Damned that YouTube. Why the hell didn't the adult Internet think of it first? Those fuckers. How brilliant was this idea? User-uploaded video content, presented via a Flash-based player. Add in user comments, personal profile pages and rating systems and you have the biggest Internet phenomenon in the last five years. As Gollum would say:
"Stupid YouTube. We hates them!"
When it comes to adult webmasters, if we didn't invent it, we'll find a way to make a knock-off porn version of it and that's exactly what our industry has done. Adult Tube sites are the freaking rage. However, like most big things, there are advantages and disadvantages to Tube porn. This article is going to provide you with both takes on the subject and some links to sponsors and scripts.
First off, the Advantages.
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"When it comes to adult webmasters, if we didn't invent it, we'll find a way to make a knock-off adult version of it and that's exactly what our industry has done. Adult Tube sites are the freaking rage." |
Tube sites are hot, hot, hot. Whether or not your tube site is a legitimate, user-uploaded portal of mini smut videos or a faux tube destination where you promote sponsor content, your tube site is probably going to be pretty popular. Tube sites are like MGPs on crack. Surfers no longer have to worry whether or not they've got the right media player. Almost every browser has a Flash plugin. Almost every surfer on the planet is comfortable/familiar with Flash. In the case of a legitimate tube site, users are allowed to upload their own porn videos, rate and comment on other member's vids plus other features of social networking sites. Because the vids are delivered in Flash format, they tend to be longer than those 30-second clips one sees on a regular movie gallery page. The potential to rake in the surfers is high because the layout of the tube site eliminates that middle-man click over/click back scenario one finds on a MGP site. The thumbnails and screenshots of the vids are right there on the main page. In addition, tube site allow users to search for specific, keyword-based content. The visuals are virtually the same on a faux tube site except there's no user-uploading and the tube site owner will usually fill the database with their own purchased content or sponsor content usually sponsor content.
There's a lot of adult webmasters that hate tube sites. It depends on the site, but some of them actually serve complete porn movies. Most of them serve clips that are way longer than those linked on MGP sites. There's many an adult webmaster that feels that TGPs and MGPs were giving away too much free porn as it was and tube sites make the situation worse. In addition, not all tube site owners check to see if the user uploads are original works, nor do some of them verify that uploaded content is 2257 compliant. Copyright protection and model-age verification aren't issues that any webmaster want to take lightly. Some of that free-wheeling carelessness has settled down since adult tube sites came on the scene. Just the same, there's still the too-much-free-porn dilemma. How much is too much? If a surfer can watch an entire sex scenario from start to finish, for free, why would they want to buy paysite memberships or adult DVDs? Basically, it comes down to a familiar argument Is high traffic really worth it if most of it comes from freeloaders? Debates on tube sites get pretty heated on adult webmaster message boards.
There are ways to counteract the freeloading/copyright/2257 problems with tube sites. Some tube sites will stop a vid after 15 or so seconds and inform the viewer that they must join. Tube sites are filled with upsell links. Others require a credit card number to get a membership. Even more are really just affiliate gateways to sponsor sites or owned by the sponsors themselves. There have been a of number of cease and desist letters sent to the more nefarious tube site owners and the free-for-all environment of the tubes sites is beginning to calm down.
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At Cozy, we feel the best way for a newbie adult webmaster to approach the tube site format is to create faux tube pages that promote sponsor-approved content. In other words, disable the user uploading feature and populate the site with content that you know is legit. Fortunately, many adult sponsors are beginning to provide free tube content to affiliates and there are even sponsors that let you use their tube software.
If you want to create your own tube site with your own script, here are some script providers:
If you want to promote sponsors or perhaps join a program where you can promote more than one sponsor on a tube site, check out these places: