Porn Industry and Tech Innovation: Tech’s Unlikely Muse

I never thought pornography could influence the technological advancements I use and enjoy today. My research has shown it has been very influential, and I'd like to share these findings with you.

Cable TV

I am as surprised by this as you are. The adult entertainment industry played a crucial role in the technological boom of the 1980s as cable companies struggled to attract subscribers. Companies like Playboy and Penthouse provided a solution by offering pay-per-view adult movies, becoming popular among cable subscribers. 

It led to the creation of more adult-oriented channels, such as Spice and The Hot Network. The success of these channels helped the growth of cable television, leading to the creation of new technologies and changing the media landscape.

VHS VCR

I'm pretty sure most of you reading this never used a VHS tape.  However, I think 90% of you have no idea what a VCR is.  A VCR (video recorder) is a device that people used to record TV shows and films in the 70s. It used cassettes to store recordings.

VHS is a type of VCR cassette that became popular in the 80s and 90s before DVDs and streaming services became widespread. Now that I think about it, not many know what a DVD is. 

Pornographic films were among the first to be released on VHS cassettes. The industry recognized the potential of this format to reach a wider audience than adult cinemas.

People appreciated the convenience of watching movies at home, including porn, which rapidly increased demand for VHS players. Today, this is known as Netflix and Chill. 

DOT.COM internet explosion

I use the internet on a daily and I bet you do too. I can't remember life without the internet, and you guessed it, we have porn to thank for this. It was the porn industry that brought the internet to the attention of a wider audience. The dot.com explosion of the Internet occurred in the late 1990s. 

It became easy and affordable to put and retrieve information in a database, and porn sites and users took advantage of this. Cassettes and cable TV were left behind. Problems like low network bandwidth, online copyright protection, and privacy issues arose.

The solution to new problems created monthly subscriptions, online transactions, and a reassessment of marketing. Distributors were actively monetizing, and technology went far beyond the porn industry.

Online payment systems

I enjoy the ease that online payment systems offer, and e-commerce websites owe their payment system to the spicy industry. Paying for something online and having it delivered to your doorstep is wonderful, and wouldn't you know it, porn influenced how it works today.  

In the early 2000s, many porn sites relied on third-party payment systems such as PayPal. These processors often had strict policies on adult content. The porn industry created payment systems like CCBill, Epoch, and Verotel.

In 2020, Visa and Mastercard blocked their services on PornHub to avoid accusations of distributing illegal porn, highlighting the crucial issue of content moderation on PornHub. Despite this denial, it is clear that they've influenced the understanding that digital items can be bought securely online.

Streaming tech Innovation

I'm indifferent to streams. I do know they are big in the video entertainment and gaming industry. The first streaming technology was developed in the mid-1990s when RealNetworks created RealAudio to transmit audio content over the Internet.  Microsoft developed Windows Media Player, and in the early 2000s, Apple introduced QuickTime Streaming.

Porn sites began using and investing in streaming technology from its inception. People watched videos on porn sites in real time without downloading the entire file, which was the game-changer. Consumers began to expect a similar from other sites and online services.

This sparked a wave of mass popularity for streaming platforms. Services like YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, Roku, and Twitch are the biggest video content providers worldwide. It is not just about porn anymore, but a powerful direct competitor to TV channels.

Live video chats

I've only used Zoom and Whereby for live chats with my team members and business partners. I was surprised to learn that this technology is rampant due in part to porn. The first widely used video chat program was CU-SeeMe, released in 1992 and allowed users to communicate over the internet using video and audio.

In the early 2000s, Skype, Google Hangouts, and FaceTime appeared. Adult video chat platforms such as LiveJasmin and MyFreeCams emerged.

According to a Business Wire report in 2019 citing Technavio data, the global live video communication market is expected to grow by 15% from 2019-2023. The report also notes that the adult entertainment industry is one of the key drivers of market growth. 

This was a geek feature to communicate with co-workers and sometimes with relatives. Almost every social media, messenger, or big corporation needs it. From Skype to Zoom, WhereBy, Telegram, and Instagram - people got used to communicating with their friends, teammates, and close ones daily.

