The adult entertainment industry is known for being at the forefront of new technology. The industry was the first to figure out how to make money with this new technology. Fast forward from the days of VHS and DVD, adult entertainers have been leading the way to monetizing images and creating more capital using new forms of distribution that mobile technology has brought. The internet took voyeurism to another level and the adult entertainment industry had to work harder to remain relevant. Some would even argue that adult entertainment helped speed up new innovation in technology.
The industry is an important kernel of cyberspace. It has helped usher new media formats and laid the groundwork for lot of the prominent technologies we have today. Here are just a few ways the adult entertainment industry helped to enhance technology:
#1. ASCII coding
You wouldn’t think that checking out shots of Kim Kardashian’s ass in code would be tantalizing but once upon a time, this was the only way you could see naked lady parts on the internet. It was called ASCII, a character- encoded format of viewing images that was compatible with most computers and transferable via something as simple as an email. ASCII art helped advance graphic design and digital imaging as we know it.
#2. High-Speed Connectivity
When people began taking videos of themselves doing their own strip tease routines or whatever else and sending them via internet video, the number of internet connections skyrocketed. The problem was, it took forever on a dialup connection. In the 90’s Penthouse magazine started distributing 2400-band modems to its customers so that they could have faster access to the XXX rated bulletin boards. In 2000, millions of internet users were spending a lot of money watching adult entertainers online. Modems had to be faster as more people got onto networks.
#3. Live Online Interaction
Back in the day web cams ruled. There was no Skype or iChat yet people still needed to do more than watch but interact with what they were watching. Of course there was always a mens club around that offered plenty of interactions but for people who were already connected and using the internet domains with live feed and actual engagement through a web cam were revolutionary. So, one can say the adult entertainment industry helped speed up the development of live online interaction to what it is today.
#4. Online Payment Systems
In the mid-90s, Richard Gordon founded Electronic Card Systems that introduced online payments and serviced sites such as the one that published the famous Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape. According to research, over $1.3 billion was spent on cyberporn in 1999 alone and that figure rose to $2.8 billion in 2006.
#5. Pioneered Streaming
According to the author of The Erotic Engine, PatchenBarss, a Dutch company called Red Light District was the first to create an internet based video streaming system in 1994, a decade before YouTube even came along. There was a system using a JPEG push video used by the industry which didn’t require any plug-ins like such systems often do.
Being at the forefront of making profit from internet technology has made the industry vulnerable. You can virtually order anything you want online on your mobile phone or tablet. However, the same technology that helped the industry come into the 21st century has become its biggest threat. It’s harder to get a seat in a mens clubswhere consumers can get naked dancing women on their phones. However, even as the internet evolved and online consumerism grew, it also became apparent that there are something’s that cannot be artificially made and that people still want that physical interaction. As much as stripping is visual, there is a sensory and auditory sensation that comes with it and that is why strip clubs will always be relevant