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OnlyFans seeks new funding and a pivot away from porn (opens in new tab)

(bloomberg.com)

32 pointsxenocyon5y ago55 comments

55 comments

22 comments · 8 top-level

rarec5y ago· 7 in thread

Sounds like what caused the mindshare death of Tumblr.

Pivoting away from the core reason you make money even if it's not the intended use case seems like a great way to cause the death of your company.

Why not fork instead of pivot?

Why do we have to do this other thing too, instead of having a subsidiary that does that other thing?

Is it because we've vastly overestimated the power of the network effect?

ac295y ago

> Why not fork instead of pivot?

Remember Qwikster?

BoxOfRain5y ago

Reminds me of Yik Yak a bit, the user count dropped like the Titanic because they attempted to pivot away from the main reason people were using the platform to begin with (in this case anonymous posts).

whateveracct5y ago

Tumblr is doing fine though. The people making good posts & talking to each other didn't leave.

It may be fewer users (and fewer $$), but tumblr is waaay better since the NSFW ban. And I'd even say due to it.

Mediterraneo105y ago

Not only did Tumblr activity collapse after the NSFW ban, but in the subjects I follow, activity seems to have settled on a niche of transwomen blogging about hobby or interest X, where their posts are mainly about being a transwoman interested in such things and not the hobby or interest itself. I understand that Tumblr has value for those transwomen wanting to express themselves and build community with others, but it has become a network relevant to only a tiny, tiny percentage of the population.

moralestapia5y ago

>Tumblr is doing fine though.

Citation needed. My impression is their MAU and time spent on site went to the floor.

TX00988125y ago

Hmm..

"tumblr is waaay better since the NSFW ban" and "It may be fewer users (and fewer $$)"

These don't seem to add up.

Nextgrid5y ago· 4 in thread

> It’s also looking to attract more advertisers, some of which may be wary of its porn ties.

I don't understand why a profitable company wants to attract this cancer.

evgen5y ago

If I were to guess it would be that to those on the inside it is obvious where the PPV porn numbers top out at in terms of near-future revenue and that these numbers are not sufficient to justify the valuation growth that they want to see. Profitable is nice, but if you want to build a unicorn you have to aim for bigger profits and lower risk than what the current OnlyFans model provides.

I really dislike this entire mentality so much. At what point did we go from a place where you have a diverse set of companies making good revenues and profits and serve their audiences well to this crappy model of everyone trying to be the next Instagram.

Adult content creators are probably going to get booted off at some point for 'ad-friendliness' despite the fact that they helped build most of it.

If I were them I would spin off the adult stuff into a sub-brand. It can be the same technology, administration, ops, everything. Seems easier than strangling the goose that lays golden eggs.

darepublic5y ago

time for it to go mainstream. this adult video brought to you by coca cola. open happiness.

Giorgi5y ago· 2 in thread

Ah yes, kill the business model that makes you popular, like digg, and tumblr

whateveracct5y ago

porn wasn't what made tumblr likeable though..

genmud5y ago

Yea, but it was a huge amount of their traffic [1] and they never have recovered [2]. Even during the pandemic, while people were spending more time online, tumblrs usage has been lackluster, while other sites like fb have had consistent growth [3].

So, to say porn might not have been what made it likeable might be true, but porn certainly was one of the big drivers of traffic.

[1] - https://www.statista.com/chart/17378/tumblr-traffic/

[2] - https://www.statista.com/statistics/261925/unique-visitors-t...

[3] - https://www.statista.com/statistics/346167/facebook-global-d...

andrewmcwatters5y ago· 1 in thread

Why do this and not just create an OnlyHoldings with OnlyFans as one of the wholly owned companies, and divert some capital from that business into a new venture then cross-promote on the existing platform.

Ken_At_EM5y ago

I personally would agree with this approach. It sounds like someone on their leadership team was never fundamentally or spiritually at peace with being a platform for pornography.

elliekelly5y ago

> Companies such as Sticky’s Finger Joint, a restaurant chain specializing in chicken fingers, have joined OnlyFans as part of their marketing strategies.

I assume people aren’t paying a monthly subscription to follow their favorite chicken finger company. So is OnlyFans trying to pivot into the next big social media platform? Are they trying to compete with Cameo and Patreon or are they trying to compete with Facebook/Instagram and Twitter?

ozten5y ago

Recently there was a great interview on IndieHackers with two of the top earners on OnlyFans https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/211-aella-savannah-solo

rowanG0775y ago

Pivot away from the model that has made you great. What could go wrong.

This could be great for their porn business. How many people don't subscribe to OnlyFans because it shows up on their bank statement and it means 'I pay people to make porn'? This could add the degree of plausible deniability needed (for banks, spouses, etc.) to make people much more comfortable.

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