Industry Trends

jayeff · 2006-09-14, 11:32 AM

Governments have tried to interfere with so-called Free Market Economics and usually get burned. Whether or not your perceptions about free porn, too many sponsors, etc are correct, really doesn't matter. There is absolutely nothing to be done about it. Although it takes time, effort and investment to be successful in this business, the reality is that entry can involve zero cost for affiliates and relatively little for sponsors. That is not likely to change, if at all, any time soon.

P2P is something else: it is bad news and it could be dealt with. But you are not going to convince the majority to take any effective action: some kid themselves it actually works for them; some do try; some believe the effort isn't worthwile; and most simply don't care. Online porn is not exactly bursting at the seams with professional business people.

And that last comment lies at the heart of your closing remarks. The last major development was the introduction of live video in around '97 or '98. Everything since has been tweaking and feeding more off each other: TGP's and Links Lists make it more expensive to submit and harder to monetize submissions; traffic prices creep up while quality declines; sponsors increase minimum oayouts; etc, etc.

Almost everyone in this business survives by climbing onto over-crowded bandwagons. They learn the absolute minimum necessary to put up whatever sites are called for, but they rarely extend their technical skills beyond that and most wouldn't dream of learning anything about business or marketing. If it involves effort and isn't all but guaranteed to produce results overnight, forget it.

You can't do much about that either. It is changing and will continue to change as the industry matures. You can try to encourage people to learn more about their business, but until doing so becomes a bandwagon in its own right, you will not get too many takers.

2006-09-14, 11:32 AM	#1
jayeff Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand! Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 95	Governments have tried to interfere with so-called Free Market Economics and usually get burned. Whether or not your perceptions about free porn, too many sponsors, etc are correct, really doesn't matter. There is absolutely nothing to be done about it. Although it takes time, effort and investment to be successful in this business, the reality is that entry can involve zero cost for affiliates and relatively little for sponsors. That is not likely to change, if at all, any time soon. P2P is something else: it is bad news and it could be dealt with. But you are not going to convince the majority to take any effective action: some kid themselves it actually works for them; some do try; some believe the effort isn't worthwile; and most simply don't care. Online porn is not exactly bursting at the seams with professional business people. And that last comment lies at the heart of your closing remarks. The last major development was the introduction of live video in around '97 or '98. Everything since has been tweaking and feeding more off each other: TGP's and Links Lists make it more expensive to submit and harder to monetize submissions; traffic prices creep up while quality declines; sponsors increase minimum oayouts; etc, etc. Almost everyone in this business survives by climbing onto over-crowded bandwagons. They learn the absolute minimum necessary to put up whatever sites are called for, but they rarely extend their technical skills beyond that and most wouldn't dream of learning anything about business or marketing. If it involves effort and isn't all but guaranteed to produce results overnight, forget it. You can't do much about that either. It is changing and will continue to change as the industry matures. You can try to encourage people to learn more about their business, but until doing so becomes a bandwagon in its own right, you will not get too many takers.