Video camera: Blackberry Curve; Original Resolution 240×176 at 14.69 FPS

Sometimes you’ll have to look closely to see when something new pops up – it’s that cluttered with “stuff”, but in this case the clutter actually makes sense since Sprint is trying to convey the sheer amount of things happening in this world every second.

Quite impressive. After some time one of the many new updates is an option to embed a small version of the page on a blog or post to Facebook or Myspace. Sprint really put some thought into this (or, more likely, the company or team that actually built this thing).

Go here to see the actual page. Just be patient, the white splash screen will go away in a little while and then you’ll see the page I’m talking about.

KINGS AND QUEENS

The show had industry honchos like Steven Hirsch (Vivid), Joy King (Wicked Pictures) as well as Max Hardcore, Digital Playground contract star Jesse Jane, and others discuss some of the problems the industry faces, the biggest one of course being that free porn is pretty much anywhere you go now so there’s much less of an incentive for consumers to actually spend money on it.

Yet Hirsch hasn’t really managed to maximize his online presence. Sure, Vivid has its sites and a (surprisingly outdated) affiliate program, Vividcash, – but it’s all kind of half-assed.

Digital Playground, for as technologically sophisticated they are, isn’t doing all that much better in terms of online presence. Both Vivid and DP are still primarily playing in the brick and mortar market and that’s just not where the money is now. They say so themselves. But I digress…

GOOD PORN, BAD PORN

They threw in the obligatory “porn is an addiction, and here’s a guy who struggled with it”- segment which I think just gets a laugh these days. (Hey buddy, Ben and Jerry’s ic cream is addicting too. Guess what, nobody forces you to eat it.)

A short segment on Max Hardcore’s prison sentence, and a nod in the direction of the Department of Justice and the legal status of pornography in the United States rounded up the anti-porn portion of the show. Good, because I don’t think most consumers have a problem with porn these days.

Actually – I know they don’t. I live and breathe this industry every day and see the numbers, read the forums, and study the consumer and trends. Yep, porn’s not a big deal anymore. And that’s both good and bad.

“We” are everywhere now. “We” now sell cheap site memberships, pay-per-view minutes – and allow thieves to upload our stuff to the tube sites so everybody can have our stuff for free, and we don’t do shit about it.

“We” shot ourselves in the foot. But it’s all a matter of adapting to the changes, be they brought on by us or someone else. This time the music industry seems to actually be adapting faster than we are. But wait, big things are coming…

POWER GIRLS

I was happy to see CNBC mention and show a little bit of some folks who I think are rocking the industry right now, like Joanna Angel; and Sasha Grey, who just did the mainstream movie The Girlfriend Experience with director Steven Soderbergh;

Joanna Angel, and Belladonna, in particular, have been impressing me a lot lately. Those girls are a huge force in the industry. Where Jenna Jameson was one of the first leading ladies to really bring porn to mainstream, Joanna and Bella, among others, have been taking this to a whole ‘nother level.

The fact that women like Samantha Lewis and Joy King are in the ruling class of the adult industry (and there are many, many more) is a great silencer for those who still think the adult industry exploits women and is ran by sleazy old guys in bath robes. (Hi Hef. Fuck you, Sir.)

TABOO? Phhht…

It was stressed how porn, once a taboo subject, is now pretty much talked about and seen anywhere, all the time. This, of course, is a big reason profits are down – stuff just sells at a much higher markup if it is hard to come by. The days when you had to walk into a porn store and fork over fifty bucks for a VHS tape are over.

BIG PRODUCTIONS

It was amusing to watch the show and see a bunch of girls I’ve worked with in the past. I even recognized some of the shooting locations I’ve been to. Like the one in the screenshot to the left here – I swear, I shot there more times than I can count. House on a hill. One story. Pool in the back. Owner has a thick accent and makes an amazing espresso. Good times.

When they talked about “Max Hardcore and his girlfriend” I knew they were talking about Layla Rivera, who I shot way back for Aziani. Super sweet girl. Didn’t know she was Max Hardcore’s girl until after the shoot.

Porn: Business of Pleasure showcased Digital Playground quite a bit, and went into some detail about its Pirates movies (the most expensive adult productions ever made…so far.). I enjoyed watching little snippets of video guys hauling RED cameras around, and wielding boom microphones. Of course the majority of porn isn’t shot with expensive pro gear like the RED ONE, or even just boom mics.

