LCA – As we all know, the pandemic outbreak has affected severely various industry sectors, can you tell us what was the impact on your business and what challenges you met that you had to adapt to?

SHIRLEY LARA: Thankfully the CB platform has always been entirely online so we were very happy to offer a platform for our independent broadcasters to generate revenues and a safe way for the entire CB community to stay connected during such a crazy time.  To help with the new influx of independent broadcasters, we updated our FAQ including with videos from some of the amazing members of the CB community.  We also launched our CB Ambassadors program to further help these new community members.

Internally, being that we’re very technology-based, we were very fortunate that we were pretty quickly able to get everyone working safely from their homes, with the odd (and often welcome) video chat appearance by pets, children, and partners.

LCA – With all the society being affected, what were the changes that you noticed in consumer behavior, employees and leadership aspects?

SHIRLEY LARA: We saw an increase in new accounts and time spent online.  We are very proud that we were able to offer people an outlet for human connection when so many were stuck at home with quarantines, shutdowns, and working location changes.

Our employees quickly adjusted to modified working conditions.  We all felt and feel proud to be part of a company that could simultaneously allow people to safely generate an income and just have a place to connect and have fun.  Further, the CB community has always been very cognizant of social issues and this year shone a much-needed light on important worldwide issues.  Although we are all about entertainment, we endeavor to be inclusive on and off the CB platform by supporting a variety of charities that benefited COVID-19 front-line workers, justice reform, and LGBTQ+ issues; and soo much more.

LCA – While some businesses are struggling, some businesses are thriving, what is that special thing that differentiates your company from your competitors?

SHIRLEY LARA: Obviously since we operate an online platform, we were not faced with the challenges that brick-and-mortar businesses, like theaters and restaurants, faced.  When the pandemic came, together with stay-at-home orders and shutdowns, we were happy that the millions of Chaturbate community members already had well-established networks and support through their long-time memberships in the Chaturbate community to turn to when other avenues are human interaction were closed.

For the broadcasting members of the community, the control they have can be really empowering.  They are in control of their creative streams (and the use of their content through CB’s free takedown notice service) and, if they so choose, can appoint trusted individuals to help administer their room rules with the ability to appoint and remove such people on a moment’s notice.  

LCA – Is your company now engaging in new projects?

SHIRLEY LARA: We are always working on new projects and features!  We just rolled out the “Show My Cam” feature (aka Cam2Cam) and have more fun things coming.  Soon we’ll be rolling out some new messaging features, username mentions in chat, and a new dark mode to make Chaturbating easier on the eyes.

LCA – Our mission is to give back to the models who are the engine of this industry, could you name a few models that you collab with and had some remarkable results that your company is proud of?

SHIRLEY LARA: Chaturbate independent broadcasters are definitely the engine that drives the community.  There’s no way to pick only a few that we collaborate with because there are so many broadcasters doing amazing and remarkable things.  

Both on and off the CB platform, with all the social issues going on, we have been so impressed by tremendous activism and work our broadcasters have been doing which has had a positive impact on our employees and management including their actions as individuals and our actions as a company.

On a lighter note, we are very pleased that the very normal life of a broadcaster, as depicted on the CamGilfriend YouTube channel, made cam work more understandable and relatable (albeit on a PG basis) to those outside the industry.