The most trafficked Web rings are found in the amateur e-porn and adult Webcam communities. To this day, RealNetworks and the rest of the streaming technology companies refuse to break out sales figures to show adult Web site usage. Likewise, major hardware companies such as Sun Microsystems don't advertise the number of adult sites using their machines as servers. X-rated Web enterprises provide a vast and valuable testing ground. And to those mired in failing e-businesses, the resulting sex site profits must seem positively obscene.
Analysts occasionally take a stab at estimating the net worth of the adult Web.
Yahoo had a good little thing for a while. The adult Web world is clearly clicking with its audience. In March, Jupiter Media Metrix estimated that more than 30 million users made their way to an adult site. Inevitably, they find exactly what they seek. Adult Web sites are the essence of personalization a facet of Internet commerce that has largely eluded many other e-commerce efforts.