Originally Posted by adultmobile

Most pointed out the live, interactive cams, which can't be pirated except in recorded form (and so, the live interaction itself it can't be pirated). Still, some pointed out that more performers online will decrease the prices and so the earning per performer. That's true in average, but not for specific performers... some rooms will be crowded of paying users, or even just have 1 whale user trashing $5k a month alone, even if all others being freeloaders.

This trend is not even future, it is there.

The naughty.com ( https://web.archive.org/web/20071014...w.naughty.com/ ) tgp people launched cam4.com ( https://web.archive.org/web/20071016.../www.cam4.com/ ) around 2007, it was really 100% free and performers exhibitionists, no one getting paid, just adverts based business; cam4 added tips in 2010, but I believe ads sales it is still the main business model, like tubes somewhat.

Let's switch to myfreepaysite ( https://web.archive.org/web/20040701...eepaysite.com/ ) and other real/fake free passwords sites by Leo R., around since 2001, this diversified into myfreecams.com in 2004, such "mfc" cam site was unknown and small for years, until from 2009 it started to allow nudity in free rooms, for optional tips (note the traffic source was the one of my FREE pay site which advertised the free word), this in a few years emptied many private-only cam sites as most guys signed-up to mfc being "free", simply.

Later, new sites such as chaturbate.com and bongacams.com was launched, inspired by both cam4 and myfreecams, and several old cam sites adapted to this "show lots of nude and play for free" new wave, just not to see all of their users go away to free cam sites, for example naked.com so much looks like mfc now, or cams.com (streamray) launched stripshow.com where shows are free, and so on.

I can tell cam sites, with partly free and partly "closed" shows, if done properly and with enough critical mass of models/users, it can stay up profitable sort of forever, I can't see anything today or in future it can let collapse proper cam sites - except wrong management. Instead, I did seen properly managed (prerecorded) photo / movie sites collapse or ghostify, no matter quality and dedication, simply due to market factors.

About the 3d or VR or virtual remote dildos/vaginas: I see those 3d helmets around since late 1980's, anyone remembers the movie "The Lawnmower Man" (1992) ?... but it didn't mass-market-happened yet, so I don't think it will happen soon. There was some remote controlled dildos/vaginas in some cam sites, these was mostly gone too that I know of.

Originally Posted by ITraffic

all the major tubes started out copying youtube.

Originally Posted by Paul

I'm only speculating and hopefully it'll bring up an interesting discussion, it wasn't that long ago that people thought 3D would be the technology that would be next.

In the case of VR, no one has even released a headset for resale yet so it's very early days.

Will it take off and be the next thing? IMO yes because of the money being invested in it but technology changes so fast these days. When Oculus do finally release their headset next year it's going to be for hardcore gamers and innovators to begin with, the potential is unlimited if they get the VR experience right.

To begin with VR will be an interactive gaming experience, then if successful it'll expand into other areas (that'll take a few years at least) I'm not convinced that adult tubes will be the main source of traffic in 5 years, it depends how fast things change and if the current companies have the ability to adapt quick enough.

You only have to look at smartphone apps to see how quickly a company with a good idea can go from nothing to critical mass/disruptive technology within a very short space of time i.e. WhatsApp

All these things have the same thing in common though, take a paid service and offer a better service for free.

The only constant is change and IMO technology is advancing and changing at an increasing speed. Look at online streaming 5 years ago compared to now and how it's changed the way the majority of us consume media and the impact it's had on the cable subscription business model.

Originally Posted by C H R I S | Adamoads

I tend to agree that "the next thing" is already here with the tipping based cam sites or "free cams". These sites are doing insane numbers just from a media buying standpoint and as others have pointed out it's about 1 on 1 contact where people tend to bring out the whale money. Of course the one difference between this new model is the barrier to entry is much higher than all the previous models like tgp's, mgp's, etc.... Sure anyone can do a white label but it is alot harder to put together a vertical cam site than a simple TGP....