Where Is The Industry Heading In The Next 12 Months?

I recall that around this time last year we all put our thoughts into a thread about where we thought the adult industry was heading over the next 12 months so, 12 months after that thread i thought it would be a good idea to start another :)

So, with that said, where do YOU think the adult industry is heading? Will fake reality still remain the reality in the adult industry or will something else come along to replace it? Will the industry still be here in 12 months time? What do you think will happen so far as payment solutions go?

Here is your chance to see if you can accurately predict what will happen to the adult industry in 2005.

Personally, i am of the train of thought that we are going to see many webmasters over the coming 12 months leave the industry and start more mainstream work or, leave offline altogether.

I also think we are going to see a new surge in reality style tours over the next 3-6 months time which, will take us back to true 'reality' in that anything can sell so long as it looks good and delivers what the surfer is promised.

So where do you see the industry in 12 months time and, more importantly, where do you see yourself?

Regards,

Lee

who knows

i see micropayments are getting some face time, not just in adult but in mainstream too.

have to agree on the webmaster thing, there are fewer and fewer WMs nowadays too. Quality and Quantity new site of submissions is going downhill from what I see

Reality sites are the future, till something new comes out and everyone starts to milk it like crazy

I think that as far as we do an outstanding job with the information given and taken, we will still enjoy the ride!:presley:

Hard to say...

But I'd agree that within the next 12 months we'll see more ppl leave the adult biz given some of the changes, some of them will perhaps go over to mainstream...

Every year that I've been on the net though I've seen people flood online to make their fortunes, (adult & mainstream); this will continue and the numbers of people who fail because they can't/won't grasp the basics will remain about the same.

I see even more straight companies trying to get a piece of the "gay market" or "niche" as they tend to call it. And most of them will still not get it...

ya know, every time someone leaves the adult industry, there are 10 newbies there to fill their shoes :D But I do think that there will be less paysite owners as billing gets harder and harder to do.

I would like to think that we are able to find an alternative billing solution like sms micropayments but am not overly optimistic.


cheers,
Luke

I think it will become more and more about "the next big thing", if you aren't doing something crazy and new that gets a lot of word of mouth, or something that is really really popular at the moment, you'll be lost in the shuffle more than ever. Adult sites are pushing ever harder towards being driven by fads instead of tried and true ideas.

And of course we'll see more and more websites that were not designed by the owners, with awesome custom bought tours and worthless shithole members areas. Unfortunately, commissioned web/graphic designers are helping bad webmasters turn the internet into more of a huge pile of shit.

we're moving in a direction where I think the adult industry is going to split into 3 ...

+ mainstream adult (as in big glossy companies that market in mainstream, but are really just disguised porn eg playboy)
+ pornographers (a few paysite companies will be left like weg)
+ beer money crowd (anyone who does this for fun)

i'm noticing the lines blurring a lot ... when you talk to webmasters who always used to produce huge *adult* traffic, they are now doing 'a bit of this, bit of that', with a blurred line between adult, mainstream and crossover.

I'm working my way towards the 'mainstream adult' area, but i'll always be a pornographer LOL

Some good replies so far for sure.

I agree with most of what has been said at least for the time being LOL

I do think its interesting about the adult to mainstream transition, especially as a few of the mainstream forums i post on have recently been discussing about transitioning across to the, and i quote, 'more profitable seedy side of the internet'.

Regards,

Lee

I think we'll lose some of the few processors we have left now. I think it will get more expensive to do normal business in 2005.

Hopefully 2005 will not be the year third party processors all stop doing adult, but I do think they day will come.

Well my goodness. How dreary....

I see so many opportunities out there, I just wish that I had more stamina and time to work on them.

If webmasters are leaving the fold, it is probably because they didn't have the persistence to really create a business. That is, they didn't have the fire in their belly. Persistence and dilligence are difficult traits that I know I've wrestled with myself over time.

A friend of mine here is a webmaster/designer, and I've suggested to him numerous times about ideas I have seen, but don't have time to implement. However, it's difficult breaking through his effexor haze.

Some people find entrepreneuerism a good fit, others just don't.

Steve

Quote:

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Originally posted by desslock
Well my goodness. How dreary....

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You're right...

On the possitive side... The rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer.

Wait.. not cheery enough ... 2005 will show pornography as being even more acceptable as Paris Hilton becomes even more main stream and raunchier then ever.

2005 will have more hot straight guys wanting to try Gay sex out of curiousity and the constant buzz that anal sex, by an experienced man, feels better then vaginal sex ever will!

:high:

I think the trend is definitely a smaller adult market overall. The exodus will likely hinge on who becomes president. If Kerry gets in I think the part timer is still in the game. I think if Bush wins, there probably won't be very many small webmasters left. Only companies with big budgets for legal, content, etc.. will be afforded the opportunity to be processed.

Still it doesn't leave a great deal of opportunity for someone like me. Still churning out the rebills from loyal customers but the overall outlook has forced me out of putting too much time and money into this anymore.

Maybe the best thing to come out of all of this is that if you're still making money, you've probably become a very shrewd business person in the process and that carries over into the mainstream markets.

After 7 years, I've finally starting learning more than basic html and a deeper understanding of design and selling in general. I get to experiment with my sites and hopefully in a few months I'll be comfortable enough with my design ability to become a "real" designer probably in both adult and non adult. I think their will always be a need for great design in adult.