The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google [Hardcover]

Patchen Barss (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 7, 2010

Pornography: The force for change that has been written out of the history of world culture.

From cave painting to photography to the internet, pornography has always been at the cutting edge in adopting and exploiting new developments in mass communication. And in so doing, it has helped to promote and propel those developments in ways that are rarely acknowledged. Without pornography, the internet would not have grown so quickly. The e-commerce payment systems that are now commonplace would be at a far more primitive stage security and usability. Without video streaming software developed for pornography sites, CNN would be struggling to deliver news clips. Without advertising from sex sites, Google could not have afforded YouTube.

This smart, witty and well-researched history shows how a vast secret trade has bankrolled and shaped mainstream culture and its machines.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From the first cave drawings to how 'jiggle physics' advanced computer graphics to the 'twitterdildonics' of the future, a thorough, accessible, smart and insightful look at how pornography has driven communication technology throughout history."
-- Josey Vogels, sex and relationships columnist and author of Bedside Manners: Sex Etiquette Made Easy

"With an argument rich in fascinating stories and compelling characters, Patchen Barss proves this page-turner's startling thesis: pornography inspires advanced forms of communication. The Erotic Engine is enlightening, entertaining, and intellectually titillating."
--Micah Toub, author of Growing Up Jung: Coming of Age as the Son of Two Shrinks


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

Patchen Barss has written about science, technology and culture for more than a decade. His articles have appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, Reader's Digest, Saturday Night, CBC online, and many other places. He has worked as a producer at CBC Television and the Discovery Channel, and is currently a director of communications in the field of advanced scientific research.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385667361
• ISBN-13: 978-0385667364
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patchen Barss has written about science, technology and culture for two decades. He applies an intelligent, unflinching analysis to subject areas that often take people far beyond their usual intellectual and emotional comfort zones. His new book, The Erotic Engine, chronicles the powerful influence of pornography on advances in mass communication.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Adult Innovation through the Ages July 13, 2012

By David Mills

Format:Paperback

This still recent-enough (for the subject matter: hi-tech) book on how adult material profited from and even furthered technolgy from cave-dwelling to computer eras and beyond is worth a read. Barrs explores origins to explain, for instance, how Gutenberg's printing press was the information highway of its day, democratizing knowledge and society. That accessibility facilitated a centuries-old demand for adult material. The advent of cinema with its underground stag films brought this further forward, even (starting in the 60s) to the point of a theatre near you. When dealing with the VCR and its rapid adoption by the adult industry (film and television studios once considered it a threat) Barrs clarifies an urban myth: Beta failed in the format wars partially because it didn't adapt to porn. This is not true: Beta did offer xxx-material, but failed because VHS beat it on other terms. Barrs also details how Toronto media entrepreneur Moses Znaimer revolutioned the use of UHF through a soft core (and now [sadly] defunct)late-night cable show, "The Baby Blue Movie." Barrs explains the influence of the early, pre-web, text-based Internet, and the importance of the "alt" option with the still-extant Usenet. The advent and primacy of the world wide web was facilitated by such early adult sites such as Jennicam. Indeed, the demand for porn led to the actual widening of bandwidths, along with mainstream companies tacitly working with adult ones to offer smartphones, one of whose features is adult material. Though the traditional adult industry is now in difficult straits, such technology as tactile porn is being innovated to accord with an age-old demand that is being and will be met by inventors and entrepreneurs.

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written but maybe overstating the argument September 29, 2012

By Michael

Format:Paperback

Patchen Barss has crafted a convincing argument that porn has more or less been the spearhead of technological developments from the Gutenberg bible through to Google (the subtitle of his book makes that claim.

It is hard to argue with his research - he seems to have spoken to everyone who needs to be spoken to, read everything that needs to be read and contemplated all that needs contemplating. However there are some questions that I feel he doesn't address adequately.

There is no doubt that porn makers are early adapters when it comes to new communication technologies, but so to are the military and fast food companies as Peter Nowak argues in Sex, Bombs and Burgers. And there is a difference between being an early adapter and being the sustaining force behind technological revolution. Doubtlessly porn has assisted in the uptake of mass communication technology, but is it the powerhouse behind reform or merely one of many reinforcing factors?

I think the case for porn's critical role is a bit overstated, but that doesn't take away from the quality of this well written and well researched book. My only advice is that if you read it on a bus on the way to work try and avoid having an elderly woman sitting next to you tut-tutting about the books title!

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great name December 27, 2012

By C. Littlejohns

Format:Paperback

I haven't read the book and probably won't, but I've got to say I always loved his name, as well as that of his brother Ingram Barss. So cool.