Craigslist Shuts Down Its Erotic Services: How Will This Affect Sex Industry?

It was only a matter of time. But the "Erotic Services" has been removed from Craigslist. With Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff garnering so much media attention - people are now realizing exactly how dangerous this website can be. People always knew that the classifieds are risky. But the "anonymous" feel of Craigslist made it such that people felt more comfortable getting in touch with strangers. As a result, prostitution ads were rampant.

Some claim that Craigslist cannot really be cited as an intermediary in prostitution. It is difficult to prove that those affiliated with the site really knew which ads were directly related to prostitution. There indeed is a screening process. But clever Craigslist users are adept at finding (and creating) loopholes. Nonetheless, the site has stamped a great big black bar marked "censored" over the adult-related services sections. This development may or may not be permanent. However, with Craigslist's generic approach to adult entertainment squashed for the time being, what does this mean for the rest of the world?

Professional escorts will have to new ways to advertise their services.

A good number of women (and men) generated tons of business by advertising their services on Craigslist. Unfortunately (because there is so much gray area), this also includes legitimate massage therapy services. These people will be forced to be more creative with their advertising.

Local swing/adult/BDSM clubs may see an increase in membership and attendance.

Swing clubs and BDSM dungeons have always existed in local communities. However, some people are uncomfortable advertising their "alternate" lifestyles to the world. Thus, Craigslist was a safe place for people to explore their personal and private fantasies. But now these (often private) clubs and organizations may see an upsurge in membership.

Free local publications may receive an influx of classified ad requests.

Free local newspapers and entertainment guides may find that they are receiving many more classified ad requests than they once did.

Online social networks may see an increase in membership.

Not everyone consulting the adult section of Craigslist was looking for one night hookup. Plenty of people looking for simple companionship felt more comfortable with the anonymity of Craigslist (as opposed to other websites.) Now these people may be inclined to utilize other Internet resources.

There may be a spike in increased porn site surfing.

Craigslist shutting down its adult entertainment section opens up a huge gap for other entities to prosper. It has been theorized that the slowdown at Craigslist will open up the market for new adult websites. But existing erotic websites may see a marked increase in Internet traffic.

The "blank slate" advertising that Craigslist offered was pretty hard to compete with. This is perhaps why the site's activity has grown exponentially over the years. Whether or not the adult services section will be reinstated is perhaps a moot point. That so many crimes (human trafficking, prostitution, murder) have been affiliated with the website dictates that the adult section will probably never be the same. Those clever Craigslist users will have to find alternate means to peddle and/or purchase their erotic "wares."

SOURCES:

www.craigslist.org
www.news.yahoo.com
www.news.cnet.com
www.creativeloafing.com