The Tampa Bay modeling
industry, as ground zero, is going to
be very difficult to work in with the
coming business environment.
In the future, too, just about everyone
who thinks of “modeling scam”
will think of the Tampa modeling industry.
To many, it will look like that models
in the Tampa Bay market became so fed
up with modeling scams and modeling
agencies not doing their jobs, that
they fought back, and took matters into
their own hands. Modeling scams and
unethical people in the Tampa modeling
industry are about to experience a growing
backlash, and rightfully so.
That’s nothing, too. There are
plans with Independent Modeling to launch
a new web site project to take on the
top modeling industry market in the
country, which is New York. The tools
and concepts developed, and proven,
in Tampa Bay will force change in the
strong modeling market in New York.
The plan is already underway, and it
may culminate in yet another modeling
resource site.
Shortly, Independent Modeling will be
working with the national media to give
the issues in the modeling industry
the exposure that they need, along with
solutions (and we’ve had quite
the education with dealing with the
media here with the local media, who
have been good to us; we’ve had
dozens of television interviews and
appearances from 2008-2009, and the
only reason that we haven’t had
any this year is because we haven’t
tried. We’ve been busy preparing
for the next phase). What’s been
going on in the Tampa modeling industry
will be exposed for what it is, and
if it is wrong, it will be stopped.
Independent Modeling, which launched
in 2001, has changed the business of
modeling in many ways. Independent Modeling,
also, has been waging an ongoing war
in the modeling industry since 2003,
winning every battle. Tampa Bay Modeling
has been in a state of war since we
launched in 2004. We became the proving
grounds for many of the latest concepts
from Independent Modeling, and what
we’ve developed, proven, and refined
will change the industry forever.
If you think what started nine years
ago was out best, you haven’t
seen anything yet. We’ve only
just started with our agenda, and the
best will be coming in less than a year.
I recall some of the ideas which didn’t
work out so well along the way, too,
such as the Professional Model Bureau
(PMB), and the TALON Talent Online Database;
both, incidently, which depended upon
centralized databases. Now, we have
new tools, such as this new thing called
the RAS, or Risk Analysis System. The
RAS is particularly nasty to anyone
who does not invest in their career,
and it will cripple the credibility
of anyone who uses a portfolio networking
site or a freebie social networking
profile as a primary way of doing business.
The RAS will also address amateurs who
use TFP to build portfolios, and modeling
jobs who don’t pay models. Invest
in your career, and allow the money
to flow, or find it difficult to be
taken seriously, or even get work.
Those modeling pay vouchers are going
to be very important, too. The vouchers,
which should have been available years
ago, will make it easier for models
to get paid for working modeling jobs
(remember, models, if there is no pay
involved, it doesn’t count as
a booked modeling job!). There will
be two types of pay vouchers, one for
small modeling jobs which require payment
the day of the job, and another which
is for delayed booking; for large modeling
jobs which normally work with agencies
to obtain their models.
The war rages on, and will be ongoing
for years to come.
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Tuesday,
April 13, 2010 - 8:30 AM - Tampa Modeling
Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
This
Is Going To Get Very Messy!
Come
on, guys, be ethical about this. We want
modeling jobs to be open to booking models
into their jobs without going through
an agency. You’re already saving
money by not having to pay agency commissions.
Don’t take advantage of models by
assuming that you can get them for free
just because they didn’t go through
an agency, though. In the long run, this
is bad for everyone. The agencies become
more legitimate, and credible, because
their models get paid when they book work.
Also, it gives the agencies leverage over
the models who they are supposed to work
for.
The problems are not simple, the solutions
are not simple, and this is going to take
work to address. Sure, we can make it
relatively simple for the models to address,
and simple to put the modeling jobs in
their place. It’s not going to be
easy for us to sort all of this out, though,
and will take time.
A new type of modeling job scam has been
defined. We’re going to address
it.
For now, models, evaluate every modeling
job. If it is “for charity”,
weigh it out. Don’t work for free,
especially if the parties offering the
modeling job are making money from the
effort. Stick to your guns, and get paid
for being a professional model.
Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career,
Independent Modeling, and Advanced Model
are all going to address these new modeling
job scams. This is the largest danger
to the independent modeling movement,
and needs to be addressed now before it
destabilizes the market and fair market
rates (and, yes, this will hurt the agencies,
too. Agencies need to get paid, too, if
they refer models into a job!) .
We need those new vouchers, as soon as
possible.
First, we stuck up for models, and their
rights. Then, we end up fighting a few
unethical models. So be it. Recently,
we stuck up for modeling jobs which need
to give opportunities to freelance models
and save agency commission. Now, we fight
the unethical modeling jobs trying to
rip off models. This is going to get very
messy. This is another facet of our modeling
industry war. There are unethical, unprofessional
elements in every area of the modeling
industry. There are bad models, bad agencies,
modeling scams, bad photographers, and
bad modeling jobs. There are good people,
too. It’s our mission to bring balance,
and integrity, to the industry, and it
will be done.
It looks like, because of this new modeling
job issue, that modeling job scams will
be at the top of our target list for a
long time to come. We welcome the battles,
and the ongoing war. Our work is never
done.
Look for a lot of this work to be done
in the next month. Right now, the modeling
sites are on standby, as we are tackling
a series of blogs, and our web team is
working on photography marketing sites.
This will take a few more weeks, and by
May 2010, the modeling and talent resource
sites will be the primary focus.
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Monday,
March 28, 2010 - 8:42 PM - Tampa Modeling
Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
This
Is Going To Get Messy
Just
finished a modeling scam evaluation online,
tracking what we’ve accomplished,
and what needs to be done.
Tampa modeling scams have dramatically decreased
activity. It could be considered that the
increase in modeling scam advertising in
2009 was a result of a decrease in business
already, and they were getting desperate.
With the noted decrease in advertising,
combined with reports from our operatives
in the field, some Tampa modeling scams
are on the verge of total collapse.
Tampa modeling agency business is also down
by over 50%, due to a dramatic decrease
in legitimate modeling jobs. There are signs,
however, with reports from our contacts,
and monitoring of the commercials being
run (new advertising traffic) on Tampa media,
that the modeling job market is rebounding.
We hope that the increase in new business
is not temporary, and that more modeling
jobs become available, not just for the
sake of the agencies, but for the sake of
models who are seeking to book those jobs
on their own.
Don’t count the modeling scams in
the Tampa Bay market out, yet, though. At
the moment, most of them are oblivious to
the fact that we have undermined their unethical
businesses. They don’t have the resources
that we do, or access to our numbers. This
said, we project that 2010 is going to get
messy for us, particularly over the summer.
We are preparing for an ongoing, and intense,
war in the modeling industry. We will be
on the radar of more modeling scams this
year, and it will become obvious that we
are hurting their business, especially with
our prime search engine positioning.
There will come a time when we expect some
of these people to start calling us a scam.
They will have to prove it. Tampa Bay Modeling
and our affiliates are being very careful
about how we are going about bringing integrity
and balance to the modeling industry. We
are not in the business of slandering, smearing,
or misleading anyone. If anyone has any
questions, please email us, or simply take
a moment to read our site, and open your
eyes to what is really going on.
With the introduction of the Risk Analysis
System (RAS), a new Tampa modeling industry
information section, modeling pay vouchers
which can be printed free of charge, a new
modeling scam analysis database, new scam-fighting
tools, and other new tools, it is going
to get messy, too. Advanced Model will also
be launching shortly, which will stimulate
new content, and the modeling job board,
on Independent Modeling.
The people who will lose business the most
in the local modeling industry this year,
though, will be the ones who refuse to invest
in their careers, especially with widespread
adoption of the RAS. Using a freebie myspace
or portfolio networking profile as your
main business site? Have a portfolio full
of amateur pictures from TFP/TFCD? Good
luck making any money! You’ve been
warned.
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Friday,
February 19, 2010 - 7:20 PM - Tampa Modeling
Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Research
And Work
Just
completed some research via the search engines,
and I’m very happy. Everything is in
optimal position.
I’m finishing up a “how to get
started in modeling” article, and it’s
already larger than ten pages. I would have
finished it last night, but I had to edit
my blogs (both my attorney and my PR person
were harping me about having more PR-friendly
content on my blogs which are connected to
business- The modeling sites are on the outskirts
of those endeavors, and I have full discretionary
power to post as I please here), which there
are a lot of, and work on Independent Modeling.
I will be finishing that article tomorrow.
At the moment, I am thinking about publishing
it here, but since Tampa Bay Modeling is a
geographic lead-in site for Independent Modeling,
and a marketing platform as well, I may publish
the article on Independent Modeling instead,
as it is controversial (not to mention that
publishing it here may be redundant). The
articles is so big, that it will have to be
formatted into several web pages and organized
as an array. It’s enough content to
become a stand-alone web site itself.
Independent Modeling is going to take a lot
of work. A lot needs to be done, and I will
be focusing on that well into next month.
We will be adding vouchers, the new scenario
based second generation scam analysis database,
and a lot of other things.
One thing which is critical is to get the
modeling job board and resource up on Independent
Modeling. I’ve been tinkering with this
over the years, and it works well, but it
needs to get moving. It will become a tool
to combat modeling job scams, as well as become
a great source of modeling jobs. Also, much
like other tools and information which will
be available on Independent Modeling, the
modeling job board will be used by Tampa Bay
Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, and Advanced
Model.
Ah, and the new “model letters”
(modeling mailbag), which has not had a finalized
name yet, will become the official mail bag
of Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling,
and Florida Modeling Career once Advanced
Model launches in the coming weeks. The monthly
mail bag, a refined version of the mail bags
which started on Independent Modeling and
then Tampa Bay Modeling, will be published
on Advanced Model, referencing information
and tools on the other modeling sites; mainly
Independent Modeling.
Currently, we’re working with the following:
Four modeling resource sites.
Two acting resource sites.
The acting resource sites will have audition
boards which are versions of the job board
on Independent Modeling. Presently, these
sites, Independent Acting and Tampa Bay Acting,
are not positioned correctly. Tampa Bay Acting
is at marginal performance, and Independent
Acting is completely off track. Once the modeling
sites are up to spec, we will be working on
the acting sites. I really need those audition
boards to be in prime position, and fully
operational, in 2011, and we need to start
now to get it ready for the future.
Independent Acting, although it is technically
still up, will have to be completely rebuilt
from scratch and moved under its own domain
name. It will be based on Independent Modeling,
and will tie into Tampa Bay Acting much like
Independent Modeling ties into Tampa Bay Modeling
and the other modeling sites.
I have more to say now, but I can’t
because the work is sensitive, and it’s
classified until tomorrow. I can say more
tomorrow.
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Friday,
February 19, 2010 - 9:00 AM - Tampa Modeling
Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Blogs
Edited
I
had to take a few hours to back up files and
remove a massive amount of content on my assorted
blogs, and do some editing. I will resume work
on the modeling sites tomorrow. Both of the
blogs on Tampa Bay Modeling and Independent
Modeling have also been adjusted. This is a
PR move, and nothing more. I tend to state the
obvious, and some more specific things needed
to be removed, sticking to pattern analysis
and useful information.
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Thursday,
February 18, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog
entry by C. A. Passinault
Working
On Independent Modeling
I’m
keeping this short, because I have a lot of work
to do. I’d much rather be finishing things
then spending
30 minutes writing about it.
I’ll be spending a couple of hours today
glazing over Tampa Bay Modeling and doing updates.
After that, all of the work will be done on Independent
Modeling. Independent Modeling is the core site
which Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career,
and Advanced Model depend on. As an example, the
modeling job board on Independent Modeling will
be used by all of the sites (see the blog on Independent
Modeling for details).
Independent Modeling will be worked on at least
five hours a day until this Saturday (around 14
hours of work this week). Another 25 hours of
web site work is scheduled for Independent Modeling
next week, which should bring it up to speed.
In March, Florida Modeling Career will be brought
up to speed. Advanced Model is also scheduled
to launch in early March 2010.
The Independent Modeling modeling job board, which
is the most advanced online modeling job board
in the world, has been sputtering in and out for
the past eight years. It’s time to get serious
about the modeling job board. It will be fully
operational this weekend, with all of the checks
and balances in place (hint: Steal modeling job
leads from this board, and you’ll be sorry.
Ditto for agency bookers who try to use the board
for leads to solicit. We’re going to be
educating our job board posters, just like we
will we will educate models and photographer.)
I’ve already had long discussions about
modeling job board with industry experts, including
my friend Kitty, who owns Florida Models. I’ve
learned about the pitfalls of established modeling
job boards, and have aggressive solutions in place.
Kitty already gave me permission to contact her
posters so they can start posting on my board,
and she will continue with her board.
Search engine performance of all the sites is
finally where we want it. Everything is now in
place for what is going to happen.
This said, we don’t want models being dependent
upon anything... not our web sites, not our job
board, and not on any agency. We don’t control
them, and don’t have any leverage on them;
we do not desire to have a monopoly on a modeling
industry that should be open source. Models will
learn how to be truly independent.
The goal is to balance out the modeling industry,
which has been backwards since it began. By default,
this will also cripple modeling scams, which hurt
our industry and have no right to make money at
the expense of others.
This has been in the works for seven years now,
and we are finally beginning our plan now. This
is bad news for modeling scams and unethical agencies,
photographers, and models.
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Saturday,
February 13, 2010 - 08:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog
entry by C. A. Passinault
Ready
My
research is done for the moment, and we are ready
to implement our plans. Both Tampa Bay Modeling and
Independent Modeling are in prime position on the
Internet, and once Florida Modeling Career is brought
up to specifications, it will be in prime position
by this fall. Advanced Model, my monthly online modeling
magazine and the official web site for my modeling
book, is ready to launch, and will do so when work
on the other sites is completed; I'm planning to launch
it in April 2010, and the delay should give me some
lead time. Advanced Model's search engine placement
is pretty much irrelevant for now, at first, because
each issue will have aggressive lead-in promotion
links from the already prime and established modeling
sites, being Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling,
and Florida Modeling Career. This is exactly like
my online strategy when I took Tampa Bay Film's Online
Film Festival and created a stand-alone site for it.
The online film festival enjoyed the full traffic
of Tampa Bay Film, despite having to online search
engine presence, because Tampa Bay Film linked directly
to it, and both sites were interconnected (within
six months, the online film festival had better search
engine performance than Tampa Bay Film, too!). Such
will be the deal with Advanced Model, and once it
is on top, it will serve as the main lead-in for the
sites which kick-started it. Oh, and what is interesting
about Tampa Bay Modeling is that I have twice the
investment that I have into the modeling sites, and
this was after the online film festival took the lead
in search engine performance. I have four modeling
sites. I now own eight Tampa Bay Film sites. Looking
at what the modeling sites have accomplished over
the years, it will be very interesting to see where
the Tampa Bay Film sites will be in the near future.
I'm really looking forward to the return of such features
like the modeling mail bag with Monica Stevens, too.
The new mail bag will benefit from being referenced
from Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling, and
Florida Modeling career. It will be the official readers
letters for all four modeling resource sites. We've
fixed some of the issues with what made it less cost-effective
in the past, too; long replies which require an article
or tutorial will see the relevant article or tutorial
published on Independent Modeling, and the mail back
reply will reference it on Independent Modeling. This
time, the mail bag is back for good, as this is very
cost-effective, and eliminates the issues that killed
it the other two attempts. Third time is the charm
(and I won't miss editing and organizing 20 page mail
bags. The new formats will be shorter and sweeter....
well, maybe not sweeter; it depends on Monica. I can
say that I am looking forward to more letters from
the French photographer in Clearwater who she refers
to as "French Fry"- his letters are entertaining,
as well as informative).
It looks like the strategy of turning the modeling
resource sites into marketing platforms is working,
too (last year, it didn't work that well, because
of the crash of the economy in late 2008, and because
few were in the market for modeling portfolios in
2009). I'm now seeing record inquiries into modeling
portfolio photography because if these modeling sites-
yesterday alone had to be an all-time record. That's
just the prelude to what is coming, too, because today
we start something really cool. I expect to book more
modeling portfolio photography shoots in 2010 than
I did, combined, since this all began in 2001. These
investments are paying off, and will give us an advantage
over everyone else.
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Monday,
December 28, 2009 - 05:40 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry
by C. A. Passinault
Doing
Research
I
believe in looking before I leap. Although I have everything
is place for what needs to be done, I’ve spent
the past few days doing a lot of reading and looking
around. I’ve been looking at what is going on
in the modeling industry (and I especially adore the
pretenders in California and in Europe who have been
on my modeling resource sites and are trying to capitalize
on what we are doing. The one in California is even
using some of our slogans! Fortunately, they are coming
off as cheap, third-rate knock-offs, and are doing a
poor job at whatever it is that they are trying to do.
Independent Modeling is about to become a superpower
modeling resource site again, and will put the copy
cats in their proper place. I’m flattered, I suppose,
by the imitators, but everyone will want the original,
and the real deal, over the pretenders, especially with
some of the cool things that we are about to do).
I’ve read modeling books at the bookstore and
on Amazon. I just finished listening to every podcast
on the modeling industry that I could find, too (this
one series of podcasts out of Texas, which is about
photography and modeling, seems to focus more on glamour,
nude, fetish, and other non-mainstream type of modeling.
They also seem to ask their guests the same series of
questions, and they promote portfolio networking sites
as “professional”. I like the series, but
I strongly disagree with their views on the modeling
industry; a view which could be spun as independent
modeling / photography, but is more of a result of the
web 2.0 explosion of portfolio networking sites than
the independent modeling and talent movement). Ironically,
there aren’t really any other modeling resource
web sites out there, and mine are dominant, in any case.
Every other modeling site out there are either modeling
agency web sites, model web sites, and portfolio networking
web sites. There is a “modeling resource web site”
out there which is supposedly information for new models,
but I strongly disagree with some of the information
on that site, as much of it is old-industry propaganda
(I rather like the position that they are in, too, with
their outdated information. It will be much easier to
defeat them and to put them in their place in the near
future). In regards to the latest modeling industry
information, however, the most current would be in those
podcasts. People may not like to write (or are unable
to write..... I know photographers such as Rick and
Dig Doug who write like three year olds, but who, inversely,
are very good at talking up a storm), but they certainly
talk. This is also the reason that I haven’t found
those podcasts until now, when I was messing around
in iTunes. The search engines cannot read what is spoken
in a podcast, but they find plenty to index at my modeling
resource sites, which are filled with tons of content.
