Porn 2.0

Porn 2.0, named after "Web 2.0", refers to pornographic websites featuring user-generated content. Sites may include social networking media including features such as user-based categorizing, webcam hosting, blogs and comments. This is in contrast to the static content offered by "Web 1.0" porn sites. Porn 2.0 sites may offer features similar to mainstream Web 2.0 services such as video communities (Metacafe, Vimeo, YouTube) and social sites (Tumblr, Twitter), general blogging, (Blogger, DailyBooth, Lookbook) and photo hosting (Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa).

Since their inception, Porn 2.0 Web sites have garnered great popularity, but have meanwhile encountered various legal and other difficulties. Among these difficulties are concern about the digital content copyright, trade media and affiliating partnership advertising. Other concerns include the idea of sharing vs. privacy in Security 2.0 and legal ramifications of large quantities of free, user-generated pornographic content on the Internet. To solve these problems temporarily, a method of implementation of zero-dollar charge credit card verification is implemented in MaxPorn and RTA & age verification consent in PornoTube respectively.

For Porn 3.0, news media often suggest the usage of 3D stereoscopy,^[1] multi-angle DVD^[2] neural impulse actuators, and peripheral controller and devices^[3] similar to game controller vibration, eliminating less probable technologies such as holograms.

Challenges

While some argue that pornographic sites are a natural development for an industry that has always been at the forefront of technological advancements,^[4] Porn 2.0 has presented several difficulties and challenges.

Copyright issues

Copyright infringement is chief among the challenges that have confronted Porn 2.0.^[5] Porn 2.0 websites have come under attack as being potentially harmful to the economics of more traditional pornography outlets such as DVD sales and monthly paid subscription adult sites.^[6]

As more and more of the general public comes online, they are finding newer and cheaper ways to get their adult content fix. Just like the masses have flocked to sites like YouTube to watch professional clips from their favorite TV shows, video blogs, crazy stunts, and amateur movies, the adult audience has ditched DVDs and pay-per-view television to flock to similar sites (like xtube).^[7]

— Jacqui Cheng, ArsTechnica.com

As with YouTube, any site that allows users to upload content runs the risk of infringing on the copyrights of the original producers. While this was a grey issue at the inception of the Web 2.0 movement, a billion dollar lawsuit filed by Viacom in 2007 against YouTube (see "Copyright Infringement") will bring this issue before the courts and will have a massive potential effect on the viability of Porn 2.0 as a business strategy. YouTube has since won the suit.

Age and identity

As part of the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988, the U.S. Congress enacted statute 18 U.S.C. 2257 in 1988. This required that all producers of sexually explicit material keep detailed records of the age and identity of all models that they shoot. While this posed some difficulty for professional producers of commercial pornography, the advent of user-submitted material to Porn 2.0 sites widened the possible application of the law. When anyone who produces sexual-explicit material is subject to the statute, Porn 2.0 meant that even individuals at home who shot amateur video were now considered producers.^[8]

A 2007 decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the 2257 legislation was unconstitutional and violated first amendment rights.^[9] The decision was overturned in a 2009 en banc rehearing.^[10] The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the matter.^[11]

Privacy

It is possible that users upload material without the models' consent. This is usually prohibited by the sites' Terms of Use, although some sites such as Voyeurweb allow non-consensual photos and move offices frequently to avoid the legal issues this might otherwise entail.^[12]

Monetization

As with Web 2.0 ventures like Facebook, Myspace or YouTube, Porn 2.0 has yet to find a strategy that proves to be commercially profitable. High server costs from hosting the large amount of user-generated content paired with little to no user-generated income puts Porn 2.0 websites in a challenging financial position. Because Porn 2.0 services have, so far, been free of charge to users, the only source of revenue for these sites is from advertising placement. While high traffic sites can garner substantial revenue from advertising, websites are searching for a new monetization model for Web and Porn 2.0 ventures.^[13]

Services

PornoTube

PornoTube is an advertising-supported pornographic site that provides audio, videos, and photos of explicit sex. It is one of the highest-traffic pornographic sites on the Internet along with Pornhub and YouPorn and has been described as a major development in Internet pornography.^[14] PornoTube was started in July 2006 by AEBN.

RedTube

RedTube is a Web 2.0, video-sharing, pornography site which in November 2009 held an Alexa ranking within the World's top 100 sites. However, by June 2010 it had fallen out of the top 100. Its popularity has been ascribed to its non-sexual name.

The site's database was accessed and temporarily shut down by Turkish hackers in February 2008.

YouPorn

YouPorn is a free pornographic video sharing site, similar in format to YouTube. It was started in August 2006. It was eventually overtaken by xHamster, Pornhub and Livejasmin. The domain name was registered by a company in December 2005, and a little over a year later YouPornMobile^[15] was promoting mobile porn as well. The site was owned by MidStream Media International N.V., which was based in Willemstad, Curacao, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, it was later purchased by the large adult internet company, Manwin, which is owned by Fabian Thylmann, a German national residing in Belgium.

In October 2007, it was reported that a man living in California, had contacted Vivid Entertainment and AEBN in May 2007, claiming that he co-owned YouPorn with another individual, and was willing to sell for $20 million. He later denied owning YouPorn, claiming instead that it was founded and is operated by a German.^[16]

Porn 2.0 Image Websites

Various Porn 2.0 websites exist that have a majority of free promotional and user-generated material. A popular platform for 2.0 image websites is a Pinterest clone that is used by sites such as Sex.com and PicFapPin.com, that work the same way os other social media sites except that they are specialist on pornographic content only. Social Media sites that allow adult content include tumblr, Twitter, reddit and stumbleupon.

Sites like Facebook and pinterest have a strict non-adult material policy and will remove and close any user account that posted such materials, as it is stated in their terms of service.

Alternatively to social media sites are free user-generated collections of pornographic material that finance their server costs by displaying advertisement, thus allowing them to share their content as an alternative strategy to the social media sites.

Social porn news

There are other forms of Porn 2.0, which do not involve user-generated video content. One is so-called "Social Porn"^[17] Digg-style websites, where registered users write articles about their submitted links.

Over-saturation due to free promotional material

Ever since the success of MET-Art starting in 1999, its success with free promotional material created a constant source of new content on the internet. Thus there is an ever growing amount of free images and videos made available and shared through social media like Tumblr, Twitter and Stumbleupon. Therefore, creating a whole new accessibility for pornographic material. A strategy for paysites, in order to counter this growing movement, is to offer higher quality with high-resolution images and full-length FullHD videos.

See also

• Teledildonics

Notes