Digital cameras adoption

I don't take a lot of pictures. I am still amazed that porn played a role in the uptake of digital cameras. In the mid-2000s, digital cameras became cheaper than film, leading to a surge in amateur and independent porn production. Creating and uploading photo content became easier, increasing the need for high-quality shots. The pornography industry was an early adopter of digital photography and influenced the development of improved digital camera sensors and image processing software.

This era saw the rise of websites like Clips4Sale and ManyVids, where performers sell their content directly to consumers. Rapid evolution created new challenges, such as piracy.

Privacy, Digital content rights management & software

As a business owner, knowing how DRM works is crucial. Digital rights management (DRM) and software emerged in the early 2000s to protect copyrighted content from unauthorized sale (digital watermarks, encryption technologies, and licensing agreements).

One of the first examples of DRM in the porn industry was the use of software to protect DVDs from copying and illegal sale. Porn websites and platforms use DRM software to control access to their content, ensuring that only paying customers can view and download their content. This sorted all privacy concerns. 

Music and film companies took notice of this software. You can instantly verify and block sounds or videos created by you that are at risk of being used by someone. Put paywalls on content for your audience to monetize your creative efforts. Probably nothing of those would have been possible if the adult industry didn't care about the licensing rights to the content.

High-speed mobile internet

I get ticked off when my internet is slow. It makes everything feel awful even if it possibly isn't. Approximately, 20% of all searches on mobile phones are for porn. It would be bold to say that 3G, 4G, and 5G were born solely because of porn. The porn industry has significantly contributed to the creation of the high-speed mobile internet.

It was hard to receive the benefits of adult websites with low-speed connections. Streaming, video chats, and online payment systems have made it easier for people to access and purchase premium pornographic content on mobile devices, increasing mobile traffic. The telecommunication industry realized it had to catch up with the demand for high-speed mobile connectivity.

Online advertisement and marketing

I know people don't like YouTube ads, but online advertising is good. It aids in finding the right seller for the product you're looking for. Pornographic websites are ahead of the curve. They have started using online advertising to create revenue: banner ads first appeared on porn sites in 1994. Affiliate marketing is a major source of income for the porn industry: according to some estimates, affiliates account for up to 80% of all porn site traffic.

The porn industry has also been at the forefront of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and new forms of online advertising, including pop-up, bottom-of-page, and interstitial advertising. We are at the age of intelligent programmatic advertising, where ads are displayed on the categorized detailed data about each user.

There's no need to explain how adult sites can categorize their users. You can see similar approaches in big companies like Google, Amazon, eBay, Uber, and online publishers. I'm both impressed and concerned by this. 

Virtual and augmented reality

What can I say? Technology has evolved to the point of letting you create your reality via virtual reality. VR was first used in a pornographic film in 1993, in the movie Virtual Valerie. Companies such as Naughty America and BaDoinkVR offer porn videos in virtual reality, with full 3D, a 180º viewing area, and immersive binaural sound.

You may have heard about at least one geek that ordered VR glasses to watch porn. It started from cases like that, but the demand for more realistic and immersive experiences has led to the development of haptic feedback technology, more efficient VR/AR glasses, more advanced virtual reality games, and interactive avatars.

Artificial intelligence

This is something I did not expect. I never thought that porn influenced AI technology. One of the first examples of AI use in porn was the development of 'deep fakes' technology. The ethics of the technology are controversial but is a powerful feature that has now evolved into creating digital avatars that can speak, act, and look like ordinary people, at least on the screen.

Natural language processing based on AI allows us to recognize people's moods by voice, although this mechanism was initially applied in chatbots on porn sites.

Bottom line

I communicate with loved ones via video calls from different continents. I have Netflix movie nights with friends at home. Lovers have remote-controlled sex gadgets and don't have to share their intimacy at a distance. Technology brings us closer to each other and helps us fight loneliness.

The Internet needs new changes that are happening right before our eyes. We must talk about online safety loudly and provocatively. The porn industry is responsible for its contribution to the development of modern technologies and should raise the issue of online ethics on a global level.

Pornhub proves that the next step is to be ethical and safe online.

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