Since the beginning of time, where there were cave paintings, there were those that depict people having sex. This trend has continued an evolved immensely throughout the years — from the advent of cameras, through VCR tapes and onto the Internet. Whenever a new medium has come about, the pornography industry is among the first to accommodate it and, in some cases, pioneer it.

Though it is rarely spoken about, the porn industry is often at the forefront of technological advances and business innovation. Porn was the first product to make money on the Internet and, despite the emerging problems posed by pirated content and file sharing, still earns upwards of $1 billion each year online.

Technology that all Internet users employ on a daily basis has roots in the adult industry — streaming video, Flash, website memberships and credit card verification.

Annaliese Nielsen founded GodsGirls.com, an alternative porn site, which offers both pornographic photography and video. GodsGirls features a highly interactive element that allows customers to have a greater experience with the content, she said.

“I think the adult industry at large is beginning to realize the importance of creating social experiences on the Internet,” Nielsen said. “You’re going to see more and more adult sites that work on a GodsGirls model of attempting to create a space on the web that combines content and community.”

GodsGirls allows its models to produce their own content and sell it on their profiles. Because of this, the website is able to incorporate many different kinds of new technology.

“Of course, not only is it a lot of hard work for us to aspire to stay up-to-date on the latest technology in terms of our site and features but we also have to compete with an onslaught of powerful social networks that didn’t exist when we launched this project,” Nielsen said.

Many porn sites have harnessed increasingly popular social networking websites in order to further their products.

“The girls are increasingly easy to find and communicate with (outside of) GodsGirls — everyone has a Twitter and a Tumblr where their friends and fans can follow what is happening in their lives,” Nielsen said. “There is a struggle to stay relevant as the web becomes increasingly social. We are working on new features and innovations right now that we are very excited about.”

As always, pornography is still changing and innovating today.

When the iPad was introduced, porn companies had created ways to stream videos on the device, skipping Apple’s restrictions on such adult content, in a matter of days. While 3-D technology is still in its infancy in mainstream media, the porn industry is working to advance this technology for at-home usage. Porn has even delved into the realm of video games.

Dajana Dimovska is one video game creator behind the Dark Room Sex Game, a video game that uses the Wiimote to create an “erotic rhythm.” The objective of the game is to give one or multiple partners an orgasm.

“The video game industry has a harsh policy on sexual content and therefore I think that a game like Dark Room Sex Game today would fit best in the porn industry,” Dimovska said. “We have received email requests from people that are interested to buy games like (the Dark Room Sex Game) and play it at home with their partner. We have even thought about creating a similar online dating game, where partners can have virtual sex online.”

Dimovska expects more sexualized video games to arise as the industry evolves.

“I definitely see a big market potential for multiplayer sex games in the style of (the Dark Room Sex Game),” Dimovska said. “I think it is likely game developers will start developing sex games like this and storm the porn industry with a new sex games genre.”

From live-chatting systems to broadband and from 4G mobile services to fast streaming speeds, the porn industry has completely revolutionized the Internet and how people interact with technology. The adult industry continues to remain on the cutting edge of innovation and will likely continue to create advances that change the way the world works withan increased focus on 3-D, interactive and mobile technology.