xkcd.com
So when they say the "Facebook of sex" the idea is to infer a personal connection to excite punters. Sites like Suicide Girls rely heavily on the same tactics - though in a more traditional (some would argue more ethical) way :) I know blokes tend to claim they just "follow their dicks" or whatever but it's been well known in the porn industry that a more personal approach (one reason POV videos are so popular) gets more punters.
I think Facebook of Sex is a scam or rip off site though (or has something dodgy about it). Not checked it out but all the ads feature fairly well known images from other sites / collections (some of them actually borderline indecent imagery). [disclaimer: I come across a vast amount of porn in my work and have to categorise a lot of it - this is just the impression I have got from there]
Here's my question back to you... why did the industry wait until recent years to have a sudden surge in personal approach porn? Was it due to a technical barrier? Or the increase familiarity with personalized content on the internet? Any thoughts?
I think a combination of technical limitation and then the sudden hit of certain sites. When porn hit the web it was still something of a niche. It went from being fairly socially acceptable in the early 20th Century to a bit of a stigma around the time of the web (before my time so only what I have been told). Of course the web changed all that turning an already successful industry into a huge one.
So the makers had to find a new niche (edit: I mean before the web it was a niche - or rather what I really mean is that it was nowhere near as accessible). Suicide girls is a huge success because of the personal touch (I would say that 90% of PC's I see have porn on them and a vast majority of them have at least a few SG's images). Another popular one was the "wild girls" type spring break porn (soft and hardcore) - pretty much for the same reason, they werre girls you could see on a beach somewhere all the time, not super-made up pornstars. Again the personal touch.
And finally the customer base is more discerning? or perhaps more demanding :) Im guessing a lot of people prefer a personal touch to their porn to help get over that social barrier.
All just educated guesswork :)
EDIT: anyone happy to admit to being a regular (pay-for) porn consumer (I dont think HN will be judgemental in the way society seems to be!) and throw some light on these ideas from that side of things?
To create a powerful elevator pitch you try pack as much meaning/punch into every word you utter. The semantics of the word 'Facebook', for example, conjure up networking, friends, messaging, profiles.
Now, how successful this kind of marketing/branding is I cannot tell you in numbers.
Anecdotally, though, I can say I prefer people get right to the point. So, if the app can be compared to something I already know, then please don't wrap it in bullshit and just tell me.