I have always suspected the idea that the internet porn industry was a driving force behind innovation (unless you mean useless and annoying innovation like popup adds), but until I read a Forbes article some time back (unfortunately, I cannot remember the title or month in which it was published), I wasn't sure how to prove my suspicion that the porn industry (especially the internet side) was less profitable than suggested.*** Well, today I received my daily email update from Schwab, and here it is again in black-and-white. The following statement doesn't go into the depth I remember Forbes going into, but it should suffice for now:
Analyst: E-sex appeal overestimated***I don't want to badmouth what I see as a generally good idea, but the idea that the porn industry is outrageously huge, is sometimes purported by those who want to prohibit such materials from being available on the open market. By making the problem larger than it really is, they make their cause that much more important. As is my opinion in most cases, the ends do not justify the means... Stick to the facts. Eventually people will recognize the problem and react. By constantly sensationalizing reality, we forget how important the little things are - and in the end, contribute to the overall problem.
Sex may not ring the cash register for mobile telecommunications companies, or users, as much as previously thought, according to The Yankee Group, a research firm. Streaming adult services such as pornography will generate just 5% of mobile content revenues by 2008, said Philip Taylor, senior analyst. "We believe the advantages of the mobile phone as a personal and discrete device for viewing pornography are overstated," he said. The value of the mobile channel to the porn industry will be greatest as a tool for customer service, he added.
Taylor also disputed estimates that the adult entertainment business has revenues of $20 billion a year. He believes the figure is actually $4 billion, of which $500 million will be generated online. "This is less than half the value of the ringtones' market in Western Europe," added David Kerr, VP of The Yankee Group.
