Nudity is Good Business

ESPN The Magazine reports 400 new subscriptions in the two hours following the publication of its "Body Issue."

Still Under Construction

What's going on with the Buckeye Naturists and their web site? Since June it has been "under construction" with no phone number, no mailing address, no information, just an advisory that things are still unfinished.

Among the few items on the "to do" list are "events data system" and "logo figure shading". How about some actual "content"?

TBN has not had a fully functional web site for years. Nudism is a laid back lifestyle, but this is ridiculous. Any semi-competent person using a web page design program can put together a decent web site in an hour or less.

TBN would be better off ditching the web site altogether instead of presenting this half-baked junk to the public. Such displays of incompetence and apathy are harmful to nudists and naturists everywhere.

Sorry to rant, but this just irritates the hell out of me.

UPDATE: It appears that the other formal Columbus nudist club, Have Sun Will Travel, is also having web site difficulties.

It's Fun to Vacation at Nudist Resorts

"It's fun to vacation at clothing optional and nudist resorts." That has long been the motto of Tom Mulhall, the owner of the Terra Cotta Inn, along with his wife Mary Clare. Today Tom has a new post reiterating that philosophy.

The only conclusion I can come to is nudism just is not being portrayed as fun. And if it doesn't seem like fun, people won't be interested.

Tom correctly points out that the Naturist Society Facebook page has only about 500 members, about the same as the AANR Facebook page, yet a group called "Sleeping Naked" has 125,000 members. What's wrong with this picture? The lack of any mention of the word "fun." by the national organizations.

The Naturist Society offers a solemn "mission statement" promoting naturism as "a culture of body acceptance through clothing-optional recreation using the tools of education and community outreach." Honestly, would anyone ever go to Disneyland if they marketed their parks like this? Imagine if Uncle Walt had promoted his family amusement park as "a culture of leisure acceptance through mechanical recreation using the tools of engineering and marketing."

This past weekend at Cedar Trails in Ohio, a little toddler girl squealed with delight as she approached the pool. She nearly fell over in her enthusiasm to get into the water. Her unmitigated glee was an external expression of what most nudists and naturists feel when they shed their clothes - pure delight. There is absolutely nothing wrong in admitting that it simply feels wonderful.

This past weekend my wife and I swam, sunbathed, hiked, played about 50 games of billiards, socialized, and just plain had fun, all completely in the nude.

There are a myriad of problems facing nudists and naturists, especially on the marketing front, but Tom is absolutely correct to point out that bringing the fun back into nude recreation is job number one. AANR managed to do that this year with the skinny-dip record attempt.

So lighten up a little out there and have some good, clean, naked fun.

Under Construction

Image by Will Merydith via Flickr

I know that non-landed clubs are strapped for cash, but for at least the past four years The Buckeye Naturists have been presenting on the Internet, in several incarnations, a website that is perpetually under construction. Their latest version is essentially exactly what they've always had except for a new logo. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I simply cannot understand people who have so little enthusiasm for what they are doing that they cannot even finish a simple six-page website which would take any marginally competent self-taught amateur designer an hour or two. That's my rant for the day, I needed to get it off my chest.

When it Comes to the Internet, Nudism Lags

I don't know what's up with nudists/naturists and the Internet.

I understand that people have time and money restraints, but there is no excuse for all the amateurish web sites out there, foremost among them The Naturist Society and their sub-sites, NAC and NEF. Their sites harken back to the early days of html, with stock buttons and bullets, fixed backgrounds, inconsistent graphics, and no formal layout, not to mention outdated information. Such an important organization should have a first class web presence.

At least AANR appears to have their act together with an attractive site.

I can forgive many of the small clubs for their lack of a slick Internet presence, but there are some basic things that they can do to appear professional and appeal to more people.

A good example of a problem easily solved is with The Buckeye Naturists, which has a web site at http://www.geocities.com/therealbirdin/TBN/. Try reciting that URL to a potential member over the phone. It's their third web address in a couple of years, leaving broken links all over the Internet, creating the appearance that they are out of business. Their email address is tbnaturists@gmail.com which has no relationship with the web address. In addition, their web site has seriously outdated information, and broken pages. Hint: http://buckeyenaturists.com/ is available. Hint #2: If you are having financial and membership problems, it's probably not a good idea to make a recording of your business meeting and post the audio on your web site for all to hear.

At least West Penn Naturist club has their own web address at http://www.westpennnaturist.com/, and their email is info@westpennnaturist.com. Simple and professional. Although their web site design is spare and simple, their information is updated frequently and is very informative.

Even though no longer affiliated with AANR, Caliente is running away with first prize when it comes to a professional web presence. I have no doubt it's paying good dividends in drawing tons of visitors, leaving other resorts in the dust.

But the thing that irks me the most is a widespread lack of email skills out there. It took me well over a year to get in touch with a couple of non-landed groups because they either had outdated addresses, or they just didn't care. Emails to several resorts in Ohio have sometimes taken days for a response. often too late for me to make plans for visiting.

I can understand a limited web presence, but I cannot understand not being able to answer emails in a prompt and professional manner.

Yeah, this all sounds a little bitchy, but the Internet is now THE primary marketing source for nudism and naturism. Time to get serious, people.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked