User:Jessica Ong

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Annotated Bibliography

How the arrival of the internet has re-defined pornography and turned it into a contributing factor to e-commerce

Anonymous, Porn More Popular Than Search. [Online], (2004). Available: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1002835 [Accessed 17 August. 2004].

This article documents a report by an online measurement company, Hitwise, which revealed that 18.8% of internet visits by US internet users went to adult websites. Within the article a comparison is made between the number of visits to adult sites and the number of visits made to the top three search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN), which was a total of 5.5%. It is concluded in the article that “online surfers think that perusing smut is more important than searching for knowledge� (2004: 1). Interestingly the article cites the number of people globally viewing online porn, stating that the number has had an increase of 1800% with 14 million web pages in 1998 and in 2003 the existence of 260 million pages.

Buskin, J. (April 17, 2000) 'The Web's Dirty Little Secret', Wall Street Journal [Online]. Available: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=309&VInst=PROD&VName=PQD&VType=PQD&Fmt=3&did=000000052666098&clientId=14394 [Accessed 17 August. 2004].

Buskin begins his article by stating that whether pornography gives thrills or chills, there is no denying that online pornography has found a home on the internet. There is also no denying that these online pornography sites create some of the biggest profits for a business on the internet. To support his stance, Buskin quotes David Card who is a researcher at Jupiter Communications who acknowledges that pornography is “the single biggest category of paid online content� (2000: 2) and who believes that the online pornography market in the US for 1999 was worth $175 million in revenue. Buskin includes further estimates made by Forrester who say that in 1998 online pornography brought in revenue of $750 million to $1 billion worldwide.

An important point is made by Buskin in his article, which highlights the fact that online porn vendors believe they are no different to any other company utilizing the advantages of the internet. Buskin reveals porn retailers’ proposals for further growth, starting from “franchising schemes to porn subsidized breakthroughs in online technology� (2000: 2). As Buskin points out, pornography and technology have an equally beneficial relationship in the past and appears to be set to continue.

The impact of online pornography on pornographic video rentals is included in Buskin’s article; an inclusion that demonstrates that pornographic video rentals still have a certain life about them, with an estimation of 20-25% of all borrowed videos being adult videos. However, Buskin’s text appears to envisage the eventual end of video rentals once live video begins to be streamed live on the internet.

Doyle, T. (2000) ‘The Architects of Porn – Meet the Men and Women Who Push E-Business to its Extreme’, VARbusiness [Online], issue 1609, pp. 19-25. Available: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=309&VInst=PROD&VName=PQD&VType=PQD&Fmt=3&did=000000053296679&clientId=14394 [Accessed 19 August. 2004].

Doyle’s article is based around the substantial role technology plays in the further development and improvement of online pornography websites. Included in the article also are excerpts of discussions with online pornography entrepreneurs, which give valuable insight into the reasons behind why one would host such a site.

Throughout the text, great emphasis is placed on how porn site ‘architects’ continue to implement and endorse the need for exceptional technology. It is revealed in the article that the porn site architects were one of the first groups to achieve uninterrupted full streaming video and audio on the internet, as well as take chat rooms to a higher, more extreme level. Doyle also recognises and pays homage to the porn site architects for once more being among the first; this time in relation to destroying customer anxiety in regards to disclosing their credit card numbers – it was through online pornography that people freely began to give their credit card numbers to an unknown somebody on the internet.

Further into the article, Doyle raises the issue of the lack of differentiation amongst online pornography websites, as well as slowing down of innovation within the industry. Doyle suggests the online pornography market is “seeing some consolidation and retrenchment� (2000: 3), which is why the owners and builders of online pornography sites are going to extraordinary lengths to separate themselves from other similar sites.

Included at the end of the article is a fascinating list of five technological innovations that give online pornography the advantage over other sites, which demonstrates just how much of a serious role technology plays in a market such as this one.

Hapgood, F. (1996) ‘Sex Sells’, Inc. Boston [Online], vol. 18, no. 17, pp. 45-49. Available: http://gateway.proquest.com.gateway.library.qut.edu.au/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqd&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&rft_dat=xri:pqd:did=000000010400765&svc_dat=xri:pqil:fmt=text&req_dat=xri:pqil:pq_clntid=14394 [Accessed 16 August. 2004].

Sex Sells focuses on the monetary successes of the online erotica industry, with Hapgood stating that online pornography has become the “first fully developed sector in internet commerce� (1996: 1).

Hapgood offers an insight into the lucrative world of online pornography by including direct references to individuals who happily make a living out of being involved in such a niche market. For instance, Francis Sharrak, owner of “Live Centerfold Girls and More� (1996: 3), believes that an erotic video conferencing business that is run well should be able to take in approximately $25,000 a week. These inclusions by Hapgood help one understand the absolute triumphs some online pornography businesses achieve.

A vital point mentioned by Hapgood in his article is the way in which the vendors of online pornography are continually pushing the technological boundaries of multimedia information commerce. It is the high level of technology offered by such vendors that is luring the customers to their online businesses. Technology such as interactive services like video conferencing and keyboard chats to real time data feeds, or more specifically, “continuous video broadcasts from the floor or stage of a nightclub� (1996: 1). Offering such technologies gives an edge over competitors and appeals to potential customers who then bring in the financial aspect.

