(www.sass-pants.com) — Less than 3 months after the porn industry requested a $5B bailout, things are looking bad for them, in large part because of the proliferation of free porn sources online. “Tube sites” including our good friend YouTube are providing enough alternative adult entertainment that folks aren’t interested in paying for pay-per-view or subscription services.

Gee, ya think?

Vivid Entertainment founder Steven Hirsch, a longtime porn heavyweight who sued one of the free porn sites for illegally using his company’s material, say the Los Angeles company’s DVD sales have dropped 30 percent in the past year, and the free porn sites are adding economic insult to injury.

“Between the DVD sales, the piracy, the free porn online and the economy,” Hirsch said, “I’ve never seen it this bad in 25 years in the business.”

Compounding the challenge is that the porn industry as a whole has done little navel-gazing – at least of the financial or strategic-planning kind – over the years. While the X-rated industry has always been among the first to adopt new technologies, it has not always embraced long-term forecasting. It hasn’t had to, analysts say, because the forecasts were always so rosy.

(source)

Although I can understand why the porn industry has remained confident (people seem to find money for vices even when they can’t find it for essentials, in my experience), I can’t believe they’re surprised about the recent decline, given the nation’s economic situation. Then again, I guess everyone’s been surprised recently at how bad things have gotten.

What amuses me, though, is the proposed solution to this problem. Niche porn network Kink.com is planning to introduce live shows that allow viewers to interact with the director and actors and actresses. According to SFGate.com, “The idea, said Kink Chief Operating Officer Daniel Riedel – a Yahoo.com veteran – is to offer users an experience that the free tube sites can’t.”

Sorry, Kink, but I’m not feeling it.

How about this suggestion for porn viewers who are now strapped for cash: Instead of shelling out your hard-won dollars on a so-called interactive, live experience, take the time you’d be spending watching porn and use it to develop a happy, healthy, real-life relationship that will ultimately lead to fulfilling, satisfying, FREE sex for the rest of your life. It’s called marriage. Try it.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(image: Garry Knight via Creative Commons license)

(www.sass-pants.com) — If you’re not already keeping a close eye on your credit score, it’s time to start — and Credit Karma can help. I signed up for Credit Karma after reading about it on Yielding Wealth last summer, and I love the monthly reminders to check my credit score.

Credit Karma is a pro-consumer credit score tracking and management service that has delivered more than 850,000 free credit scores and counts more than 250,000 registered users. Yesterday, they released their U.S. Credit Score Climate Report with trend data for January 2009.

The Credit Karma U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report will provide a monthly barometer on consumer credit trends, a particularly important economic indicator in today’s market. Each month, the Report will offer unique and insightful statistics on the health of consumer credit scores nationwide. Trend data in the report is based on a comparison of Credit Karma users’ January credit score with their previous credit score at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days out.

During the October 2008 to January 2009 time period, 37% of consumer credit scores have gone up, 31% have gone down, and 32% remained the same. Of the scores that increased, the average credit score rose 13 points during the time period. Of the scores that decreased, the average credit score dropped 15 points. Here are some additional points revealed in the Report:

Average credit score with no change is 693 whereas 673 and 662 are the respective credit score averages for those with an increase and decrease. This would suggest that people with higher credit scores maintain more stable credit scores while those with marginal credit scores tend to be in flux.

Age is one key factor. Younger consumers, age 18-24, saw the biggest increase in their credit scores. This is caused by a few factors. First, younger people have a shorter credit history and therefore lower scores (Average score: 670). As a result, we see a higher percent of younger consumer’s credit scores on the increase. Secondly, older consumers, age 65+, tend to have a longer and more stable credit history (Average score: 736)

Location is another key factor. As states experience economic changes such as massive layoffs, foreclosure, bankruptcy or impacts of the economic stimulus initiatives, credit scores may be impacted. Currently, we don’t see major differences between the states highlighted in this report.

