Jamie F
A new British-owned online porn platform is set to launch in July 2021, aiming to establish itself as a central platform for adult performers to sell content, similar to OnlyFans and other direct-to-audience adult platforms.
Blisss is currently in its testing and development stage, with invited adult content creators helping tweak its functions. Billed as part content creation platform, part social media, it is expected to launch in late July with around 600 porn creator profiles.
Fabio Salvadori, Blisss launch coordinator, told SEXTECHGUIDE that the new platform is designed to complement rather than rival existing content selling and hosting sites such as OnlyFans or Chaturbate. On their Blisss profiles, creators can link and promote their profiles and content on external sites, as well as host and sell content directly on Blisss.
“It’s a fable, a myth, that you can’t retain creators’ traffic on your platform, [that] it will go on other platforms whenever the users and the creator decides to [visit another platform],” says Salvadori. “Instead, it’s better to give total freedom to creators.”
In its pre-launch state, Blisss’ appearance and functionality seemed inspired by social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. When you log on, you see a feed of posts created by creators you follow, with options to explore new creators.
Creators can post content such as photos and videos that are available for free, and set subscription, or one-off, fees to unlock selected posts. As with pretty much every social platform, there’s also a robust messaging system for creators to stay in touch with followers and subscribers — these messages can also be chargeable to open.
Profiles have a ‘tip’ button function, similar to Twitter’s ‘Tip Jar’, allowing users to give one-off monetary gifts.
Blisss takes a 40 percent cut of fees for premium videos, and 20 percent for non-video paid content.
The makers of Blisss hope that by embracing the linking of external sites, creators will see the platform as a useful promotion tool rather than yet another porn platform they’ll need to upload to. Profiles can be set to show alerts when the creator is streaming live on platforms such as Twitch or cam site Chaturbate, and link to the stream.
Salvadori said that for adult content creators, Blisss was designed to be, “Your space… your shop… you have your window, but the window is for everything related to your business, 360 degrees.”
Blisss has signed up adult performer Sabrina Deep as a creator, brand ambassador and manager. Sally Fae, an adult performer known for her cam work, has also joined as a creator.
Well established porn creators will have another potential revenue stream in Blisss’ sponsor function. The function allows creators to promote another creator’s profile on their profile, with a photo and link button. This can be done for free or with the owner of the promoted profile paying a creator to feature them.
Blisss is set to enter a busy porn platform market, that is coming under intense legal and media scrutiny due to scandals such as Pornhub allegedly featuring content featuring minors. Credit card companies such as Mastercard have introduced tougher verification and consent processes for banks dealing with adult sites.
For verification on Blisss, creators will need to submit photo ID recognised by the government in the country they are from. Creators in the US have to submit their Form-W9 tax form.
Content moderation is conducted on Blisss by both humans and artificial intelligence (AI). Users will be able to report content that may be illegal or breach Blisss’ guidelines, with content removed while any investigations take place.
Salvadori said that Blisss had been approved for Mastercard and Visa payments, and that its functionality had been shaped by the toughening credit card company rules. Blisss will not divide its content into subject categories, partly due to fear of category headings falling foul of credit card wording rules.
Blisss will, however, allow users to search for content related to specific genders and sexual orientations. Salvadori says that the site will feature content related to many genders and orientations, promising an environment not overwhelmingly determined by the usual ‘male gaze’ standards of many existing platforms. He said that creators were suggesting further categories in these fields for Blisss to add.
With social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook becoming less tolerant of nudity and sex-related content on their platforms, there does seem to be potential for a central platform for porn creators to promote all their content strands.
One fly – or rather bird – in the ointment could be Twitter’s forthcoming Super Follows function.
The social media giant, which unlike Facebook and Instagram allows porn on its platform, is expected to allow adult performers to use the function, which will allow creators to charge for content directly through Twitter. Tech industry-watchers have suggested that Super Follows may allow connections to other sites such as OnlyFans.
Rather than launching as native iOS and Android apps, Blisss is a Progressive Web App (PWA), which Salvatori says allows it to be “smaller, adaptable and never out of date.”
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