Scanner : internet business

New York Times Profiles Guy Who Processed Orders of the Pam Anderson Sextape

Bryan Christian — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:10:00 GMT

Interesting article yesterday on the complicated business dealings of we entrepreneur Richard J. Gordon, who with his company DTI has "yoked together disparate endeavors that support pornography, the Bible, and prevention of animal abuse — all by marrying the universal purchasing power of credit cards to the respectability conveyed by slick Web sites."

There are no official numbers on the pornography industry. But those who have studied its operations view DTI as a pivotal player in the world of pornography. “DTI appears to rank in the top 1 percent of adult entertainment companies in the world,” said M. J. McMahon, publisher of AVN Online, an Internet news site covering the industry.

The gist of the article seems to be that Gordon's non-smut customers may not have been aware of his involvement in companies like ClubLove, who gained prominence when they sold the Pam Anderson / Tommy Lee sextape back in the golden olden days of the web. Which, you know, OK. They don't wanna associate with that, we don't guess they have to. Still, it does seem like kind of a joke to us every time someone does business with a successful-yet-slightly-shady internet company and then they're like "Wha? Boobies?" (You guys know we get paid by the Sicilian Mafia here at Nerve, right?)

Image by Ronnie Cardell for The Beverly Hills Courier

Recession Special: What Businesses Can Learn From Porn

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:18:00 GMT

Are you a small business owner? Do you like porn? If you have a pulse and therefore answered yes to either of these questions, you should check out the Dirty Writer's 10 Important Business Lessons From the Porn Industry. The article/list shows how the adult film and photo industry continues to increase its profits every year-- mainly through no-holds barred selling tactics and, um, ass. We can all learn something in these trying times:

8. Provide samples.
Provide the illusion of getting something for free. The more attractive and valuable the sample appears to be, the more interested they will be in the real product.

There's also a list of Top 10 Things To Do In A Recession, which is utterly irrelevant to the above, but worth noting for #10:

10. Catch up on your internet porn. Don't bother paying; you can waste hours a day just checking out the free stuff.

Previously: 10 Reasons The Recession Will Rock Your Love Life.

Congratulations to singany, You Filthy, Wonderful Whore

Bryan Christian — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

All right, singany -- just what was your secret? What magical qualities did you possess to become the highest paid potential escort on this blog based on the unassailably scientific "Gigolo-Meter." Double jointed hips? Constantly lubricated orifi? Congenital ability to accept Paypal? We must know, so spill it!

And anyone else out there able to take singany on? Maybe you're a heavily muscled, tattooed bisexual with a Masters and a penchant for rough sex? Well, then send us your number! Oops, sorry -- well, then try out the Gigolo-Meter and let us know how well you scored! We hadn't thought of this as a contest before, but dammit, who doesn't like a little competition in their fake-prostitution?

We're Worth $842 an Hour In Bed

Bryan Christian — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:10:00 GMT

Ever wondered how much you would net as an escort? We sure have. (Wondered about ourselves we mean, not you. That would be creepy!) Turns out the answer, as judged by the undoubtedly scientifically bulletproof "Gigolo-Meter" is $842 an hour. Which coincidentally is just as much as we're paid by Nerve! Ha ha! Who'd a thunk?

Actually, even though we're completely hyped to be worth so much on the black market -- not since we were adopted have we felt this much net value in our body! -- it turns out that $842 is below average for those taking the test. Since the Gigolo-Meter claims to arrive at its valuations "based on averages taken from advertised male and female private escort sites," we're pretty sure it's because we said we were exclusively straight and dressed "casual." (We're working on the wardrobe, thank you!) But enough about us! Try it for yourself and let us know what fabulous level of whoredom you can reach!

(Oh and we lie. We've totally wondered how much you would make as an escort, you dirty dawgs, you.)

UK Swingers Site Accidentally Makes Users Pics Public. (Go Now!)

Bryan Christian — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:30:00 GMT

OK, we've worked long enough in the Interweb to know two things: 1) stock options mean nothing unless you can buy or sell them whenever you want, and 2) if you're gonna put anything behind a paywall, you gotta make sure to get it all back there -- the photos included -- or else people will find them. Particularly if you happen to be a members-only, UK swingers classifieds site.

Hey, www.swinger-personals.co.uk, we're totally available for a little freelance web consulting, if you're interested. Anything more... involved... well, you gotta ask our wife.

[via Reddit; img via Shoes are for Work]

Think Your Online Life's Getting Cheaper and More Anonymous? You Wish.

Bryan Christian — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Maybe you were under the impression that with the explosion of free streaming smut sites like YouPorn and RedTube, you were finally gonna be able to get quality porn without paying for it and do it without getting on anybody's "I love porn" list?

Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but not only is Time Warner thinking about introducing a tiered billing system -- dropping the cover-all flat fee and charging you for every megabyte you download, upload, view, etc. -- but AT&T is also "seriously considering plans to examine all the traffic it carries" for piracy. Hmm... think they'll stop at copyright violations? Us neither.