Watching these cut-ins could let someone to believe that all porn productions require big money, which of course is not true. But it was fun to watch nevertheless.

(Reminds me- I wanted to get myself a RED ONE. Still holding out for the Scarlet series though.)

WHAT’S MISSING

Of course there was a lot that wasn’t covered. I didn’t expect this to be all-inclusive show about everything related to the industry though. But there was practically nothing about the incredibly huge Amateur or Pro-Am part of the industry. More understandably, there was no profiling of the technology or marketing side of online porn (yes, what I do), which is a big part of it.

Our arch enemies, the tube sites, got plenty of honorable mention though. Not in an entirely positive light but also not nearly as honest as I would have liked. They are, after all, one major reason a lot of adult outfits are now struggling, or have already gone completely out of business. (And don’t tell me they don’t – I work with people affected by them every day.)

I would have loved to have seen something on people like Buzz and Rachel from Aziani /RachelAziani.com (of course), Rob from FTV Girls, or the folks behind Nubiles or Lightspeed because these folks have had quite some impact on the online adult industry over the past few years. But they’re usually playing under the radar and are pretty quiet about their influence so it’s not a big surprise they didn’t get mentioned on the show. Besides, the big California porn studios that still make DVDs are just so much cooler to profile on TV, right?

If you missed CNBC’s Porn: Business of Pleasure, check out a summary and some additional stuff about some of the peeps profiled on CNBC’s web site.

Even many technologically sound sites don’t do this. This doesn’t apply to adult sites but to everyone else this is really, really important.

It’s accepting customer payments via PayPal.

This is now more important than ever before as a large number of internet savvy consumers already have a working PayPal account.

To give you an example of how important PayPal is let me tell you my experience of trying to buy shoes from Tom’s Shoes last night.

Like others, Tom’s grossly underestimates the laziness of its customers (like me) and the power of impulse purchases.

As so many consumers, I often purchase stuff I want (more than need) and do so on an impulse basis. I had seen the Tom’s Shoes commercial where the owner tells the viewer that for every pair of shoes they sell, one pair will be given for free to a child in need.

Last night I remembered I needed some new casual footwear for my home office and Tom’s Shoes came to mind. After realizing that those guys really only have one type of shoes I figured I’d give it a shot anyways and put a pair in my shopping cart. I’m nowhere near my wallet. It’s 3 AM and I’m getting sleepy – a perfect time to sell me pretty much anything I might remotely want.

When I was ready to check out and purchase I realized Tom’s didn’t offer to let me pay with PayPal. This is how I usually buy stuff on a whim – click the PayPal button, type in my username and password, hit the authorization button, and I got stuff.

So now Tom’s wants me to fill out their customer forms and, worse yet, requires me to find my wallet, dig out my credit card, try to read the worn-off numbers on it, and send my financial info into the unknown. All for a pair of cheap linen shoes.

I figure I’d come back later and do that. At that time I just didn’t feel like going through the credit card hassle.

Actually, I never do. Nobody does.

And that’s the problem – I abandoned my shopping cart (this is aptly called the “ abandonment rate” to retailers) and chances are I will never come back and complete the purchase because once I had some time to think about it I realize $50 for a pair of linen shoes that may or may not fit plus ten bucks shipping might not really be worth it. Instead I got hit by Amazon with some sweet deals I just couldn’t say no to.

And Amazon (they are the kings in my book) does this right – not only does it suggest stuff I might actually want, it also makes buying everything super easy. One click and I’m done. Awesome.

Tom’s (and the countless other retailers who didn’t let me pay with PayPal, Google Checkout, or another convenient payment method that doesn’t require me to grab my credit cards) lost a sale. How many times per day do you think this happens to them?

How many times per day does this happen to you?

Do you make it ultra convenient to pay for your goods and services? Do you force customers to fill out a bunch of forms before they can make a purchase?

Don’t discount this. My little story sounds simple but this is how in fact a large percentage of sales happen – on impulse. The retailer who offers the quickest, most convenient way to buy, wins. Always.

Link: PayPal for business

Reminder: if you’re using the Windows 7 beta your computer will begin shutting down every two hours beginning today, June 1st 2009.
If you haven’t already, go ahead and download the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) now.

Bing.com

Also on the Microsoft front, their new search engine, Bing.com is now live. I’m impressed so far, the layout and suggestions are excellent, the speed is incredible. We’ll see how that pans out for them.

