The UX of Porn Tube Sites Are Designed for the Ultimate Money Shot
The worst thing about data driven UX - especially with porn - is that it's often a self fulfilling prophecy. Trends that are likely side-effects are considered to be primary factors driving engagement.<p>With porn, it's usually a fetish that is only moderately popular, but broadly unoffensive. Because the average person who isn't <i>specifically</i> interested in the fetish isn't turned off by it either, that fetish gets more positive engagement relative to other fetishes; which drives studios to make more of it, and tube sites to advertise it more.<p>This pattern likely started with foot fetish, but really took off over the last few years with "step sibling" porn.<p>No one I've talked to is actually interested in the step-sibling fetish, yet the overwhelming majority of content being made and advertised - especially by mainstream studios and well-known actors - is step-sibling themed. Why? Because these studios are deciding what to make based on what's popular on pornhub, and what's popular on pornhub is literally anything these studios make. I sincerely doubt that they would see a drop in engagement if they diversified, but trends in data will never drive diversity faster than they drive convergence, because convergence is essentially the goal of data driven production in the first place.<p>It's also worth noting that the near-monopoly status of Mindgeek in the casual porn streaming industry has amplified this pattern. Their recent decision to stop hosting unverified content - good or bad - has had a pretty serious side-effect on the singular greatest driving factor of internet porn: piracy.<p>If a porn studio or independent actor doesn't want their content floating around pornhub, they can simply refuse to post it. Anyone who wants to upload a copy without their consent will fail verification.<p>So now, the only content being shared on pornhub is what <i>creators</i> hope will be interesting, and never what <i>consumers</i> want to share.<p>Most new competitive content creators are more concerned about getting paid than getting advertised because they don't have the financial buffer that established studios have; so they are less likely to put their content on pornhub, and less likely to by found by the casual consumer.