Hirsh, L. (23 August. 2002) ‘Is Porn Still the Hidden King of E-Commerce?’, E-Commerce Times, [Online]. Available: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/19135.html [Accessed 18 August. 2004].

Within his article, Hirsh puts forth the notion that whilst the major online pornography sites do generate a significant amount of revenue, they do not generate as much profit as they could due to a large number of sites offering free pornography.

Included in the article is an estimation by researchers at Forrester, who believed that the yearly revenue for online pornography sites in 1998 reached US$800 million and that this revenue was expected to exceed $1 billion by 2000. Interestingly, Hirsh diverged into the legal implications of the online pornography industry present in places like Singapore where individual use of adult sites is rigorously monitored by the Government.

Lane, F. (2000) Obscene Profits, London: Routledge. ISBN 0415920965

As the author of ‘Obscene Profits’, Lane puts forth a well balanced and well informed book about the role of technologies causing change to emerge in how pornography is both viewed and accessed. Lane documents succinctly the influence of technology on the distribution and usage of pornography and at the same time manages to maintain a simplified approach that is easy to interpret.

Lane begins his book on a brief recount of both pornography and technology, which is a clever inclusion as it allows one to recognise the long way both these subjects have traveled in order to arrive where they are today. Lane delves into the pornographic vault and speaks of the first pornographic movie, photograph etc. however this seems to be probed into a little too deeply than what is actually required. Despite this, Lane contends with some rather saucy issues such as the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky ordeal to demonstrate how at ease society has become in regards to sexual activities. It is a bold approach but is tied in well by Lane, particularly when he compares what used to be disclosed on the news and how so much has changed these days that the news has a certain vulgar element to it. Furthermore, Lane mentions online gaming and the ‘sexing up’ of game characters in such a way that they could almost be considered to be pornographic – as Lane says, “there’s a fine line between sexy and sexual� (2000: 60).

Chapter 3 reveals that internet pornography did not initially draw interest from news groups until 1996 when it was realized that as a whole, online pornography was generating vast amounts of money through the use of the new technology at the time. In that same year, Forrester reported that online pornography was taking in revenues of approximately $52 million and by the end of 1996 these revenues were in surplus of $100 million.

McNair, B. (1996) Mediated Sex, London: Hodder. ISBN 0340614285

McNair’s book, Mediated Sex, documents the role of pornography in post modern culture. Whilst it was published in 1996, there are still relevant chapters throughout the book that touch on both online pornography and the overall impact of technology on pornography. Chapter 4 refers to technologies present throughout the 1990’s such as the CD-Rom and more recently the internet, which McNair believes “are increasingly being adopted for use by the producers and consumers of pornography� (1996: 44). Furthermore, McNair acknowledges that the arrival of these technologies bring problems for those who would prefer to have some sort of regulation over such brash imagery.

Throughout chapter 7, McNair begins to document and link new technologies such as the VCR and the internet as a contributing factor to the popularity of pornography. McNair details in succession the lead up to the arrival of the internet, stating that in 1995 numerous articles were circulated in the US and Britain, which analysed the dangers involved with the spread of pornographic material through a communication network known as the internet. In some respects, McNair’s book comes across as a very conservative account of the technological impact on pornography; however the lack of knowledge available toward the internet would prove difficult.

McNair incorporates all parts of post modern culture into his discussion about pornography, including a section on lesbians and AIDS/HIV, yet no balanced argument seems to emerge from the book, which makes it difficult to analyse overall. Despite this though, McNair has recognised that “new technologies are always used for sexual purposes� (1996: 116).

Toor, M. (1997) ‘Battle of Somm puts the Focus in Internet Porn’, Marketing Week [Online], vol. 20, issue 4, pp. 25. Available: http://gateway.proquest.com.gateway.library.qut.edu.au/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqd&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&rft_dat=xri:pqd:did=000000011910315&svc_dat=xri:pqil:fmt=text&req_dat=xri:pqil:pq_clntid=14394 [Accessed 16 August. 2004].

A lot of attention is given to the role of advertising on online pornography sites throughout Toor’s article; however he also speaks of the number of people and revenue involved in online pornography.

Toor includes statistics from a study by Carnegie Mellon University in the US, which have found that 83.5% of all images throughout the internet are of a sexual nature. He then goes on to mention individual sites such as Website Amateur Hardcore that have received 50,449,545 hits from January to mid March. Similarly, a newer pornography site ABC-Web is generating an average of 337,745 hits each day. Furthermore, Toor states an estimate made by the US magazine Interactive Week, which indicated that more than $1 billion annually in revenue was being turned over by the 10,000 adult related sites on the internet.

Toor finishes his article on a note worthy fact that from the beginning of photography to the onset of the VCR and now finally to the existence of the internet, the adult industry is “the first to embrace and make money from new media� (1997: 2).

Jessica Ong 10:00, 20 Aug 2004 (EST)

email me Jessica Ong 14:08, 30 Jul 2004 (EST)