Here is a huge question: What are the effects of the Internet on "the business"? For purposes of focus and limitation, confine your answer to only one effect and then elaborate.

You "see" what you desire.  But what you see may not always be what you get.  All in all, I like the visuality of the net as opposed to what existed before.

Like StillTrying said, we see what we desire but what we get may not work out to what/how we want it so this is where the info part comes in. With information we can make our opinion and decide whether or not it is what we are looking for. It sure would be a lot harder though without the visual aspects but thats what our imagination is for.

The Effect:  Roughly the same as spreading cow manure in a garden.  Explosive growth!

The Elaboration:  Could easily fill a book.  The core of the argument is that it creates reliable, yet safe channels of communication, both between providers and potential clients and clients to clients.  

Those who were active in the hobby prior to the widespread popularization of the Internet (I was) can testify that the resources that we have available to us today for research would have seemed an unbelievable, Alice-In-Wonderland dream come true back then.  Info about providers in the pre-Net era was conveyed mostly by word of mouth or in newspapers that were themselves supported largely by advertising from the agencies (making their objectivity often open to question).  Ripoffs and LE stings were common, as there was no effective way to get the word out to other hobbiests.  A big THANK YOU to Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee!

Cheers!

Yeah, it's a completely different business. Used to be that everything was totally hidden; now everything is out in the open.  The idea of us "johns" talking to each other, even anonymously, was unthinkable 10 years ago, not to mention the candor that we see here.  The idea of providers and hobbyists having sustained, serious discussions was absolutely incomprehensible.  Not to mention the economic impact.  Can't do justice to it on a board.  Maybe Staff should schedule a chat.  Personally, I think sociologists ought to be studying it, but that's just my .02.

A board like this reduced the chances of buyer risk.  A more stable  & understandable "product" allowed rates to increase and made a decision to purchase easier.

I was watching the History of Prostitution on the History Channel Sunday night.  At the end, of the show, there was a short blurb about how the Internet has changed things.  The lady said all a girl needs is a computer and a cell phone to set up business.  She also said the Internet has made it a little harder for LE to bust them.  That may be arguable, but maybe true in certain ways.

I think this is an interesting question because I fell into the hobby after stumbling across stuff on the Internet.  It would have been harder for met to get into if not for the Internet and the cell phone.  I'm always interested in hearing about how things went before these two pieces of technology came along.  I've been thinking of going to the library and trying to pick up a few books but don't want to make anyone at home suspicious.

The internet allows me to avoid rip-offs and provides me with multiple great choices.

Other than that, not much.

Anyone who has been the hobby since the 80s can PM you with good information.  Basically, seeing a provider was hit and miss and ripoffs and disappointments were plenty. Occasionally one would hit that "pot of gold" encounter that just like a good tennis point or golf shot, kept them coming back for more.  The net has not changed the hit and miss aspect whenever a person hobbies without good information, that is one downside that sites like this work to correct.  Also, with the net, you can correspond with people who you have never met and probaly will not ever meet in a matter of minutes or hours, I like that.

the world of providers to a much largerpopulation. There were always the rich Hollywood and corparate type with their thousand-dollar girls and there were always low-life cruisers getting twenty dollar BJ's on the street. The internet has brought discreet commercial sex to the vast middle class.

Proliferation of the computer and ease of access to the internet allowed demand to be greater then supply. ....... I have been in this hobby when personal computers were still a novelity. I fondly remember the days when PS's could be had for $$ and GFE's with awesome looking chics for a mere B. Franklin and a half. Of course the risk for bait/switch and ROB was very great.

One thing the internet has done has made it not so much of a leap to getting into the business ...what with all the young girls doing cam shows(some of these even hardcore)

All of a sudden there are many many girls for whom this is not so much of a leap as it is a tiny hop...I think in the future there will be LOTS more women doing this at least part-time...maybe just to pay for a sudden unexpected expense or their education even...not becoming an escort as a full time job maybe just for a couple of years then out

I wonder if the lawmakers who run our society realize just how much the escort business will change in the coming years...the street walkers will ALWAYS be present but added to that are hordes of women who with the internet in general or the ability for ANYONE to put on a cam show at anytime or place...girls who might never have even considered this as an option in their lives who now from the safety of their own home can make a considerable amount of money quickly and easily

How many of them will take the next step and become full fledged escorts?

How will this change how society feels about the prostitution business when it has to realize that it's not just some drugged out woman down on her luck being forced into it(the common perspective most have...why else all the so called laws against it "protecting" women from the business?)...it could be any woman you see everyday and never know what she does for a few extra bucks now and then

What then?  How will LE react especially since they most certainly have much better things to do with their time and the public may not be pressuring them to spend expensive resources when the the main reason they do now is the claim the women are being forced into the work?  It will be plain to most critics that this is not so

Will prostitution finally become legal if the girls being arrested are no longer the ones society has given up upon and instead will include little "Susy" who you might have babysitted a few years back?  Or maybe even YOUR own daughter?

I personally don't think the current laws help even those they were "supposed" to be helping(those on the lowest end of the business...the streetwakers)and on the higher end the laws do far more harm than any possible good...even IF they worked as they were intended

I can see certain parallels with prosecution of drug use and the escort business...there was a time when getting caught with a seed of marijuana could mean years in jail(of course that was no problem as long as it was just minorities or the poorist of the poor who had to face that penalty)...once it was realized the average Joe Blow's kids could end up with their lives ruined as pot especially became more mainstream(not unlike what I forsee happening with all the present camwhores graduating to the real thing in time)...now while pot is not totally legal...unless you are a bigtime dealer the most you may expect to face is a small fine

Is it so much of a stretch to think once(in the near future) the girl getting arrested for prostitution is no longer only limited to a certain strata of society and could very well be a friend or neighbor OR relative...someone at least who obviously was not forced into it...will the opponents of this business switch from fighting a losing battle by severely punishing those who engage in it to maybe regulating it like most sane countries(except for USA) have already done?

Call me Nostradomus Rsnart because this is my prediction and I bet I'm right

making the enforcement of the present laws an extremely low priority would be a good thing.  It will probably always varu greatly from one location to another.

Deserves to make as much as she possibly can.  If she is in high demand then she should charge what the people creating the demand will bear.  I see the net changing the business of providing for the better as time moves on.  The streetwalker will cease to exists, she will become the low to low middle end of providing with the activity taking place off the street, probaly in residences and low to medium level motels or hotels.  There will be and should not be $20 BJs on the street.  The next level will be the middle range provider who will charge more for services and will provider those services in higher scale lodgings.  Then will come the upper middle end that will consist of most providers, and some, if they screen well and manage their work as a business will become well off financially (yes, I said it).  Then will come the high end, which will, as it always has been, be populated by a relatively small number of providers.  Providers at the high end can expect to make a large amount of money very fast if they screen well and manage their business well.  And believe it or not, there will be a provider for everyone who wants one at all levels.

My fluff is unique fluff and those who admire and crave kinky fluff such as my fluffy self,  get fluffed. I am able to provide this fluff as a service. However, my fluff is not for all, but I do fluff well, and I have my own fluff following.
Each to his own fluff.

How are you boys enjoying those donuts down at the precinct? LMAO!