The State of Unions

If you're looking for hard proof (forgive the pun) of the mainstreaming of pornography, just cruise on over the Las Vegas this week for two tradeshows, Internext and the Adult Entertainment Expo (visit the site to see some creative ways to wear admission badges), and immerse yourself in the throngs of porn fans and business people.

Internext is for the online-savvy. Webmasters, rev-sharers and affiliates meet, greet and schmooze, all intently trying to figure out how to keep making money in an otherwise slim economy. These attendees are the ones left from the great Internet boom, whose subscription-based digital flesh trade survived while free content took a major nose dive. However, even these folks are also wondering how they are going to fare in the long haul. For all of the hedonism and fun, there is an underlying sense of worry among adult Webmasters.

AEE (Disclosure: My employer, AVN, sponsors the event), on the other hand, is geared towards retail, video and DVD, and these folks are doing just fine in the current economy. In fact, companies like Vivid Entertainment Group, Wicked Pictures and Digital Playground are having banner years, with their contract girls making crossover appearances in mainstream, their titles selling at record numbers, and their profiles as high as can be (witness Vivid's Steve Hirsh favorably profiled on Fox last night). The drum beat here is jubilant and decadent, just like the porn biz used to be.

No matter which convention is to your liking, the very fact that these -- and many others that take place around the world -- are expanding every year, is evidence that business is growing quick and strong -- and that's good news in any industry.