Right now, all of my modeling sites are positioned where
they need to be, and where I want them to be. It’s
taken years. I’ve spent years testing concepts
and waiting for the right time to begin what needs to
be done. I now own the most effective modeling resource
sites in the world, and it’s time to use them
as platforms for a revolution (this portfolio networking/
GWC/ TFP/ myspace business web site/ exploitive glamour
crap is about to be schooled and put in its rightful
place; in the gutter of the industry. It’s the
sewage of the modeling industry, it’s been piling
up, and it seriously needs to be flushed. Primarily
as a result of freebie portfolio networking sites, digital
cameras with no overhead for shoots, and people who
claim to be professionals, but don’t have a clue,
and a poor economy, the modeling industry stinks at
the moment).
Many years ago, when I first launched Independent Modeling
and the modeling resource site concept (which I cannot
entirely claim as my idea, either, because there were
a few modeling sites up such as Florida Models, which
I owe a lot to. I merely refined the idea), a model
was hanging out with me, and lamented that no one was
going to read all of the content which was up on the
site. I told her that everyone reading the content was
not the point. The search engines would index all of
the content, making the sites relevant in search engine
results, and the smart models would take the time to
read the information. As a result, the smart models
would obtain an advantage over other models who chose
to remain ignorant.
Another irony, too, is that her concerns are about to
be addressed, on several levels. In the near future,
even the clueless, illiterate models will be able to
quickly, and easily, learn information which will benefit
their careers, without reading a single word. We’ll
still continue to write, a lot, and update the big four
modeling resource sites with new, and updated, content.
I have a lot, lot, lot to write about.
Models and photographers who run around doing TFP to
build portfolios, who do not make the appropriate investments
into their career, and who use portfolio networking
sites as their primary professional web site are about
to find their tactics backfire. All of this is a false
economy, and the models and photographers who work their
careers like this are high risk (after all, they have
nothing to lose if they didn’t make any investment,
and they are far more likely to flake out, or do something
unethical). Many of them also don’t know what
they are doing, with all of the marketing conflicts
and tacky nudes all over their ports (there is a difference
between a tacky nude, which exploits the model and undermines
their career, and a fine art nude, which few are qualified
to do).
I will be addressing this, and much more, in 2010.
I have to update Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling
Career, and Advanced Model for now. Much remains to
be done.
Advanced Model is an online modeling magazine, and it
will take point when it launches in January 2010. Tampa
Bay Modeling will receive new tools and regular, Tampa
region-relevant updates, but nothing major.
Oh, and did Christmas already come and go? I hardly
noticed with all of the prep that I’ve been doing.
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Wednesday,
December 23, 2009 - 08:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry
by C. A. Passinault
To
Be A Fly On My Walls
It
is time. If only you could see what I'm working on now.
Sorry, agencies and photographers, the day that you've
been afraid of is here. I'm sure that you've convinced
yourself that I've tried, and that what has happened is
it, but the truth is that I haven't even started to try.
That is, until now. I certainly hope that you have enjoyed
the years in the modeling industry doing things the way
that you've been conditioned to, because all that is going
to change. The modeling industry is going to change, models
are going to get the help that they've been crying out
for, and I'm going to make a great deal of money doing
it.
What happens to an established ecosystem when a dominant,
superior element is introduced? Change is inevitable (It
could be said that the only constant is change). The modeling
industry was evolving toward where it is going, but I'd
rather be a catalyst for that change, take the lead, and
make the future happen sooner. The tools and concepts
that I am now finishing up have not only been proven to
be highly effective, but they are several decades ahead
of anything else. Most importantly, they are not hard
to do independently, and can be done today, with or without
the Internet. Do you think that independent modeling is
Internet modeling? Not hardly. The Internet is a tool
which enhances productivity and the cost effectiveness
of doing business (and I could argue that the Internet,
with its freebie portfolio networking sites and the promotion
of general anarchy in the modeling industry from questionable
people who have no business being in the industry, is
a double-edge sword), granted, but with the future of
a free Internet increasingly clouded, these tools will
work with, or without, it. If I were to be able to go
back in time to the 1960's, and was able to introduce
these ideas back then, the modeling industry would be
much further along now that it is. It could have changed
back then, if the ideas were available, and models actually
opened their eyes and used their minds.
For now, other photographers, agencies, and the portfolio
networking anarchy has little bearing on my business,
and on my agenda. I am not threatening anyone, and am
not going to go out of my way to do anything to anyone.
I shouldn’t be what they should worry about. They
need to look at themselves. Indeed, what will put most
of these people in check, even to the point of going out
of business and failing, will be what they do. They will
do it to themselves.
Revolution cannot be contained, and it cannot be stopped.
New, good ideas are like a virus. They cannot be controlled,
even by their creator. Once unleashed, they take on a
life of their own.
Could these ideas backfire and come back to bite me? There
is always that chance, but because I’m not doing
anything wrong, it is an acceptable risk. Don’t
think for even a minute that I would ever engineer anything,
and unleash it, if I didn’t have a way to address
it. I even have a business model here for the modeling
agency of the future which could thrive in the industry
which is coming. My modeling agency business model, utilizing
proven concepts, is, at the least, decades ahead of any
agency in the world (it is highly improbable that any
agency, or agency owner, has the IQ, or the experience,
to compete with it, although I do know a few smart agency
owners who are very good at what they do. I’m merely
stating that this would be on an entirely new level).
Importantly, much like the modeling tools, this advanced
agency could be done today, with or without the Internet.
It cannot be stopped. These tools, once they are out in
the wild, will take on life of their own, and the industry
will be forced to adapt. Take away my web sites, and take
away me, and it will still happen.
Of course, in the here and now, I have all the advantaged.
My web sites are now positioned for what is to come. I
have hard data to forecast performance based on experience.
I have the first, and the last, word. The foundation is
in place for what needs to be done.
The time is now. The veil will finally give way to a revolution
in 2010 (the time is also good now, because the economy
has crippled most agencies, and they are at their weakest
now).
NOTE:
Please note that I am not threatening anyone, and do not
do anything illegal, unethical, or unprofessional. I’ve
just built the proverbial “better mousetrap”,
and the beauty of it is that it may give me leverage in
business and profitability, but will not put me in a position
of power and control. That power and control is now in
the hands of professional models, where is belongs, and
where it should have been in the first place. I’ve
always believed that the modeling industry is backwards
in nature, with a flawed nature supporting an environment
of biased politics, exploitation, out-of-line business
practices, and unethical conduct. Why else would their
be so many modeling scams, and why are so many agencies
regulated? You wouldn’t have to regulate something
unless it was high risk. Think about it.
My point made, I am not anti-agency, and my opinion is
that modeling and talent agencies have a place in the
modeling industry which is coming. It’s just not
where they have been, which is in control, and calling
the shots. Here’s to a balanced modeling industry
where ethical professionals thrive.
Wow, just wow. Models are going to be very happy about
what I’m working on at the moment, and the advantage
that it will give them in their careers (not to mention
over the ignorant, agency-controlled models). A thought,
too: I don’t know about you, but if I had a business
(being a model is a business), and I had people who worked
at me try to tell me that I didn’t know what I’m
doing, that only they could do it, and they tried to manage
me (the agencies), especially while working for my competition
(other models), I’d fire them. This wouldn’t
work in the real business world, but yet it is allowed
to be that way in the modeling industry. See what I mean
by backwards?
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Friday, December
18, 2009 - 08:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A.
Passinault
The
2010 Tampa Modeling Industry Will Change
Sorry
that it’s been a couple of months, but we couldn’t
make deadline for our five year anniversary (which was celebrated,
thank you very much, and will continue to be celebrated
with certain site projects in 2010), and I we had a project
to wrap up. That project, a network of eight Tampa Bay Film
sites, is now finished, and Tampa Bay Film has been placed
on standby effective immediately (actually, the end of last
weekend). The sites are ready for the time that I’ll
be ready to utilize them.
Also effective immediately, all non-modeling and talent
related projects, such as my indie films and film festivals,
are also on standby. They’ll get done, but right now,
I have more urgent things to focus on. I’m going to
focus on the Tampa modeling industry and my photography
business, especially since that is now the main source of
my income. Money for these other projects, which I consider
to be investments rather than money makers, will be dependent
upon my photography business, and later, my event planning
business.
With my modeling book deal, my photography business making
money even in the current economy, and the need to expand
my photography business so that I can compete with photographers
from New York and Los Angeles, it would be irresponsible
of me not to do this. The modeling industry, and modeling
photography, needs to be the focus of 2010.
This also comes in light of what is going on in the Tampa
modeling industry. While modeling jobs scams advertising
on the radio and in the paper have FINALLY dropped off (I
was wondering when they would run low on money and figure
out that it wasn’t cost-effective. Our efforts to
educate the consumer, and models, the past year have also
been effective), we have a bunch of miscreants running amok
in the local modeling industry, and I’ve decided to
address this garbage. There is a lot of sleaze and low-rent
activity going on right now, with trashy models and aspiring
(despiring?) porn photographers who claim to shoot models
(See my latest posts on my Tampa
Photographer Blog and my Tampa
Photography Blog for more on this). For example,
I recently went through a portfolio that a so-called Tampa
modeling portfolio photographer had, and I couldn’t
figure out who the models were. The photos were flashy,
and leaned more on the glamour side (not great for a balanced
portfolio), and he used fill flash to compensate for weaknesses
in photographic composition and other basic photographic
skills (I was in a rather intense debate with Andy, one
of my photographer friends, about this, the other day).
Looking at his rather new portfolio, most of which was done
in the last 24 months, I realized that, to the uneducated
eye, that the work could be seen as “awesome”.
Well, I also realized that no professional model would think
much of glamour ports, so the pieces began to fall in place
for the puzzle. I figured out why I didn’t recognize
any of the models. The reason? They weren’t models!
They were aspiring glamour models, chicken wing waitresses,
call girls, and psychologically damaged, insecure women
that I’d have issues shooting, regardless of how much
they paid me.
Is this what a bad economy does to the modeling industry?
You have all of these people out there claiming to be models
and modeling portfolio photographers. As a professional
modeling portfolio photographer in the Tampa Bay area, you’re
trying to move into my domain, my friend, and I don’t
appreciate it. I take the integrity of portfolios, and the
business of modeling portfolio photography, very seriously.
I also respect models. I’m rather proud of my career,
and I don’t like it when people try to cash in on
modeling portfolio photography, and drag it through the
mud in the process.
This said, I’m not really threatened by these low
rent photographers trying to move in. I have integrity.
I also don’t have to fake it like they do, and know
what I am doing. This, and my experience, give me the advantage.
Of course, as a working professional, I also have a responsibility
to try to improve the market if I am able to. Fortunately,
I have the ability to do just that. There isn’t a
photographer in Florida with my resources.
It’s time to school the market, I suppose.
There are a lot of trashy models, too, running around try
to make Tampa the next fashion capital, but also faking
it until the make it (Erica and Jessica come to mind. Please
get out of the business. You make modeling look fake and
cheap, and I’m disgusted by both of you). While real
professional models don’t have to worry about competition
from these idiots, what they are doing tends to alter the
perception of the Tampa modeling industry, and could hinder
the progress of the independent talent movement if left
unchecked.
I’ve said it before. When I first set out working
in the modeling industry back in 2001, launching Independent
Modeling, I never dreamed that I’d be fighting models
(or, in this case, idiot women who claim to be models).
I have six years of preparation and resource stockpiling
behind me. Both Independent Modeling and Tampa Bay Modeling
are now in position to do what needs to be done. Florida
Modeling Career is coming along nicely, and Advanced Model
is almost ready to launch.
So, what’s the agenda. We’re going to take out
the garbage. As for myself, I’m going to go for the
throat with my photography efforts, and will be booking
a lot more modeling portfolio shoots in the next year. I’m
going to raise an army of professional models, and we’re
going to work together to bring back integrity to the market.
I’ll take a minute to go over some of the key components
of this, and then I must go.
Advanced Model is a free online modeling magazine and the
official web site for my Advanced Model modeling career
book coming out soon. It will launch next month.
Remember those modeling mail bags on Independent Modeling
and Tampa Bay Modeling? They are coming back, and will a
big part of Advanced Model each month. Tampa Bay Modeling,
Florida Modeling Career, and Independent Modeling will all
use the Advanced Modeling mail bag (now called readers letters)
as their official letters section. All of the sites will
hand off to each other, too.
Advanced Model, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Florida Modeling
Career will all use the resources on Independent Modeling,
such as the modeling job board, too. The modeling job board
should finally be up on Monday, December 21.
Oh, and I have a lot of other surprises in store, too, but
I’ll report on those later.
The Tampa modeling industry is going to change more in 2010
than it has in the past eight years. It’ll also happen
sooner rather than later.
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Sunday, October
11, 2009 - 08:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
The
Modeling Agency Of The Future?
We're
going through the site content today, updating everything
that needs to be brought up to date. This includes information
originally added years ago. We have a long list of things
which will be added to Tampa Bay Modeling this week, and will
be sending out press releases shortly regarding our fifth
anniversary a week from today. Five years. When our site was
launched five years ago, it was helmed by a group of models
over in Clearwater. Today, most of those models are still
working with us, but the Tampa Bay Modeling site is now owned
by Independent Modeling and my companies, Passinault.Com.
A lot has happened to the modeling industry since I launched
Independent Modeling in late 2001. The independent talent
movement has gained serious momentum, and professional models
are finally thinking for themselves, managing their own careers
and booking modeling jobs without going through a modeling
and talent agency (my spies, and some of the top models in
the industry, have told me a lot of interesting anecdotes).
I have hard evidence now that a lot of modeling and talent
agencies have lost up to 60% of their business because of
this. I really don't wish to see modeling and talent agencies
go out of business, as that is not our agenda, but it is nice
to see them put in their proper place by the models who they
represent (i.e. work for). Allow me to stress that modeling
and talent agencies are a legitimate part of the modeling
industry, and they have a right to continue to be a part of
it. It's just that, in our opinion, they have no business
telling models what to do, or managing them. In our opinion,
managing models who you are supposed to be working for is
a blatant, and a brazen, conflict of interest; especially
when they agency works for other models who are in competition
with the model for modeling jobs. In our opinion, any modeling
and talent agency who attempt to manage models is crossing
the line. Modeling agencies, you work for the models; do your
job and get them jobs. Don't insult their intelligence by
telling them that you are the only ones with the experience
and the knowledge to get them jobs. Frankly, it is not hard
to make contacts with modeling jobs and book them without
going through an agency. Actually, it's even simpler than
that. Does an agency actually "book" the model into
a modeling job? The agencies make it sound like they are casting
directors or something, and that they are hiring the models
for the modeling jobs in behalf of their clients. This is
not how it works. What happens is that the booker refers the
models to a casting called a go-see, and one there, the model
is not their own. The model still has to interview and land
the modeling job themselves. The agency is merely a third
party in all of this. The charge the model their 20% (fees
vary) for referring them to the modeling job, and the modeling
job an additional 20% for the referral. The modeling job pays
the agency, and the agency, in turn, takes out their cut and
pays the model. This is a time consuming process, and the
agency is the middleman. Many professional models have discovered
that ANYONE is capable of doing this on their own, without
the modeling agency, especially since models have already
been doing most of the hard work themselves in the modeling
industry. As a result, the model is paid 20% more for very
little additional legwork, and the modeling job saves 20%,
too (I am still floored by the modeling book that suggested
the independent models should give modeling jobs a discount
of at least 20% because they booked the job without going
through an agency. I say SCREW THAT! Models have a right for
full rate regardless of how they book the modeling job! The
modeling job is already saving at least 20% by not having
to pay an agency fee, and I suspect that the misguided advice
in that modeling book is the old industry (the writer is in
bed with the modeling agencies) attempting to discourage models
from book modeling jobs on their own. Some modeling and talent
agencies enjoy ignorant models who are stupid and lazy (I
don't like such models, and they can stay away from me. Fortunately,
most professional models are very bright, and have a great
work ethic; some of the smartest people who I know are models,
and the stereotype is not true). They want to control their
careers. Could you imagine working for a business and telling
them what to do, and that they do not know what they are doing,
and only you know how everything works? Do you think that
you would get fired for insubordination? Funny, though, that
agencies do exactly that. Perhaps models should start firing
them when they cross the line. Oh, wait, that's already happening!
The agencies try to insult models by telling them what to
do, and the models fire them, knowing that they can get modeling
jobs just as easily without an agency than with them. Remember
that I said that modeling and talent agencies have a place
in the modeling industry, even though it is not common knowledge
that the agency way is not the only way to have a modeling
career? It's true. Smart models now only find modeling jobs
on their own, but they also obtain, and maintain, representation
for SEVERAL modeling and talent agencies as a source of job
leads, and nothing more (note that I said "several".
The main reason, in my opinion, for a modeling and talent
agency to represent a model on an exclusive basis is to attempt
to manage their modeling career. Remember what I wrote about
conflicts of interest and crossing the line? If I were a model,
and a modeling agency attempted to get me to sign an exclusive
representation agreement with them, I'd smile and tell them
that it is a two way relationship. I would only sign an exclusive
representation agreement with them if they dropped representation
of all their other models and only worked for me. That's the
only way that allowing someone who was working for me to manage
my career would not be a conflict of interest. What's that
I hear? I hear some bookers screaming at me right now! It's
all right, Chris, calm down. The bookers need to focus on
getting jobs for the model who they work with, and forget
this attempt at managing their employers).
I now have on the desk in front of me a very interesting document.
It is a recently completed document, a secret document, with
the simple title “Modeling Agency Of The Future”
(and you can all keep wishing that I will include it in my
modeling book, or on any one of my modeling resource sites,
as that’s not going to happen. I have worked on things,
and am working on things, that no one is aware of, and if
they were, it would change the way that their business worked.
This is one of my new controlled documents, and I keep it
in a vault under strict inventory controls. The document is
numbered, catalogued, and encrypted. I also do not keep any
copies on any unsecured computer, or on any computer connected
to the Internet, so it is quite secure; except for now, because
it is on the desk in front of me. Hmmmmm.... That reminds
me to enhance the biometrics protecting the vault). The document
reads much like a business plan, and describes the operation
of an advanced modeling agency which is at least 30 years
ahead of the top modeling agencies in the world (I’m
thinking more like 50 years, and the amusing thing about this
is this business model can be done right now, with today’s
technology. I’ve already built the better mousetrap).
Do you think that I would introduce ideas into a market without
developing, and retaining, ideas which will keep them in check?
Do you think that I am so reckless and irresponsible that
I would introduce ideas which could get away from me and backfire?
As Mondo 2000 taught me back in the early 1990's, ideas, by
their very nature, are a virus. They infect, spread, and change
things. Every idea which I have developed and deployed has
another idea behind the scenes which will balance it, if not
counter it. This is not to say that my ideas are flawed, because
that it not the case. It’s just that there is no such
thing as a perfect idea. Brilliant, yes, but not perfect.
