The oldest money maker on the web is still bobbing and weaving
This week the House of Representatives officially confirmed Congress’ decision to repeal ISP protections which, as we discussed last week, permits internet providers like Verizon and AT&T to sell your browsing history and location info to advertisers.But never fear — PornHub is here. According to our extensive “research,” they’ve officially rolled out a secure, HTTPS version of their site to keep peeping ad toms from seeing what you’re into.Just kidding. We read that they rolled it out. Winky face.What’s different now?Well for one, there’ll be a little green padlock next to their URL. But more than that, HTTPS protection defends against stolen passwords and requires third-party advertisers to be HTTPS certified (so none of those “duck shooter” banner ads that trick you into downloading malware).It also keeps internet providers from seeing specific browsing details, like what videos you’re watching or searching on the site.So, even though Big Brother will still be able to see how many pages you’ve viewed on the ‘hub (or similar sites), they won’t know exactly what you’re looking at. Which is probably best for everyone involved.
Source: PornHub to the rescue
Back in the days of the Dot-com boom, the saying around San Francisco was that the only things that actually made money on the web were financial services and porn. We’re talking cold, hard cash money making, not the funky VC valuations that threw millions of dollars at 20-something CEO’s for their supposed traffic.
Certainly today, that has changed with the emergence of companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and many others. It’s why our Connected Society, Content is King, and Cashless Consumption investment themes are among our best performers. But, when you see the stats for a site such as Pornhub — 38th most popular site on the internet with 75 million DAILY visitors — you understand that porn is still very much a money maker.
At Tematica Research, we develop our investment themes by looking at the intersection of shifting economics, demographics, psychographics, technologies, and of course, mixed in with regulatory mandates and other forces. In this case, it’s the actions by the Government that is rearing its ugly head — and it’s always good to see a company bob and weave when necessary, something the porn industry has been doing since . . . well, since always.
