Porn, gossip/stickybeaking, and food seem to be the early-adopter booster fuel that powers a new technology/media from infancy to mainstream. These basic human drivers have probably powered major changes throughout human history!
Porn has probably been with us since the first cave dweller scribbled on a wall. A lot of historical art hanging in museums and galleries is undoubtedly pornographic. Not so long ago wasn’t there some research that showed how the one industry that made money on the Internet was porn?
Celebrity blogs, magazines and “news” reports can be found in every culture on this planet. And many of them even feature the same (small) selection of celebrities.
Gossip and stickybeaking involve celebrities of course. But I reckon they manifest most prevalently as the fine art of TV soapies. Soapies are surprisingly transportable across cultures. South American and Asian countries cross-export their soapies to each other – appropriately dubbed of course. Most recently, I even saw a TV channel in the Middle East dedicated to showing Arabic-dubbed Asian soapies! That was most amusing, especially when female voices were assigned to male actors.
Food – I reckon the odd habit many Asians seem to have of photographing their food (with or without the victory sign in shot!) must significantly contribute to digital camera sales. How many sites/blogs are there dedicated to food? Personally, I prefer to just eat the food…
