Although it is best known for its usage in technology, "convergence" is actually a process that has been taking place for millions of years. In its broadest sense, convergence is "the occurrence of two or more things coming together." This, obviously, is a concept that should be easily understood by the adult industry.
In some cases, like the well-known mule, the outcome of biological convergence may be temporarily viable (even strong and durable) but unable to perpetuate itself (mules and their female equivalent, the hinny, are born sterile). In other instances, the convergence may result in a somewhat funny-looking but incredibly adaptable organism capable of responding to a variety of environmental pressures. Perhaps the best example of successful organic convergence is the platypus, which incorporates features from a variety of species, including fur, webbed feet, a broad duck-like snout, venomous ankle spurs for fighting, an electromagnetic sensor system for detecting food, and the only mammalian reproductive system that involves the hatching of eggs.
In the technological realm, the concept of equipment convergence has been around for nearly 30 years. A 1978 article in The New York Times boldly foretold that "[t]he long-predicted convergence of such consumer electronic products as television sets, videotape recorders, video games, stereo sound systems, and the coming video-disk machines into a computer-based home information-entertainment center is getting closer." In retrospect, that was a remarkably astute, if overly optimistic, forecast; it's only been in the last couple of years that any of that has really started to come true.
Tech mutants
Still, the Times article underscores the strong attraction of the Unified Device theory of consumer products, the idea that the features of multiple components can be condensed into a single product. There's a thin line, of course, between the convenience of condensation and the ability to actually use the resulting product. One of the more amusing things to do is to flip through magazines from the late 1970s and early 1980s and look at all of the weird combinations of electronic devices that have been created. Many of them call to mind some of the more bizarre creations of mythology, like the hippogriff, the siren, and the chimera. Even today, similar problems arise: As many people have discovered with the so-called "universal remote," convergence can result in a bewildering array of buttons, features, and settings. All too often, consumer product designers manage to create a device that is "neither fish nor fowl."
The same kind of issues arise at the corporate level, when two or more businesses with different but arguably complementary products or services join together to create a synergistic relationship. In some cases, like the merger between AOL and cable giant Time-Warner, the corporate convergence is driven in large part by anticipation of the ever-coming convergence of cable TV, video, and computer data onto a single screen. Obviously, it doesn't always work out; the meltdown of the merger (recently finalized by Steve Case's departure from the Time-Warner board) was in large part a result of the fact that home infotainment convergence predicted so long ago by The Times has still not occurred.
Historically, the adult industry has not seen much in the way of corporate convergence; most adult businesses have been fairly small and have been operated by fiercely independent individuals with little interest in the niceties of corporate mergers. Moreover, large size has traditionally been a drawback for adult businesses (if not their employees), since it increases the likelihood of investigation and prosecution by law enforcement.
The concept of corporate convergence first began to creep into the adult industry with the growth of cable television systems and the launching of broadcast satellites. For the first time, a single home device – the television – could display adult content from a variety of transmission sources: video, cable, and satellite. Not surprisingly, Playboy Enterprises was one of the first major pornography producers to explore the possibilities of home entertainment convergence, by taking content from its video production unit and distributing it over satellite and cable.
Following close behind, of course, were other major players in the magazine industry, including both Penthouse and Hustler.
The real potential for adult industry convergence, however, did not occur until the first scanner was hooked up to a personal computer and used to store a digital copy of Miss December. Although it was merely the first of a nearly infinite number of copyright violations, the insight that sexually explicit materials could be converted to 1’s and 0’s and distributed around the world opened up vast new horizons for the delivery of content. Even as sexual content became increasingly digital, the adult industry has remained highly segmented. With surprisingly few exceptions (and even fewer successful examples), adult businesses still tend to concentrate on one type of content production (photography or video) and one type of delivery (videotape/DVD, streaming Web video, etc.). Again, many of the larger companies like Playboy, Vivid Video, Wicked, etc., have demonstrated both vertical integration and content diversity, but the industry as a whole is just beginning to catch on--and catch up.
The current efforts of adult companies to cope with technological and corporate convergence is described in more detail MJ McMahon’s companion article in this issue, “What’s Convergence Got to Do With It?” (page ?). The remainder of this article will concentrate instead on some of the potential consequences of the convergence trends: the practical challenges, the social implications, and the legal pitfalls.
