AJAX porn?

August 24, 2006 9:22 AM

AJAX porn?

A few years back, it was topically said that it was pornographers who employed (and developed) some of the most-cutting edge web and other multimedia technologies. Is this still the case? I have heard recently that some porn DVDs do in fact push the boundaries in (DVD) interface design / usability / user experience, but how about (new-ish) web technologies like AJAX?

Or was the whole "porn developing the latest technology" never true the first place?

posted by magullo to computers & internet (10 comments total)

It's not that they use the latest stuff because it's new. That would be silly. Rather, they have very little resistance to using new stuff if they can make money off it. Stuff like downloadable video is a win for everyone in the porn biz: lower production costs, more privacy for the customers, availability of a subscription model, etc.

Most other content producers should be embracing the same technologies, but they are big companies and so are inherently conservative.
posted by smackfu at 9:34 AM on August 24, 2006

Porn is Stylishly Dangerous has some transparent PNG action going on and AJAX comments, et cetera. Wordpress-powered pr0n blogs are getting more and more popular. Also the technologies that power them, such as RSS aggrication.

What I find most surprising is the lack of DRM solutions being utilized in the porn industry. I figured we would be far into that by now but currently the cost isn't worth it as it relates to customer retention because of DRM and losing potential customers because your content is DRM'd.
posted by travis vocino at 10:05 AM on August 24, 2006

From the Federal Law Communications Journal article "Pornography Drives Technology":

Throughout the history of new media, from vernacular speech to movable type, to photography, to paperback books, to videotape, to cable and pay-TV, to "900" phone lines, to the French Minitel, to the Internet, to CD-ROMs and laser discs, pornography has shown technology the way. "Great art is always flanked by its dark sisters, blasphemy and pornography." The same is true of the more mundane arts we call media. Where there is the Gutenberg Bible, there is also Rabelais; where the U.S. mails, dirty postcards; where the three-volume hardback novel, paperback pulp fiction; where HBO, Midnight Blue; where CompuServe, the Plain Brown Wrapper library.
posted by blahblahblah at 10:07 AM on August 24, 2006

I realize that they are not innovators just because. But what I am looking for is specific examples of technologies that are being developed for / employed by people in that field.

For instance, specially during the early part of the dotcom bubble years, I remember reading a few articles by programmers / developers in the field of digital video who claimed to have done some of their most cutting-edge stuff for pornographers, stuff that within a few years became mainstream. If we look at web video today, one of the hottest mainstream sites is your tube, which uses flash for video (versus other more "traditional" formats such as mpg). Is this something the porn industry did first?

PS: I do realize that not *every* web invention has its origins in the porn industry. I guess ultimately I am just trying to figure out how their early innovation practices have evolved.

On preview: I guess my question has been sort of answered.
posted by magullo at 10:16 AM on August 24, 2006

In the 'free porn' realm, ajax is not being used because the industry is held in check by traffic sources that insist upon javascript-free galleries.
posted by mmdei at 10:25 AM on August 24, 2006

I would say that porn sites led the way in being early adopters and prime movers of secure billing technologies. Not sure about the, ahem, creative end of the field.
posted by frogan at 11:31 AM on August 24, 2006

To add to this, if I may, another major issue is browser support. IE still leads the market as far as porn surfer traffic is concerned. A lot of higher end sites have to dumb down to deal with the IE6 nonsense.

If Firefox officially led the market for that segment of traffic, then you'd see a lot more happening in the adult space.
posted by travis vocino at 11:46 AM on August 24, 2006

outs self as one who does freelance programming for a network of gay porn sites...

Another factor affecting things is the regulatory climate, especially in the US. You may --want-- to do something cool and cutting edge, but time and resources are devoted to the latest twists in dealing with US Code § 2257 and every other legal twist that comes down the pike. And, if you are not working for one of the big-budget organizations, the clients' resources can be very limited.

Following from that, so many Web 2.0 (or whatever you wanna call it) sites are relying on user-generated collaborative content and technologies. But, the thrust of US regulation and recordkeeping requirements for porn make it virtually impossible for web sites to open the floodgates to allowing the general public to post what they want. Hence, there is no "porntube" (besides a domain name) to go with YouTube.

FWIW, a few years ago I had developed a collaborative user-driven web site for a particular subset of the gay male fetish community. Seeing the direction of US regulation and legislation, I ended up selling it to a group of members who live overseas, and arranging for them to host it abroad. It was too much hassle to pursue this here.

The comment about browser support is also very apt, as is anything that requires more than the simplest user learning curve. Once you start programming in this field, one of the first things you learn is that guys' brains turn off when their dicks turn on. :-)
posted by Robert Angelo at 12:21 PM on August 24, 2006

I think you're looking at this the wrong way. There are thousands of technologies that porn doesn't employ when it could. If it doesn't, that's a good sign that the technology is more hype than use.

Hello, Ajax.
posted by bonaldi at 12:25 PM on August 24, 2006

Well, there is always socialporn.com, but it's really just a Digg clone for porn.
posted by camworld at 2:41 PM on August 24, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]