Wetlook World Forum

When we opened the new website in January 2003, we promised the following to members ...

* Provide at least 12 hours of video

We beat this target by July. We've delivered 18 hours at the same price. THAT'S 6 HOURS of FREE MOVIES. Plus, we introduced far superior quality at no extra cost. The original "deal" was MPEG and small WMV files. During the year, we introduced even higher resolution DivX and WMV movies.

* Provide at least 3500 hi-res photographs

We beat this target by July and more than doubled it by delivering 8000 photos.

* Give great customer service, and to deliver regular updates

StyxWetWorld was launched as more than just a site. Our aims were always for it to be a "club" and provide great customer service. We did not miss one update by more than a day during the year! We set ourselves a target that "95% of all queries would be answered within 24 hours". We actually attained a figure of 97% within 6 hours - despite being away on photo and video shoots, and taking vacations.

Atogether we have delivered over 160 new and complete sets during the year - movies and still photographs. For a member paying $99 per year that's only 60 cents per set! That's less than one-third of the price charged by most other paysites. Over 40% of Styx's sets are movies. These are added every week, not just an occasional clip.

Updating in parts has been a great success! 5 or 6 part sets each week means higher member satisfaction. It's odds on that every week you will see something new that you like. A complete set of denim (for example) means 100% satisfaction for about 20% of members, but zero satisfaction for the other 80%, and the waste of a week's subscription. Hey, even Lord of the Rings was done in 3 parts - they must have copied Styx's methods.

MORE ABOUT 2003 ...

At various times during the year, we introduced unplanned bonus videos. For example, throughout June we introduced almost daily bonuses. We finally provided over an hour of bonus video footage to the members who were with us then.

We discontinued monthly and quartly subscriptions partway through the year as we are only interested in long-term memberships of the club. We believe we now have a core of real wetlook supporters in the Styx club - who are prepared to invest long-term in a 6-month or 12-month subscription. They (that's YOU) trust that we will be here delivering what you want for the duration of your current membership and beyond.

During the year, we successfully implemented security measures to distribute the wetlook videos and photos in a more controlled manner to members and to protect the site from the constant hacking attempts that we endure. We have now extended our security protection to stop a few people trying to download every movie simultaneously from the site. As a person initiates additional downloads (above a predetermined number), his existing downloads will be slowed automatically to compensate. We believe such systems make things fairer for everyone in the club by distributing the resource evenly. Most memberships are now long-term ones, so there is no urgency to grab everything on the first day any more.

We started up a members forum in October. The attendance and contributions is a bit slow sometimes, but we know there are other forums that people visit. Those who do take part have enjoyed themselves and got useful additional information from the experience. We're now also being driven by customer requests for what THEY want to see in updates. We understand that some people still prefer to "lurk" and quietly go about their business. We have no intention of competing with the Minx Wetlook forum which is doing a great job of keeping the community together.

There were many members of the old StyxWetWorld site, that had to close late in 2002. All those ex-members were rewarded for their patience and trust in Kev. They were given extensions to their memberships or free memberships for up to a year as compensation. Most have received anything up to 16 months membership for their initial subscription. Many of those memberships will terminate soon. We hope those members will join us again for another year at $99.

A REMINDER ...

In line with our "one year guarantee" of "all material stays on the site for one year (12 months) from the date it was placed there", we will begin removing the oldest content (one year older or more) on 31 January 2004 and onwards. May we suggest that members take a look at the oldest material on the site and ensure that you have downloaded all that you need from it. Every video and photoset now has an "expiry date" shown.

FINALLY, OUR PLANS FOR 2004 ...

NEW WEBSITES

We have at least 2 new websites planned for 2004. And, of course, StyxWetWorld and StyxFreeWorld will continue. You will hear about those new sites soon. The first will launch at the end of January. Where possible, there will be discounts to those memberships or offers for StyxWetWorld members.

WATERGIRL

Starting with the 14 January update, we are delighted to bring you photosets of WATERGIRL. As you know, her public site was closed for family reasons a few weeks ago. She contacted us about providing photosets to members of StyxWetWorld where they are not in full public view and where she can happily show her face and more photos - and not restricted by bandwidth. Styx are now working with WATERGIRL (and her photographer/husband), providing technical guidance and financial assistance. We intend to have members updates of her every 4-6 weeks. Later in the year, we plan to feature videos too as we increase our sponsorship of her and provide the necessary equipment and professional guidance. And we have other similar deals in progress to allow keen contributors to "do their thing".

THANK YOU

Thank you all for your support. We've enjoyed 2003 and now look forward to all the exciting plans we have for 2004. You've trusted us with your long term subscriptions and support - and we feel we have kept our side of the bargain (and more) and will continue to do so in the future.

Graham and Kev