For years, I have had plans for a modeling and talent agency
of my very own on the back burner. But wait, you say, doesn’t
this conflict with my work in the independent talent movement?
Not at all; allow me to explain. As some of you know, I have
a performance arts background, with singing, acting, stage
production, etc. I have an event planning company, a stage
production company, an indie film production company, a music
label, and a few more things which I can not go into yet.
If business requirements dictate that I must obtain a modeling
and talent agency license, I will do so, and if I have to
go that route, I will open my own Tampa modeling and talent
agency by default. I already own the two absolute best domain
names for a modeling and talent agency, TampaModelingAgency.Com
and TampaTalentAgency.Com (was EC Talent pissed off when they
went to register TampaTalentAgency.Com and had to settle for
TalentAgencyTampa.Com, or did they register that when they
notice that I owned that domain name, and were inspired to
obtain the less-effective one with the words rearranged? I
can only speculate, but I am pretty sure that many agency
owners screamed at their webmasters when I landed those domain
names. Remember: I am one of the best at the domain name game,
and because I am a professional writer, I often come up with
the best word combinations before anyone else does; a reason
why one of my domain names was stolen by cybersquatters once
when I made a mistake transferring a domain name between domain
name companies many, many years ago. I am also one of the
best with web site marketing. These are among the things that
I spend a lot of time doing). If I were to open up my own
modeling and talent agency, those domain names could be converted
for it (at the moment, they are Tampa Bay Modeling sites with
information about Tampa modeling and talent agencies, which
reminds me that I have to add content to Tampa Talent Agency).
If I were to open up my own modeling agency, Tampa modeling
and talent agencies would find themselves unable to compete.
My modeling agency would be much more effective than any other
agency in the world, and would incorporate some very slick
concepts that have never been used in an agency before. Additionally,
my modeling agency would use my “modeling agency of
the future” business model. My modeling agency would
also be fully compatible with my independent talent movement,
and would even actively promote my modeling and talent resource
sites. Would there be any ethical conflicts with my photography
business? Of course not! I would do what an agency is supposed
to do. My agency would work for models and find modeling jobs
for them. It would not try to sell them portfolio pictures,
or try to manage them. No sir! We would be content to stay
within our proper boundaries. We wouldn’t have to cross
the line. Within those boundaries would be a dynamo of an
agency which would take the market. Also, we wouldn’t
even have to drop our rates to be more competitive.
This said, I don’t own a modeling and talent agency.
I am not licensed to operate one, and have no immediate plans
to open one. It’s just that I am ready for that if I
have to go that route, and IF I find myself in a position
where I have to obtain a modeling and talent agency license,
I might as well open up an agency and take the modeling market
on that level, too.
How will you know that it is going to happen? Keep an eye
on my production companies. Once they begin full scale operations,
if we find that we have to book talent into third party jobs,
we will have to obtain an agency license. In that case, the
modeling and talent agency will be on the way, and it will
be a nightmare for Tampa modeling and talent agencies.
Regarding Tampa Bay Modeling, it is not a modeling and talent
agency. Tampa Bay Modeling is a free modeling resource web
site which also serves as a marketing platform for services;
there is no obligation to buy anything to use the site, either.
Frankly, I am getting sick and tired of reading emails from
morons who want to obtain representation from our “agency”.
READ THE SITE! READ THE DISCLAIMER! RESPECT US ENOUGH TO SPEND
A MINUTE READING, SO THAT YOU CAN COMPREHEND WHAT WE ARE AND
WHAT WE DO! From now on, any emails asking for our “agency”
to represent them will be deleted immediately. We will also
return the courtesy, and won’t bother reading anything
else that they wrote.
If you are a moron and don’t pay attention to details,
we do not want you on Tampa Bay Modeling, or on any of my
other sites. If you are illiterate, please use a translation
program or obtain the help of an educated person who can read.
We’ve done everything possible on Tampa Bay Modeling
to assist the disabled, even going so far as to include ALT
tags on our pictures to describe them to the illiterate or
the visually disabled (any translation program can read and
translate the transcribed, embedded content). I do not have
a problem with the disabled. I do have a problem, however,
with those who do not bother to read instructions, follow
said instructions, or who do nothing to help themselves. I
have a problem with willful ignorance. I have a problem with
those who choose to be blindly led, and who refuse to think
for themselves.
We have features coming in 2010 for people who don’t
like to read. Those new features should make this site faster,
and easier, to use.
So, what’s the plan for Tampa Bay Modeling? I’ll
tell a little, and then I must go.
Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career will be brought
up to their full potential by the end of 2009. They will serve
as geographical modeling resource web sites and lead-ins for
Independent Modeling and Advanced Model. Independent Modeling
will become the main, core modeling resource site again, with
a massive modeling job board and other features which support
independent modeling (the other sites will also touch on modeling
information for agency-represented models). The modeling jobs
sections on all of the modeling resource jobs will be updated
often, linking to the relevant modeling jobs on the Independent
Modeling modeling job board. Additionally, Advanced Model
will become one of the most updated modeling web sites, serving
as an online monthly modeling magazine, with regular columns,
features, and even a mail bag. Advanced Model will also serve
as a web site for my modeling book, and will link to all of
my modeling resource sites and modeling services.
I have been working on some very cool things for many years.
I’ve bene working on some big things as far back as
2003. They are now ready. It is now time to implement, and
work, my plan.
It is time to begin.
I now have to get some work done on the site. Good day.
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Wednesday, September
30, 2009 - 09:00 PM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Preparing
Tampa Bay Modeling For The Future
Wow.
Tampa Bay Modeling has become one of my most important web sites.
With lots of media exposure since last year (more than all of
the modeling web sites in Florida, combined), and professionals,
including celebrities in the media, now using Tampa Bay Modeling
as a resource, the future for this site is indeed bright.
This
morning, I refreshed the site directories, which took some work
because the site is huge, replacing some of the modeling thumbnails
and adding links to the auxiliary menus. This is but a prelude
for a larger update in a couple of weeks, with major upgrades
to the site.
I have
some cool shoots coming up in October to celebrate the fifth
anniversary of Tampa Bay Modeling. I'll be working with swimsuit
model Mandy Lee, and some other models. I'll also be working
on another run of the Talent Connection Project, which had a
first run in early 2007. I'll post project go-see's on the modeling
job boards on Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling, and
Florida Modeling career. Please note that I am only interested
in working with experienced professional models in the Talent
Connection Project, and they have to already have a strong modeling
portfolio, composite cards, and tear sheets to be considered
(which means that they are not in the market for the modeling
portfolio photography services that my photography company sells,
which means no conflict). New models and aspiring models who
do not have a professional portfolio would have to invest in
my photography services in order to be included in Tampa Bay
Modeling, because I will not give away services that they need
for their career (which reminds me of a shoot that I am supposed
to have tomorrow, which is on hold until I can reach the client.
Check. Mail. Makeup Artist. We have some things to address regarding
the longest, most unusual road that I have ever traveled on
the way to doing a modeling portfolio photography shoot. Could
it be the economy, or the most unusual set of circumstances
ever in any of my shoots? I would have to pick the latter, because
the economy hasn't caused a decrease in my bookings; I get full-rate,
too, which appropriate because I am not a discount photographer
like so many others floundering in the market trying to get
business with low rates instead of doing good photography. I
am a good photographer, and one of the best modeling photographers
in Florida. Check for yourself- all the pictures on this site
are mine).
I have
to run. I have to find some pictures to use in my archive.
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Sunday, September
13, 2009 - 11:18 PM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Added
Tampa Bay Modeling Agency Sections
It took
ten hours of work, but the new Tampa Bay modeling agency sections
are now up. The models and I were getting rather pissy about the
State of Florida DBPR web site that our resource section linked
to, as the site was poorly designed and difficult to navigate.
As a result, the web sites that we linked to proved to be useless.
This has changed. I did all of the hard work already and downloaded
all of the Tampa
Bay modeling agencies, along with their license numbers
and status, and all of the Florida
modeling agency laws. All the information is now
on Tampa Bay Modeling and I am rather proud of how the sections
turned out. I even added new modeling agency scam information
in our Tampa modeling agency section. Yes, Tampa modeling agency
scams are so risky that I expanded the modeling agency scam information
and added it. Likewise, all Tampa modeling agencies, past and
current, are now listed on Tampa Bay Modeling. We have them listed
by county, and have listings for Hillsborough
county modeling agencies, Pinellas
county modeling agencies, Manatee
county modeling agencies, Sarasota
county modeling agencies (heh heh... I remember referring
to Sarasota as "Sara-soda" when I was six, because I
imagined that the beaches fizzed like soda in the surf. I still
like the way it sounds. It makes me smile. What an imagination.
I really was a little kid once- but I still have that imagination.
It's too easy to remember being an adult like I am now, and sometimes,
in between people cursing me out, it's nice to think back toward
simpler times when I was a kid), Polk
county modeling agencies, and Pasco
county modeling agencies. Oh, and I already started working
on the new second-generation modeling scam analysis database (which
is going to be huge, and will require a lot of writing). Now,
to get my modeling job boards online........
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Saturday, September
12, 2009 - 7:30 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
More
Modeling Site Updates
First, I
must apologize for putting all my blog updates on the main page
on Tampa Bay Modeling. There is way too much to read on there.
That said,
it's been a long few months. I've been doing a lot of modeling portfolio
shoots over the summer, and things are about to go into overdrive
with my photography company. I've also been doing a lot to fight
these modeling scams, too.
I received
a call from a reporter friend at a top Tampa television station
yesterday, and wasn't much help because it took me a while to return
the call. I then began to wonder if he could have easily obtained
the information from Tampa Bay Modeling. It became obvious from
a review of the Tampa Bay Modeling site that some information was
hard to find- and this is for me, the designer of this site! I have
some work to do. I want some additional content added, too, such
as current Florida State Statutes (468) covering modeling and talent
agencies, and a list of Tampa modeling and talent agencies, including
their TA# license numbers. Of those, I will compile a list of the
ones that I can vouch for, for those models who would like to use
agencies as one of many sources of modeling job leads.
Other things
need to be added, too. A new modeling scam analysis database is
needed for starters (it may go up here before it is added to the
site that it was originally designed for, Florida Modeling Career,
which "launched" over a year ago and still is in an unfinished
beta state), with new site directories and menus. I'll keep the
old scam analysis database in archive, too, because it still contains
a lot of great information, for those who would like to sift through
a lot of text). I'm looking at finally getting the Tampa Bay Modeling
modeling job board online in the next week or so, too, which will
run parallel to the ones on Florida Modeling Career and on Independent
Modeling. I'm also looking at a full design and roll out of Advanced
Model.
Independent
Modeling has seen a lot of progress in the past year, but it is
still not as operational as it was at its peak in 2004. All the
work that went into the site, and updates, seemed to transition
To Tampa Bay Modeling in 2005, leaving Independent Modeling adrift
on the Internet through a series of redesigns. I can say that I
received a ton of complaints about the sad state that Independent
Modeling has been in, and some models think that it is lost. This
will not be the case for long. Independent Modeling is shaping up
well, and it still has top search engine performance. In 2010, it
will once again become the main modeling resource site, with Tampa
Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career taking cues from their
mother modeling site. Independent Modeling's new modeling job board
and modeling job resources are state of the art, too, and will see
translations and region-relevant versions for Tampa Bay Modeling
and Florida Modeling Career. Florida Modeling Career is important,
too. The new second generation modeling scam analysis database was
originally designed for Florida Modeling Career, and region-relevant
versions will be installed on Tampa Bay Modeling and on Independent
Modeling. Florida Modeling Career is the most advanced of all the
modeling resource sites, and it is the future. Much of the design
advancements and tools will be used on the other sites. Still, too,
Florida Modeling Career needs to be completed and brought up to
full operational status. Technically, it has already launched, so
we won't do that again, officially. I'm hoping to bring it up to
spec next month. Florida Modeling Career will become a very, very
important modeling resource site. It is, for all intents and purposes,
the next Tampa Bay Modeling.
That's not
to say that Tampa Bay Modeling will go the way of the old Independent
Modeling and become neglected. Far from it. This site will see regular
updates, too, as well as have the most coverage with Tampa Bay media.
Once the modeling job boards are all up, Tampa Bay Modeling will
see big upgrades; Florida Modeling Career will follow, and Independent
Modeling will be next.
What's next
for my modeling resource sites? Well, since I will be working with
a lot of models from now on, a lot. Without going into specific
detail, I have a lot coming up. New modeling scam analysis databases,
modeling job pay vouchers, new modeling career agreements, new articles,
the most advanced online modeling job boards in modeling industry
(they should be, with all of the years of work that I put into them),
complete tutorials, interactive tutorials, new articles, a risk
analysis system for the modeling industry (which should do a great
deal of damage to the credibility of modeling agencies and idiots
who don't invest in their careers), and some other cool things.
I really, really like the new modeling job board format, too. The
new modeling job board format is integrated into the featured model
sections as well as the modeling scam analysis database. It will
enhance those sections as well as become the best source of modeling
job leads in the modeling industry. I've also studied issues that
other modeling job boards have had over the years, and have came
up with effective solutions. As an example, I have came up with
an ingenious system of checks and balances, which will be a deterrent
to anyone trying to steal from the modeling job boards or use them
to scam models and others. One thing that has really pissed me off
about other modeling job boards, and which is the main reason that
I created these boards, is that modeling job scams used them to
bother post deceptive modeling job offers, and to steal the modeling
job leads to sell back to the models who they tried to sell services
to. This will not be an issue with these new modeling job boards.
First of all, we reserve the right to refuse to post any modeling
job ads which are shady, without any reason given. I only want real,
professional modeling job offers on my modeling job boards. Secondly,
I have some nasty surprises in store for anyone who steals from
my boards. Let's just say that those old tactics will backfire.
One reason? My modeling job boards are already at the top of search
engine searches for modeling jobs, and there is a risk that people
will know the true source of the modeling job leads if anyone tries
to sell them. Will they trust someone who steals from others? Unlike
some modeling and talent sites, my modeling job boards are free,
and really easy to check things out on and find. If it's free, the
same, and popular, it's kind of hard to sell, now, isn't it? That,
too, is only one small example, and I've stated it here because
it is obvious. I have some other countermeasures in place, too,
and those will take some by surprise if they try to steal from my
web sites.
A lot of
work has gone into all of this. I've been working on some of these
tools since 2003, and they are finally ready to be deployed on the
modeling sites.
Oh, and
before I forget. For those who hate to read, I will be making, and
adding, modeling videos to all of the web sites starting in 2010.
I have plenty of models who can host the videos, too. A lot of people
are pretty excited about the move into modeling career videos, as
they will make the sites a lot easier to learn from, and a lot more
effective as far as getting the word out. We're on the threshold
of a new era for my modeling industry endeavors.
There's
more, too. I just read over my 2004 modeling
series Born Beautiful, about a 19 year old
independent model and her adventures in her personal life and her
modeling career (I just put a link up on the main page of Tampa
Bay Modeling, as few people have read it, let alone know about it).
I had a lot of fun writing both stories in that short-lived series,
and they are really good. Although is has been five years since
I wrote them, and they were my last works of fiction, there are
more coming. Lots more. Expect a ton of short stories about modeling
in the near future, published on all of the modeling resource sites.
I will be coming up with new characters, and new series, too. One
such series will focus on an independent professional model who
researches, finds, investigates, and fights modeling scams while
maintaining a professional modeling career and making a living as
a top model. Part Veronica Mars, part hacker, part fashion model.
This story series is one of many in the works, and trust me: Modeling
fiction is going to be very, very important for what I have planned
for Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, Independent Modeling,
and Advanced Model. Some of those works of fiction will become very
controversial, too.
I have to
run. I have a shoot to do this morning, as well as a huge shoot
tomorrow morning.
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Saturday, April 25, 2009
- 9:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Modeling
Scam War 2
The economy
must be really, really bad. Despite my fleet of modeling sites hammering
modeling scams 24/7 and causing them to lose lots of money, they keep
right on going at it. In fact, I've never seen so many modeling scams
marketing themselves so aggressively since I've been working in the
modeling industry, and that's a good ten years. The top modeling scam?
Modeling job scams. One of the most common of all modeling job scams
are radio and print ads that claim that "models are needed for
major department store fashion shows" and that "no experience
is necessary". It's B.S.! First of all, very few models can do
fashion modeling because you have to have a certain look for it and
there are height requirements. Secondly, fashion modeling shows and
runway modeling are the professional stage of the industry, where
only season professional models can work it because there is only
"one take" to get it right (kind of like film actors and
stage actors; stage being more difficult). The risks are much higher
with fashion shows, which, unlike print modeling, you have to work
with a professional, experienced model. I know of very few modeling
print jobs willing to work with aspiring models who have no experience,
and no fashion show for those so-called "major department stores"
will ever book a model who does not have experience. There are way
too many models in the industry with lots of experience, and no new
model will be able to compete with them! So, they claim that they
will train the model and give them a modeling portfolio to "give
them experience", and then, because they are not an agency, that
they will refer them to the major department store fashion show free
of charge? Don't believe their lies! They are baiting you with the
promise of modeling jobs which may or may not actually exist, and
have no motive to follow through on their promises of referring you
to modeling jobs after they take your money and give you low-quality
modeling portfolios that won't book you jobs because the portfolios
suck, and are ineffective as marketing tools. Think that the modeling
job scam cares? Hell no! They spend their time lying to people, taking
their money, reading my modeling sites for ideas to pitch to ignorant
aspiring models who believe everything that is advertised, and cursing
at me because those same modeling sites cost them a lot of money.
Well, it's
on. I am now working to put these modeling job scams out of business.
I have some nasty surprises for them in the coming weeks, and it's
nothing illegal or unethical. What I will be doing will prove to be
very effective, however, and they are going to lose a lot more money
before this is all over. Actually, strike that last part. It'll never
be over. Every modeling scam that I put out of business is replaced
by more. They are like roaches. I'll continue to fight modeling scams
and to undermine their so-called businesses, and they will continue
to lose money. I am about to put a lot more into this fight, and may
launch some more modeling web sites to fight them with (Tampa Modeling
Search has proven to be extremely effective so far, and I may deploy
a new site specifically optimized to fight modeling job scams baiting
idiots with fashion shows).
Oh, and if
any legitimate business allows one of these con artists to refer models
to you, don't! You become an accomplice if you do, and only serve
to help rip off models. Only accept referrals from models who already
have experience and professional modeling portfolios, and only accept
referrals from licensed modeling and talent agencies who don't make
money selling modeling portfolios and composite cards to models. I
will be educating legitimate modeling jobs, including department stores,
about this from now on.
