Second Life Sequesters Perverts

LOS ANGELES — "Sex sells" or so they say, and while an increasing number of companies seem to be pushing the envelope by adding a little (or a lot of) sex appeal to their marketing efforts, not everyone sees porn as the path to profit in a down market — at least not openly.

For example, virtual world Second Life parent Linden Labs seems to be pushing away from the sexy shenanigans that drove much of its growth by planning the banishment of its naughtier netizens to their own area.

In a recent post on the Second Life blog entitled Upcoming Changes for Adult Content, Cyn Linden announced the segregationist maneuvering, stating that "it has become clear that some Residents are interested in pursuing certain 'adult' activities in Second Life that others would rather not casually encounter."

There will be three steps taken to address the issue of adult material in Second Life:

"First, it will provide a way to geographically separate adult content and activities to a part of the 'mainland' designed to accommodate these activities (estate owners with adult content on their land will be required to flag their content; they will not be required to move)," Linden said. "Second, it will filter search results; so that those who do not wish to see 'adult' results will not."

"Third," Linden added, "it will require that those who access or see 'adult' content (whether on land or in search) have had their accounts verified — such as by a payment or age verification method."

Others report that the reasoning behind the ghettoization of the adult-minded community is that Linden Labs fears that mainstream advertisers are shying away from the platform due to the amount of sexually-explicit activity taking place within its virtual world; and by "cleaning up" the world, they hope to woo these sex-shy brands to bolster declining advertising sales.

Writing for Techdirt, Carlo Longino cited the initial rush of companies that set up shop in Second Life amongst much ballyhoo — a fad that proved to be relatively short-lived — as the motivator for the move.

"Perhaps it was good for an initial publicity stunt, but many of the companies that entered the virtual world found it to be fairly worthless, from a marketing standpoint," Longino wrote. "While perhaps you have to admire their optimism, it doesn't seem likely that restricting sex-related activities to a virtual red-light district will suddenly make Second Life worthwhile for businesses."

"Furthermore, with the sex stuff believed to make up the vast majority of the Second Life economy," Longino added, "moving to restrict it in hopes of chasing companies' marketing dollars may not be a great strategy."

But given the amount of profit potential in the virtual adult marketplace, having a separate "adult's only" area may bring the double benefits of making mainstream marketers more comfortable advertising in "uncensored" areas, while allowing more explicit advertising opportunities to be had within the appropriate spaces.

"The core goals of this initiative are to improve Second Life for everyone — by giving Residents more control over what they see, and by providing the best available method to make adult content accessible only to those who ought to (and who desire to) access it," Linden concluded.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Nebraska Legislature Passes Republican's Age Verification Bill With No Votes Against It

Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still have antitrust claims that they may pursue in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have filed a petition before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit asking to stay its recent upholding the law because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

JustFor.fans Offers Gumroad Users Platform to Sell NSFW Artwork

JustFor.fans (JFF) is offering Gumroad users a platform to sell NSFW artwork after the latter banned adult content.

Show More