8 Ways Porn Influenced Technology

From the first inklings of film to the days of home video to the future of companies like Google, pornography has been the catalyst that has launched technology forward while non-porn compliant products get left in the dust. We took a deep-dive and examined how the porn industry shaped and redefined technology. Here are eight ways porn has influenced tech — in chronological order. 

Pornographic movies have been around since the 1800s
In 1896, a film called Le Coucher de la Mariée showed a woman performing a striptease. This is generally considered the first pornographic film in existence. The high demand for this early masterpiece led the French filmmakers to realize that people would pay top dollar to see women get naked on screen. Thus, the genre of pornography was born.

Porn standardized Super 8 film 
In 1958 a young British glam photographer, Harrison Marks, began making 8mm short films of women undressing and posing topless. These films would become known as “glamour home movies." As technology advanced and the ability to record and view lewd acts in the comfort of one's home became a standard, sales on 8mm cameras and projectors blew up. The Super 8 camera was cheap and extremely easy to use and, because of this convenience, became standard in the porn industry.

The accessibility of porn on VHS killed Betamax
During the 1970s, Betamax and VHS battled over which home viewing technology would reign supreme. While the wide format of Sony's Betamax made for better quality recordings, each tape only held 60 minutes of footage — as compared to the three hours of footage VHS held. That meant people couldn't tape their favorite movies on TV or experience three full hours of pornographic movies. 

Sony toiled over the pornography issue, but ultimately decided against allowing smutty movies to be recorded onto the Betamax format. By the end of the 1970s, erotic films accounted for over half of all videotape sales in the United States, which meant people wanted to get their hands on VCRs, regardless of the fact they cost $800 back then.

Closed captioning is a porno essential 
Not only do some people watch porn with the sound on, but those same people are actually interested in what the actors are saying. Quelling the public's demand for descriptive words over the sound of smashing flesh and guttural moans, porn companies have since invested in new software that automates caption placement. It's a shame, though; we could've been a whole nation unified by our ability to read lips.

Porn totally runs the Internet
In 2001, there were about 70,000 adult websites. Today, there are more than 4.2 million pornographic websites in the U.S. alone. Porn has shaped and driven the Internet to turn it into a beast. At any second in the day, there are  — at least — 30,000,000 unique visitors viewing porn. Even before the capabilities of streaming video were available, people transmitted porn over the Internet as ASCII

Thank smut for the invention of online payments
For the people out there who still pay and subscribe to sites, you can thank Richard Gordon. In the nineties, Gordon founded Electronic Card Systems, which pioneered credit card transactions for a wide range of pornographic sites. Remember the Pam & Tommy Lee sex tape from 1998? Gordon struck it rich by taking a commission of processing sales from sites which hosted their nautically-inclined romp.

Just like Betamax, porn killed HD DVD
Where Sony blew it on Betamax, they made up for it with the release of Blu-Ray. Similar to Betamax, HD DVD's quality was technically higher, while Blu-Ray simply held more information. Which meant more behind-the-scenes footage, more deleted scenes, more actor commentary, all naked. Blu-Ray's victory was ultimately decided when the porn industry started using Blu-Ray as the standard for high-definition. 

You can have sex with Google soon
Though it's not yet backed by Google, Glance hopes to bring some adventure into the bedroom with the power of Google Glass. This app allows you to see yourself from your partner's point of view while the entire sexual escapade is captured on camera. By syncing your devices with Glance, you'll also be able to control the music and lighting around you. When you're ready to start, simply say, "ok glass, it's time" and when you're done, "ok glass, pull out." How far we've come...


Born in Connecticut and raised by yachts, Jeremy Glass likes to spend his time writing stupid little ebooks and taking pictures of tiny cows.