Oh, and who
are the "major department stores" who are doing these fashion
shows? I don't know of any in Tampa! I've talked to all of them, and
none of them have done any recent fashion shows where they pay models,
or plan to. If you are stupid enough to fall for an advertisement
for fashion show models needed, ask them for references and to name
the department stores. Call the department stores and ask if they
deal with the modeling business before you go any farther!
Grrrrrrr......
These modeling scams piss me off. Why am I the main one who thinks
for myself and fights them? Well, the fight shall continue. This modeling
scam war is going to get good!
The modeling
job board resource over at Independent Modeling, which is now operational
and will be used by Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career,
is needed, mainly to fight modeling job scams. I was on a call with
a model just last night, and she told me of a modeling jobs on craigslist
which tried to scam her. She contacted them about the go-see, and
they responded with an email that said that a $5.00 reservation fee
was required to secure a spot at the "audition", and that
the fee would be refunded to her afterwards. All that they required
was her credit card number. Bastards! A modeling job scam with phishing
components combined with it? Once they get a credit card number, they
can charge as much as they want to! If it is a modeling job, NEVER
pay a dime to attend a go-see. If it is not a legitimate business
who is straight-up with selling a service that you are in the market
for (you know, a business with a license and a professional web site,
not some sketchy operation on a modeling portfolio networking web
site or using a freebie myspace or facebook account as their "business
web site"), don't ever give them your credit card information.
Well, the new risk analysis business model needs to be deployed on
all three of my main modeling resource sites, as well as others. The
modeling resource sites will also all be receiving new second-generation
modeling scam analysis databases and new modeling scam fighting tools
this summer (a beta run on one of my other resource sites had incredible
results, and it works better than I designed it to! Very effective,
and very nasty scam busters are on the way!). The modeling job board
is also needed in this fight, so now I must close off this blog post
and work on Independent Modeling. Have a great weekend, and stay away
from any modeling jobs that you see advertised in the paper or which
play on the radio. Also, beware of most of the modeling jobs posted
on craigslist- anyone can post an ad on that site, and most of them
are scams.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
- 12:05 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Independent
Modeling And The Modeling Book
Things are interesting
these days. After years of work, the pieces are now in place. It is
time to begin.
Tampa Bay Modeling, which was originally started by a group of professional
models in Clearwater back in 2004 with the support of Independent Modeling,
has merged with Independent Modeling. It is now a geographic lead-in
modeling resource site annex of Independent Modeling, with Tampa Bay-relevant
modeling content published on Tampa Bay Modeling.
Independent Modeling, which began as Tampa Bay Independent Model back
in 2001 (we are aware that the domain name did not match with the first
name of the site, and we roll our eyes whenever we think about it),
experienced explosive growth in its first few years. In late 2003, the
first Tampa modeling industry war began, and Independent Modeling took
point in the fight in 2004. The war ended in late 2004, with some lessons
learned. When Tampa Bay Modeling launched in 2004, more and more modeling
site work shifted over to Tampa Bay Modeling from Independent Modeling.
The modeling mail bag even moved to Tampa Bay Modeling. Tampa Bay Modeling
quickly became one of the top modeling resource web sites, and many
great ideas which originally found their start on Independent Modeling
were developed and deployed as refined modeling career tools on Tampa
Bay Modeling. From 2005 to 2009, Independent Modeling was maintained,
but had very few updates. It mostly sat dormant on the Internet, and
Tampa Bay Modeling saw all of the progress. There was a staff transition,
too, with C. A. Passinault and a group of professional models and modeling
industry experts taking over Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling,
and other online modeling industry resources. The real irony came on
2008, when the news media began to cover Tampa Bay Modeling with a series
of news stories and guest models appearing on television interviews
on behalf of Tampa Bay Modeling. This news coverage, oddly enough, was
supposed to be for Independent Modeling back when it launched, and when
it finally came, it was all about the new modeling site and not the
original. Independent Modeling was mostly adrift on the net, and most
models had written it off as over. Through all of this, most of the
work concentrated on Tampa Bay Modeling.
This is about to change.
One of the things that has been a continuing work of progress on Independent
Modeling has been a new kind of modeling job board for modeling job
leads. The format is finally completed, and the details are finalized.
Most importantly, the modeling job board resources now have a very important
purpose, and it will become a critical component in our fight against
modeling scams as we begin the second modeling industry war. This war
will focus on modeling job scams, model searches, modeling consultation
scams, modeling agency scams, and modeling management scams (the first
modeling industry war was against Tampa modeling photography scams,
which, while still present, are no longer the top modeling scams).
It was decided today that there would be one main modeling job board
for all of the modeling resource sites, and all of the individual modeling
resource sites will have lead-in modeling job boards linking to the
main modeling job board. That main modeling job board will exist on
Independent Modeling.
This, of course, has options. I can always set up parallel modeling
job boards on each modeling resource web site relevant to their target
markets. If the need arises, and it won’t be too much redundant
work, I can easily switch over to this system. Regardless of how this
is done, all modeling job posts will be on the main Independent Modeling
modeling job board, so it would be redundant.
The modeling job board will go online in April 2009. I have some content
to do before then, and I will be contacting the sources of most of the
legitimate modeling job offers that we have monitored over the years.
Oh, yes, that’s right. We want quality over quantity. We’re
not going to have another Craigslist here. All posts will not be accepted.
If it is an obvious modeling job scam, the modeling job offer seems
shady, it is an adult entertainment “modeling” job, if we
feel that the modeling job offer will undermine the integrity of modeling
careers, or we have too many questions about the modeling job offer,
we won’t post it. We reserve the right to refuse to post modeling
job offers on the modeling job board/s.
At first, all modeling job offers will manually be added by our web
team. I originally wanted to do the posts on Monday’s, but some
modeling job offers are time-sensitive and we’d rather not add
a ton of modeling jobs at once. We’ll update the modeling job
board daily.
Eventually, we will be launching a second generation modeling job board
which is database driven and updated automatically. This will lead to
another set of problems, however, and we will be spending a lot of time
monitoring the modeling job board and deleting modeling job offers which
are not appropriate. When this happens, the modeling job board will
be more like craigslist for models, but we’ll be the ones removing
posts and no one else will have that ability. This will make it better
than craigslist, and more relevant for modeling.
Presently, Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, and Advanced
Model will lead into the Independent Modeling modeling job board. We’ll
have other job boards which are formatted like the Independent Modeling
modeling job board, too. Independent Acting will have an audition board,
and Tampa Bay Acting will lead into that. The upcoming Independent Talent
Network site, which replaces the defunct Independent Performer (cybersquatters
have since taken the old domain name for Independent Performer which
we abandoned), will have a entertainment industry job board which will
have job offers for production professionals. Entertainment resource
web sites that we own, such as Tampa Bay Film, will lead into that board,
which will be the largest job board that we have once it goes online.
These job boards are very, very important. They will become defining
features for our talent resource sites. They are quite advanced, too,
and have all the checks and balances built into them to prevent their
abuse. Additionally, I get exclusive advertising rights on those boards
for my services companies and my Tampa advertising agency. What will
make it legitimate to do so will be the fact that the boards will be
available free of charge, and that there will not be any obligation
to buy those advertised services in order to use the boards. Additionally,
there will never be any question about who is offering those services.
We will clarify the relationships, so that no one can accuse us of using
deceptive trade practices. If we are not careful and we were to employ
deceptive trade practices, that would make us a modeling scam, and since
I despise modeling scams, I don’t want that. Also, I wouldn’t
feel right about misleading anyone. I am a reputable professional. Far
be it for me to end up some sort fo hypocrite, especially since one
of the objectives of the job boards are to help fight job scams, and
not to become a modeling job scam in the process.
Like I said earlier in this post, the pieces are in place. We already
have top search engine placement, and after the modeling job board becomes
active, it won’t be long before word spreads among models, and
it becomes the dominant resource for modeling job leads. There is another
critical thing about these job boards. They will be important for my
events and other projects. I have certain events, for examples, which
are on hold until this support service is in place.
Ok, on to other things.
Some models out there have told me that they think that I have been
holding back with adding content on the modeling resource web sites.
Well, I admit that they are right. I have been holding back. It’s
all about balance, my friends. I’m writing a modeling book right
now, and I have a book deal that I have to maintain. I’ve also
spent a lot of time figuring out what to add, and what to hold back,
to avoid undermining my modeling book and giving away the store. It
is all a careful balancing act, and I have to employ the correct, and
most effective, strategy so that all my properties remain balanced and
benefit from my work.
There will be some things in my modeling book that will never be published
on my modeling resource sites. There will be some things published on
the modeling resource site, such as the more experimental tools, that
will not make it into the book. Oh, and I have some good news, and some
bad news.
The bad news first. Well, it’s not too bad. I will continue to
add content to the modeling resources sites, but not a lot. Most of
the updates will be to the modeling job board and support tools (those
modeling pay vouchers are indeed on their way, too!). I will be updating
a ton of things, however, behind the scenes, and will be stockpiling
advanced tools and content for the sites. The good news? I will be making
most of those additions available on the modeling resource sites after
my modeling book is published, which will be soon, and there will be
a lot of updates made to the modeling resource sites in a short time
after my book hits stands.
I’ll let you know more later. I have to upload this blog and work
on the studio for some... er, rather classified work.
