- Jun 12, 2001
- 8,757
- 43
- 91
so if you want to show off those killer programming skills of yours and can't find that perfect job yet, then maybe this article will "point" you in the right direction (not to mention knocking the conversation silent at the family reunion):
From Streaming Video to Advanced Search Functionality, Adult Entertainment Leads the Way in Net Innovation
By Lindsay Martell, Tech Live
July 30 ? When it comes to porn, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt says innovation equals customer satisfaction. "It's the same thing that drove Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to put the PC in every household. Then software and other innovations continued to expand what you can do on the Internet," said Flynt, who made an appearance at the Video Software Dealers Association's Home Entertainment Show in Las Vegas two weeks ago. From billing to banner ads, online pornographers are pioneers. They're experts at giving customers what they want ? and at making money.
The online adult arena accounts for 25 percent of the multibillion dollar adult entertainment industry, according to Christopher Levy, co-chairman of DRM Networks, a digital rights management company. And as the interest in online content increases, so do customer demands. Sex.com, an Internet search portal, aims to stay competitive with "new types of content, new kinds of payment systems, new ways of getting traffic, new ways of holding the surfer," Sex.com CEO Gary Kremen said.
The company touts relevancy in search returns as one of its innovative features. Users browse according to sex category ? the more specific the interest, the better the result. "It amazes me what people are interested in," Kremen said. And what interests Kremen is expanding content to keep surfers hooked. "Whether it be more international payment systems as more countries come online, to faster displays of content, whatever our customers want, we want to do that," he said.
Playboy.com follows a similar philosophy. Membership to the site's Cyber Club allows paying customers to zoom in for high-resolution images of their favorite playmates. A magnifying-glass effect provides a seemingly nonpixelated image. Investments in the imaging and streaming quality has become the online adult industry's backbone, according to Abby Christopher, senior analyst with Ovum. "In order to keep customers coming back, over and over again, sites such as Playboy and Larry Flynt Online are making investments in new technologies to offer new experiences to their existing customers and to attract new customers," she said. "The billion-dollar adult entertainment business can afford to experiment with new technologies because innovation is key to reeling in customers," Christopher added.
"You can use pornography or online adult entertainment as a way to learn about emerging technologies because these companies have the funds to do so ? to trial them, to commercially apply them to the consumer market," she said.
I-Chat, the interactive feature on Playboy's site, is key for keeping fans in the loop. Tina Jordan, Miss March 2002, logs on to her own site along with her fans. "I use my Web site to place special appearances, or to update videos that I do so that my clients and customers can know what I'm doing and be a part of my life, even though I'm traveling," she said while posing with fans at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas last week. Shallan Meiers, Miss September 2002, said of chat, "I really like being able to talk to people and getting to know them."
Innovation is critical in the online arena ? and in competing with the industry's off-line moneymakers, namely videos and sex clubs. "The technologies really serve as a magnet," Christopher said. Customers, she says, are always asking, "'What have they done today? What are they offering me this month? What kind of new experience can I have?'"
From Streaming Video to Advanced Search Functionality, Adult Entertainment Leads the Way in Net Innovation
By Lindsay Martell, Tech Live
July 30 ? When it comes to porn, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt says innovation equals customer satisfaction. "It's the same thing that drove Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to put the PC in every household. Then software and other innovations continued to expand what you can do on the Internet," said Flynt, who made an appearance at the Video Software Dealers Association's Home Entertainment Show in Las Vegas two weeks ago. From billing to banner ads, online pornographers are pioneers. They're experts at giving customers what they want ? and at making money.
The online adult arena accounts for 25 percent of the multibillion dollar adult entertainment industry, according to Christopher Levy, co-chairman of DRM Networks, a digital rights management company. And as the interest in online content increases, so do customer demands. Sex.com, an Internet search portal, aims to stay competitive with "new types of content, new kinds of payment systems, new ways of getting traffic, new ways of holding the surfer," Sex.com CEO Gary Kremen said.
The company touts relevancy in search returns as one of its innovative features. Users browse according to sex category ? the more specific the interest, the better the result. "It amazes me what people are interested in," Kremen said. And what interests Kremen is expanding content to keep surfers hooked. "Whether it be more international payment systems as more countries come online, to faster displays of content, whatever our customers want, we want to do that," he said.
Playboy.com follows a similar philosophy. Membership to the site's Cyber Club allows paying customers to zoom in for high-resolution images of their favorite playmates. A magnifying-glass effect provides a seemingly nonpixelated image. Investments in the imaging and streaming quality has become the online adult industry's backbone, according to Abby Christopher, senior analyst with Ovum. "In order to keep customers coming back, over and over again, sites such as Playboy and Larry Flynt Online are making investments in new technologies to offer new experiences to their existing customers and to attract new customers," she said. "The billion-dollar adult entertainment business can afford to experiment with new technologies because innovation is key to reeling in customers," Christopher added.
"You can use pornography or online adult entertainment as a way to learn about emerging technologies because these companies have the funds to do so ? to trial them, to commercially apply them to the consumer market," she said.
I-Chat, the interactive feature on Playboy's site, is key for keeping fans in the loop. Tina Jordan, Miss March 2002, logs on to her own site along with her fans. "I use my Web site to place special appearances, or to update videos that I do so that my clients and customers can know what I'm doing and be a part of my life, even though I'm traveling," she said while posing with fans at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas last week. Shallan Meiers, Miss September 2002, said of chat, "I really like being able to talk to people and getting to know them."
Innovation is critical in the online arena ? and in competing with the industry's off-line moneymakers, namely videos and sex clubs. "The technologies really serve as a magnet," Christopher said. Customers, she says, are always asking, "'What have they done today? What are they offering me this month? What kind of new experience can I have?'"
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