Two more examples of companies who got their start from the early-adopter porn market--YouTube and Ning (a social networking site)--recently have taken measures to distances themselves from adult content.
It is a familiar story (hello, PayPal): a fledgling start-up enjoys early success thanks to adult content, then once it hits the tipping point and can survive with mainstream-only content, banishes adult content. The blame is always based on the adult producers and consumers, though no one seems to report statistics to supporting these claims.
I understand that, as a business-owner, being associated with adult content limits opportunities. Large companies and investors are reluctant to upset the public by "making money off porn," so they won't associate with a company involved with adult content. That's why you won't see Google ads on this blog, for instance. Even though this blog's purpose is not to arouse readers, the fact that I periodically post adult content likely violates Google's content policy. As the article about Ning points out, distinguishing pornographic content from acceptable content is never cut and dry. And unfortunately, it seems that companies err on the side of conservatism when determining what is acceptable and what is not.