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
- 10:40 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Adjustments
To Tampa Bay Modeling
Well, the first
adjustment is to this Tampa Modeling Blog, and for that, I adapted the
format on my Tampa DJ Blog. It looks nice, and those navigation links
will become active once there is enough content on here to archive.
This said, I have a bit to cover today. It’s been a busy few months
since my last Tampa Modeling Blog post, and I’m just now getting
back into the hang of updating all of my sites. We had some issues with
a security breach on Tampa Bay Modeling the last few weeks, and now that
this issue has been resolved, it’s back to work.
Wherever do I begin?
1. FOX 13 web site archiving
issues
It seems that my FOX 13 modeling scam interview is no longer on their
server through the links to the content, and there are issues with my
Lighting Round model interview archives. Effective immediately, Tampa
Bay Modeling will no longer link to other sources, since the links can
be rendered dead at any time. As I have more television interviews, and
more of our Tampa Bay Modeling models are scheduled for ongoing interviews,
I had to come up with a new system to manage all of the media coverage
so visitors to Tampa Bay Modeling can see them. I’ve solved it,
just like I solved the screen grab issue.
I have DVD’s of all my interviews, including the Tampa Bay Modeling
one a few months ago. I am going to rip those interviews and host on my
own account, and present them here much like the Tampa Bay Film Online
Film Festival does. Additional interviews and television appearances will
be TIVO’ed and copied to DVD’s, where they will then be ripped
to online flash files and archived for review. This should solve this
archiving issue nicely.
FOX 13 has been good to Tampa Bay Modeling, but expect to see us covered
on all of the Tampa media outlets from now on, as well as on FOX. I would
have had more interviews in the past few months, but I have been busy
with other things.
Oh, and if anyone wants to see any of my interviews, I have them on DVD,
too. For now, I have to remove some links to their server because they
default to their main page instead of going to the relevant content.
2. Tampa Bay Modeling 2009
Modeling Scam Analysis Database MK2
It’s coming. We are launching the new format on Tampa Bay Film right
now to work out the bugs. As soon as that is completed, and it is operational,
Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career will get theirs, as will
Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Acting, and Independent Acting. Fighting
modeling scams is our top priority this year, and although Tampa Bay Film,
Tampa Bay Acting, and Independent Acting will be getting their relevant
scam analysis databases to address indie film scams and other entertainment
industry scams, the main scam busting will focus on modeling scams. These
modeling scams are getting out of hand, and I suppose that it is a reflection
on the economy. People are getting desperate, and their judgement is going
out the window. All those modeling jobs advertised on the radio and in
the paper are modeling scams, and there are now more of them than in any
other time in recent memory. A new modeling war, even more aggressive
than the one fought and won by Independent Modeling in 2004, has begun,
and the old modeling scam-fighting tools, while adequate, are not nearly
as effective as the new ones are. This will be a modeling industry war
to end all modeling industry wars. Oh, and you can expect a TON of media
coverage leading people to out modeling scam-fighting resources as well
as our current search engine domination leading people here. It’s
going to get real nasty, people, and expect a lot of modeling scams to
go out of business and con artists preying on the modeling industry to
get in a lot of trouble.
Something has to be done about these Tampa modeling scams, and Tampa Bay
Modeling and my other modeling resource sites are about to do it.
Well, I have to run and update
some other blogs. I’ll post more soon.
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
- 9:00 AM - Tampa Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault
Tampa
Modeling Blog Launch
Hello Tampa
models, and welcome to a brand new section here on Tampa Bay Modeling.
Welcome to the first post of our official Tampa Modeling Blog!
This Tampa Modeling Blog is built into the Tampa Bay Modeling site, and
replaces the old, but popular, modeling
mail bag section (which ran April
2006 to September 2007),
and partially replaces the old Opinion
section (although there will be new posts there, eventually). The
Tampa Modeling Blog will also augment the news and updates section, as
well as do a lot of different things.
A short time ago, Tampa model and actor Somali Rose and I talked for over
an hour at a Tampa television station
after we did a television interview for Tampa Bay Modeling. She suggested
that there should be a modeling blog where models could answer questions
from other models and post information. I thought that she had a good
idea, although I told her that Tampa Bay Modeling used to have such a
feature with Tampa model Monica Stevens and her monthly modeling mailbag,
it was discontinued a long time ago. After talking to Somali, however,
I kicked around the idea for a while. Should the blog be a stand-alone
site like some of my other blogs? If not, what site should it be a part
of? Well, a stand-alone site was out of the question, simply because I
already have too many web sites now, and following that format I would
have to do at least six more stand-alone blog sites. Forget that, at least
for now!
Well, here you have it. The “official” modeling blog now online,
and is actually on THREE modeling sites! All three blog “channels”
are actually part of the same main modeling blog, but each will cover
different categories of posts. Tampa Bay Modeling will post modeling blog
posts relevant to Tampa modeling and Tampa Bay Modeling. Independent Modeling
will post modeling blog posts about independent modeling, the modeling
industry in general, and twitter-type update posts pointing at new modeling
blog posts on Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career. Florida
Modeling Career, our newest and most advanced modeling resource site,
and the Florida-region version of Tampa Bay Modeling, will have a modeling
blog which will cover Florida Modeling, Florida Modeling Career site updates
and news, and, like the other modeling blogs, will post twitter-type updates
pointing to other modeling blog posts.
This is the first of the three modeling blogs to go online. Independent
Modeling’s modeling blog should be up in the next day or two (with
all the online chatter about record-level work being done on Independent
Modeling and the decision to make it our core modeling resource site,
so much for the surprise!).
So, what will the modeling blogs cover (Tampa Bay Modeling as well as
the other two). Glad that you are wondering. These are points, however,
and please note that the modeling blogs will not be limited to what I
list here. If it works, we’ll do it.
1.
Relevant modeling blog posts.
2.
Modeling site updates.
3.
Modeling industry opinions.
4.
Referenced to relevant modeling articles and tutorials.
5.
Twitter-type blog posts linking to posts on other modeling blog channels.
6.
Modeling industry anecdotes.
7.
Modeling scam alerts linking to relevant content and modeling scam-fighting
tools on our new 3rd-Generation modeling scam analysis databases
and scam-fighting resources (developed for Florida Modeling Career the
summer of 2008, but now being built for Tampa Bay Modeling and Independent
Modeling, too. Versions of this new technology will be adapted for other
my other resource sites, sites such as Tampa Bay Acting, Independent Acting,
Independent Talent Network, Tampa Bay Film, and Tampa Bay Photographers.
Tampa Talent Scams will be built around an expanded, large scale version
of the 3rd generation scam analysis database and resource technology,
and will interconnect with all the other sites as well as function as
a stand-alone website, much like my Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival
interconnects with Tampa Bay Film and also functions as a stand-alone
site. Tampa Talent Scams will be one, huge talent scam analysis database
and talent scam-fighting resource, and will be even more advanced and
much more comprehensive than what my other sites will be packing.
8.
Answers to modeling-relevant questions that we receive. The answers
will be from modeling experts, such as myself, and will be answered as
they come in. After the question is answered on the blog, the question
and answer will be copied and filed away into a well-organized modeling
Q&A database on the host site (in this case, here on Tampa Bay Modeling).
This is much more advanced, and efficient, than the old modeling mail
bags were. This Q&A feature of the modeling blogs replaces the old
modeling mail bags, too.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of the old Tampa Bay Modeling Mail
Bag, which was last published in September
2007. What happened? It became way too much work, with over 20 page
of mail bag content published every month. Monica was up for it, but it
was not cost-effective for our web master and editors to spend so much
time on it, and the search engines were not indexing the content properly
because the posts were massive. So, we pulled the plug, and, yes, Tampa
model Monica Stevens is still with Tampa Bay Modeling, as are most of
the founding models from October 2004, when the site launched. We really
need to update the About Us section and the history of Tampa Bay Modeling,
for sure.
The Tampa Bay Modeling modeling mail bags began life over on Independent
Modeling, and moved to Tampa Bay Modeling once the Independent Modeling
mail bags were discontinued. Since we have over a thousand pages of modeling
content there, we will be adding the relevant modeling Q&A content
to the modeling Q&A databases of the relevant modeling resource sites.
You’re welcome!
Ah, and the hilarious French Fry mail bag letters will be archived here
on Tampa Bay Modeling, because Monica Stevens wants them to. Hmmm, didn’t
I see French Fry a year ago when I did a modeling portfolio photography
session with some models in front of his Clearwater photography studio?
Cool guy, although I didn’t get the chance to talk to him. That
was fun, and there’s a story worth telling. Perhaps I will write,
and publish, the anecdote on my Tampa Photographer Blog, soon, as well
as other photography session anecdotes!
The modeling
blogs will have blog posts from many professionals in the modeling industry,
and not just me. Tampa model Somali Rose and some other cool models will
also publish blog posts on the modeling blogs, including answering modeling
questions, and that’s cool!
At any rate, I need to go now. I have a lot of work to do. I have to create
the “Blog” and the “Photography” navigation menu
buttons for Tampa Bay Modeling and format the Tampa Bay Modeling 2009
site directories. I then must upload the new site directories to the server,
and if you are reading this now, it’s done.
Hmmmm..... Today, I have to set up some shoots with some Tampa swimsuit
models (and a few swimsuit models from outside of the Tampa Bay area),
and do a ton of work on Independent Modeling so we can get the new site
format up tomorrow. The new modeling job boards will be up over the weekend.
Have a great day!
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UPDATED 04/16/10
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