Technology has a long history of affecting not only the distribution methods of adult entertainment, but also, the types of content that are enjoyed. As technology continues to evolve, so does adult content — and in the digital age, adult content is more diverse than ever. XBIZ contacted a handful of adult industry execs to discuss content trends of 2012; all of them offered their insights on the types of content that are doing well and the ways in which technology is affecting that content.

Colin Rowntree, president/founder of the BDSMoriented Wasteland.com, said that while “all-action content” continues to be very marketable in 2012, adult parodies are also maintaining their popularity. “Beyond the astounding growth in live video chat, one thing I am noticing is the film production pendulum continuing to swing back in the direction of movies with an increase in plot and storyline and production values that are higher than the ‘single-camera gonzo’ style we have seen as the dominant genre over the past six years or so,” Rowntree said. “The ongoing success of the parody genre appears to be fueling this by giving viewers more than just the usual three-positions-and-jerkto-pop style. Action-only does remain strong for obvious reasons, but it is refreshing to see the increase in better-production-value films with a bit of plot, acting and character development.”

Rowntree added, “As single-camera, all-action content is somewhat less expensive to produce, I suspect that there will continue to be an increase in studios and programs feeding this type of content to the tubes’ content partner programs as marketing materials to drive traffic to their brands. The higher production value, more expensive content will likely be more vociferously defended from piracy and kept safely guarded on PPV, membership sites and offline distribution, which maximizes revenue.”

In 2012, adult content trends continue to vary from one country to another. Jaques Pijman, CEO of the content licensor AdultContent.nl, noted:

“There are many cultural differences in adult content productions and consumers’ tastes. it has to do with what is sexually common in a country or culture, what is available by law in each country content-wise, the way it is offered technically or how it is distributed. dutch content is often more funny, U.s. content has more fake boobs and moans, Japanese girls make a different sound than western european or U.s. women do, and some countries have more extreme content (because it is) socially accepted in (those countries).”

Adult content continues to be affected by the different obscenity laws of different countries. for example, some countries are much more tolerant of hardcore BdsM content than others. Rowntree observed that “There still remains a wonderfully colorful school of film making in europe in the BdsM and fetish genres” because “the restrictions of what one ‘can and cannot do’ are much more relaxed in europe.”

Technology, according to Pijman, is making consumers increasingly selective when it comes to adult content — and in 2012, he said, they are likely to search for content that caters to their specific tastes or interests. “This is no longer the consumer that goes into a sex shop, looks around and just selects whatever is on the shelves,” Pijman asserted. And because the adult consumers of 2012 are unlikely to pay for something unless it is exactly what they want, adult-Content.nl has been adding many different types of content recently (including animated content, non-nude erotica, softcore erotica and 3d content). adultContent.nl, Pijman said, continues to think internationally, offering everything from Japanese content from J-spot to swedish content from empire to Polish content from Pink Press to dutch content from Nick Rock.

And like others in the world of online erotica, Pijman is still seeing a heavy demand for a very interactive experience. “In Germany,” Pijman noted, “I see networks that evolved from cam site and social network to a mix of both, where the network brings models — who make content themselves — in touch with the buying surfers, who can ask for custom shoots for a micro-transaction price. The networks bring demand and supply together and leave it to the seller/buyer/voyeur community to deal with each other on a personal level.”

Other companies such as Webmaster Central say that mobile/wireless erotica will continue to be a major growth area in 2012 — and live interaction will be a big part of that.

Webmaster Central indicated that mobile and tablet numbers have more than doubled over the last year, and that live mobile content also seems to be gaining strides. Also, internet speeds will be increasing across the world, so higher speeds will be able to be streamed in places where it hasn’t in the past, the company noted.

In addition, Webmaster Central has been testing apps that will enable performers to go live from their mobile devices.

Indeed, these are interesting times when it comes to the evolution of technology and the evolution of adult content.