“It’s interesting to note that while more than 74% of consumers believe that their credit score is on the way up, the reality is more measured,” comments Kenneth Lin, chief executive officer of Credit Karma. “Our goal with this Report is to give the market a look at trends in consumer credit, highlight unique differences across age bands and geographies, and evangelize the importance of good credit health.”

Methodology

Each month, the Credit Karma U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its 250,000 user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. This month’s report includes a comparison of 20,000 Credit Karma user scores.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(images courtesy of Credit Karma)

(www.sass-pants.com) — On Wednesday, I went to my favorite local coffee shop to take advantage of their free wi-fi (and delicious BLTs) because my internet had been knocked out by an ice storm. Imagine my dismay when I found that they were closed. Forever. Like, the store was totally empty and there was a sign on the door saying that due to hard economic times, they had to close their doors after seven years and thanks for all the memories.  

This is a coffee shop that managed to thrive despite the fact that a Starbucks had opened in the same parking lot three years earlier. But apparently not anymore, because, well they’re gone.

When the division my husband worked for closed and he lost his job, I knew it had to do with the economy, but it didn’t really strike me. When business slowed overall but my resume work skyrocketed, I knew it had to do with the economy, but it didn’t really strike me. But when my favorite coffee shop closed, I was positively dumbfounded. I sat out front in the parking lot for about five minutes, utterly stunned, before driving to Panera, the only other place I could think of nearby with free wi-fi.

When I look back on it, I shouldn’t be that shocked that the place closed. I was often the only one there, despite their shockingly low prices. But I just got the feeling that that was business as usual for them, so I didn’t give it much thought. Until they were gone.

I regret not visiting more frequently while I had the chance, not telling more people about my “best-kept secret.” Would it have made a difference? When I look around Fredericksburg at the growing numbers of empty storefronts, I suspect the answer is no. But I wonder.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

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Sex Deemed a “Fundamental of the Economy”?

(http://sass-pants.com) — Hustler bigwig Larry Flynt and Joe Francis, the brilliant (ahem) mind behind the Girls Gone Wild franchise are demanding $5B in government money to bail out the struggling adult entertainment industry. According to Flynt, XXX video sales have dropped 25%, and sex toys are gathering dust on the shelves.

Evidently the economy isn’t the only thing that can’t seem to get up in the US today.

Okay, sorry, that was bad. But seriously, did I miss something here? Sex is free. Well, it is if you’re doing it right. If you have to pay for it, you shouldn’t doing it in the first place. And last time I checked, XXX entertainment and naughty accessories weren’t required for people to enjoy sexual healing despite economic hardship. (Hard, get it? Yeah, this post will be full of them.) And, if you can’t have or enjoy sex without added stimulus from adult videos, etc, then you have far bigger problems than not being able to afford your porn habit. You know, until another stimulus check comes along.

Believe me, I am all about sex. (Though I don’t particularly recommend it while recovering from a back injury. Just saying.) And not just because it’s fun. Sex is good for you. Having healthy, regular sex can add intimacy to a committed relationship, relieve stress, improve muscle tone, boost your immune system, and even reduces the risk of some cancers. And those are just a few of the many, many benefits sex brings.

But back to the porn industry. In my seldom-humble opinion, XXX videos and kinky add-ons get in the way of sex, not supplement it. Don’t even get me started on how absurd it is to make people think they have to spend a lot of money on a lot of ridiculous crap to have a happy and healthy sex life. Your only required investments are an appropriate form of birth control and some lube if you feel so inclined. Everything else is just surplus. Like buying bottled water when you have all the free water you want right out of your faucet. Sure, it’s all fancy and trendy, but seriously, let’s get back to basics.

Would it be such a bad thing if the porn industry folded? Not that it’s in any danger of doing so, if you ask me. What do you think? Is so-called adult entertainment a help or a hindrance to good sex?

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(image: SXC.hu)