Seems like I've heard this one before...

Ramblings Post #399
First, let's be clear. I do NOT have an OnlyFans account. I mean, as a customer, not as a creator. Not either one. Seriously, I'm barely suitable to show my face in public. The idea of taking off my shirt and preserving those images for posterity (or the internet - same thing) might get deported from the planet. Yes, I've lost some weight, I think, but for me to get camera fine would involve an act of God and plastic surgery. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my biggest asset is a lovely personality. I'm a delight!

I could never bring myself to give OnlyFans any money. Don't get me wrong the women seemed...interesting. And a number of them supposedly were surprisingly relatable. I understand that one of the features was that the women would actually interact with followers regularly, and that it wasn't just a show on the internet. And for those people who performed, it provided a safe environment in which to work since it was all virtual. Which actually says a lot more about the state of society than I'm gonna comment on this post. Oh, I've given money to worse endeavors, I assure you. But something about it just didn't sit right with me.

And now the good folks there have banned (or are going to ban) content not safe for work, and go back to what they were doing before. Um...

Let me explain. While my only involvement with OnlyFans was to occasionally ignore the young woman who would follow me on twitter so she entice me to open my wallet on her behalf, I did have an account with another site called Tumblr (which I've admitted here before and I'm sorry). That actually wasn't a half-bad hangout, a interesting mix of photo collages, art, creations, gaming stuff, stories, and just whatever someone wanted to put on there. It was free form, and could be almost magazine like if done right. There was a little eye candy too, but what got me started was the vast array of imagery, some of which I have used on this very blog. And the eye candy.

Anyway, when I say I've heard this one before, well, the creative and eclectic Tumblr already mapped out this future. A few years ago, the then very popular Tumblr was purchased for $1.1 billion dollars. It was going to be a multi-media powerhouse to rival Facebook that had grown organically, so the future was bright. And to protect that future post the sale the site pretty much banished the adult content, all that eye candy, behind multiple-multiple impediments. Essentially they just hid them away and put a lock on the door. Well, within the first 90 days about 30% of their user-base packed up shop and headed for other parts of the internet. Whoosh. I'm not saying the two events were connected, but hey. So you think there would be a lesson there. I would, but apparently not. 

Tumblr did all things....

As much as THE OWNERS don't want to admit it, for investor purposes, adult content pretty much MADE OnlyFans. While the platform was originally was designed to showcase musical and other artists with small but devoted followings, it was barely on my radar prior to the shift to more ...interesting content and I stays on the internet. I mean with Tumblr the draw of the adult stuff wasn't as clear, but here the brand has become attractive women saying "come check out my OnlyFans!" Which is kind of definitive. And as I've said over and over again, IP is not a fungible as people think it is. You would expect change of something like this to be gradual, not a hard and fast turn.  

Just last year OnlyFans handled some $2 billion in revenue on sales $12.5 billion through this portal, something most sites not named Amazon would kill for. Quite a bit of that was the adult stuff. So what is going on here? Why the hard turn? Well, to be honest this is greed. The company is trying to get "valuation" which is investor talk for "even more money" but like by the end of the quarter. Yes, it grew organically, but now the owners are done with that. And just like with Tumblr this cleaning up the site is part of the getting valuation process, because investment groups hate porn. (I started laughing as soon as wrote that.) Now that they've got a "BRAND" they're hoping to convert the platform back to the musical artists and other influencers. *giggles*

Just so we're clear, how did that cleaning up the adult stuff work out for Tumblr and its deal? Well, let's see, they ended up being sold again not too long after in 2019 for ...checks notes... $3 million doll ...checks notes again....um, million? THREE Million?  

Whoa.

But it could work this time, what do I know?

Barkeep, it's me. I used to come in here all the time. I'm the guy that orders the bourbon when the vodka is free. Remember? Yeah, I'm that guy!