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From: dawnt@tree.uucp (Jon Cline)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: On the historical inevitablity of online smut, from the WSJ
Keywords: smut business Nitendo Prodigy
Message-ID: <1990Nov14.005122.17350@tree.uucp>
Date: 14 Nov 90 00:51:22 GMT
References: <21567@well.sf.ca.us>
Distribution: comp
Organization: TREE BBS (916)349-0385 Sacramento, Ca
Lines: 27

In article <21567@well.sf.ca.us>, nagle@well.sf.ca.us (John Nagle) writes:
> 
> 
>      In "The Nitendo Nation" (Wall Street Journal, p.  R50, November
> 9, 1990), Michael W.  Miller analyzes the importance of smut in the
> development of new communications technologies:
> 
>           This is a little-discussed principle of new communications
>      media: Smut blazes the first trails.  It launched the videotape
>      industry, creating a critical mass of hardware and retailers.  It
>      played a big part in launching cable TV and dial-it phone
>      services.  These all went on to attract broader, general-interest
>      audiences, and so has Minitel -- about a third of its use today
>      is for business services.  (Messages are down to about 15%.)

   Does this mean that the current alt.sex.pictures business is going to turn
into something *good*?  I'd sure like to see the day, after people get tired of
the latest scan and businesses start sending data through uuencodes...

   If there's any publicity involved, alt.sex.* could really make the 'net take
off (horrific shudder).

-- 
  ...ucbvax!ucdavis!csusac!tree!dawnt

                      "It's hard to believe that the entire fate of the world
                       lies in the hands of the telephone company."