Why this Matters

Right out of the gate Bing.com (stupid name) is already a very strong contender as the next serious Google competitor. This matters to you if you are running web sites or doing any type of SEO work because if Bing keeps it up and gains momentum you need to start working on “optimizing” for it too.

Don’t freak out just yet but keep Bing.com in mind and start reading up on how it works and how you could take advantage of it.

Here is a driver provided by Dell for the ALPS touchpad. However, this driver may work on other touchpad brands as well so give it a try.

ALPS Touchpad Driver for Vista and Windows 7 32 bit

Other Windows 7 drivers you might find usefull:

Intel Pro Wireless adapter driver (if your laptop can’t get online with Windows 7)

ATI Mobility Radeon driver ( ATI mobile graphics cards only)

Before you download: Always check for newer drivers on the driver providers’ web site. Also remember that these drivers were released by Dell and were originally meant for Dell laptops. The drivers here may or may not work on your particular system.

Then you keep typing it in but you keep getting the damn login pop up. Gmail keeps rejecting your password even though you know it’s correct. So you’d ordinarily curse at Google and then go to reset your password.

However here is a link where you can verify to Gmail that you are a real human being, so you won’t have to reset your password. Yes, it’s CAPTCHA based.

Here are some other thoughts and tips about using Gmail…

WHAT HAPPENED

Google went down for parts of the world and with it went their mail service and Google docs. If you couldn’t access your business documents or missed important emails because of this you need to wake the hell up right now.

BAD IDEA

Not only do you never, ever, rely on one single company in order for your business to run, you especially don’t want Google (or Yahoo or any other free provider) to be the company that “facilitates” your business. Because Google will use the information you provide, knowingly or not, to adapt its advertising and search algorhithm. That’s what Google does and I’m not bashing it. But you need to be aware of this.

GMAIL

Gmail spies on your email content. You should know this by now. No, it’s not that Google employees are looking at your emails every time, but sophisticated software does gather and process the content of your mail. Did you never notice how creepily fitting some of those ads are you’re seeing over your inbox?

This data has to go somewhere. What’s to say a rogue Google employee or contractor won’t access your stuff one day?

GOOGLE DOCS

Same for Google docs – that stuff’s online. If it’s online it’s hackable, and accessible to third parties, particularly whoever provides the service. In this case Google.

For years I’ve been telling clients: don’t use Gmail as your sole business email. It looks unprofessional and it’s not secure. Same for Google docs. Anything Google or any other free provider offers should be used with great caution. And always have a backup.

I don’t feel sorry for anyone who was negatively affected by Google’s SNAFU.

Google is not your friend. It’s a business.

If you paid attention to the upcoming Palm Pre’s wireless induction charging option you may have gotten curious about this technology. Palm calls it the Touchstone, I call it the future of powering up our stuff.

So here is another  company I think will possibly be a big part of our future: Powermat.

Powermat makes wireless induction technology, I don’t know if they’re the only company to do so but in any event their technology is nothing short of astounding.

Watching Powermat’s demo videos we see how ordinary devices like cell phones, computers, and kitchen appliances can be powered without cables or batteries. The devices need a powermat receiver. The receiver will get its electricity wirelessly (YES OVER THE AIR!!!)  from the …uh…mat.

The mat is a very thin transmitter piece that you’ll put on the surface of your choosing. You can even integrate the mat into your walls or furniture and make it disappear. So you know that this astounding technology is absolutely real check out the demo videos below.

As a person who works with computers, video cameras, still cameras, and other electronics on a daily basis I get excited: imagine being on a shoot and your camera is constantly connected to the power grid, but without wires.

No more batteries! Hell, no more waiting for a device to charge because you can feed electricity straight to it – over the air. My fellow videographers, photographers, and gadget slaves will appreciate the new found freedom.

Check out Powermat’s wireless charging technology here. I’m sure other companies will follow with even more advanced and innovative wireless induction systems soon. Don’t fight it, it’s coming.

Powermat’s technology should be available in Fall 2009. The Palm Pre and its Touchstone wireless induction charger should be available very soon as well.

Powermat’s wireless charging technology demo video 1

Powermat’s Wireless Charging demo video 2

Note: I do not own stock or have any other financial interest in either Powermat or Palm Pre. Yet.

Powermat

Palm Pre