Looking ahead
The single most important practical consideration is understanding where convergence is going. In the home realm, the battle lines are clearly drawn between computers with large enough screens to serve as multimedia centers and multimedia centers with enough RAM to handle computing tasks. Most homes will probably wind up with some combination of both, but from the adult industry's perspective, the most important convergence will be in the handling of video content: The overarching concern for consumers will be the ability to watch video on whatever device they choose. The other separate convergence track is in the mobile realm, as consumers look for a single device that will allow them to make calls, check the Internet, and view video content.
When it comes to visual content in the home, the technological issues surrounding convergence are fairly straightforward. All content, including what we think of today as "television," is in the process of becoming Internet-based; in a fairly short time, there will be essentially no difference in the content on television, cable, satellite, and the Web.
The first inkling of that process can be seen in the availability of a few television episodes on Apple's website for licensed download to the new video iPods. In the not-too-distant future, virtually all video content will be created, digitized, and put on the Internet for distribution to home viewers, and the very concept of television will start to fade (much as the concept of "album" or "CD" is rapidly disappearing today).
What this process underscores for adult business owners is that "convergence" should be less about multitasking devices and more about the simplification of content delivery. The objective is not to give consumers a device that does more things, but content that can be accessed seamlessly on whatever device the consumer chooses, be it personal computer or living room screen.
Mobilizing
For the foreseeable future, the path of convergence in mobile devices will continue to be more complicated. The range of mobile devices available on the market today have widely differing capabilities, which makes it difficult for a single company to successfully create and market content to a wide range of mobile devices. Matters are further complicated by the fact that the primary output of mobile devices is aural, not visual—great for the oohs and aahs of phone sex, but less suitable for the visuals that usually go along with it. The key for adult businesses looking at mobile convergence is to wait for the market to come to them, rather than trying to force the issue. (Four or five years ago, there were a number of adult businesses that tried to pump content into text-only cell phones and black-and-white PDAs, with little success.) As the video iPod is demonstrating, mobile devices will eventually join the video-IP distribution universe; the key is to be ready with byte-sized chunks that consumers can purchase individually.
Screen size and bandwidth are not the only things slowing down the convergence of video onto mobile devices. For the adult industry, an even bigger hurdle (particularly here in the United States) is the social stigma against the public consumption of pornography. While the sale of sexually explicit magazines and videos is increasingly open, in 40-plus years, I've only seen one person reading Playboy in public, let alone anything more hardcore. Viewing sexually explicit content on a mobile device might be marginally more private (particularly with ear buds), but given the most widely understood purpose of looking at pornography, it's hard to imagine that American culture will change significantly.
Think of the children!
Even the remote possibility that society will embrace or even tolerate public porn viewing brings us swiftly to the major legal issue surrounding convergence. As the number of potential outlets for viewing sexually explicit videos rises, both in the home and in the hand, the likelihood also rises that children will be exposed to it.
Anyone who has attended an adult legal seminar in the last five years, or for that matter, followed the news, is aware that religious and social conservatives have made the protection of children one of their leading arguments against the adult industry. Parents are already struggling to keep up with their children's access to content online, and the awareness that adult materials can be accessed now by cell phone and iPod is just beginning to creep into public consciousness. It will not take long for this to become a growing political issue.
The other major legal issue on which adult business owners need to focus is record keeping under 18 USC 2257. The growing ability to shoot content once and distribute it to a wide range of different display devices is going to place a premium on careful record keeping and well-defined relationships with companies throughout the distribution chain. Business owners should obviously be aware as well that the more widely their content is distributed, the more likely it is that at some point, their record-keeping procedures will be examined.
There is no question that the word "convergence" has so much buzz attached to it these days because it represents a level of opportunity similar to when the adult industry discovered video in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Film companies that embraced the new technology made millions, first through the sale and then rental of content that had been sitting on their shelves, and second, through the vastly lower production costs associated with shooting straight to video. The fact that home entertainment and information devices are finally coalescing, some 30 years after the event was first predicted, means that any video content producer with access to the Internet (i.e., essentially everyone) will be able to compete on nearly equal terms for home screen space. In much the same way that blogs are undercutting mainstream media, convergence is going to level the playing field for content producers. The same thing, although on a more limited scale, will occur in the mobile space.
Adult businesses that are interested in being less mule-like and more platypus-like should focus not on making the devices converge but instead on making the content divergent. With that focus, and with careful attention to emerging legal issues, businesses can avoid becoming evolutionary dead ends.
Frederick Lane is an expert witness, lecturer, and author of Obscene Profits (Routledge 2000) and The Naked Employee (Amacom 2003). He is working on a third book, The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture (Prometheus Books 2006). For additional information, please visit FrederickLane.com.
