What's that? You say you're going to start featuring men on your pinup site? To make the ladies happy? Only they're not actually going to be naked—just in their underpants (or even fully clothed, if that's how they roll). Well, um...that's one strategy for success.

...maybe someone can give you another few million just because?

· Nominate a Zividude (zivity.com)

The situation is not quite so dire as some reports have suggested: the short version is simply that, in the course of its work, Zivity managed to spawn two creations—the TopFans website and "War of the Roses" MySpace application—that were seen as, well, more immediately profitable than Zivity (we can't imagine why). Rather than watch Zivity wither away as its resources were diverted to other projects within the company, the powers that be decided to split the company in two, allowing Zivity to wither away grow at its own pace all on its own.

Porn Valley has long looked to Zivity for clues to mainstreaming: after all, if Zivity was able to managed to secure venture capital, shouldn't the rest of Porn Valley (arguably a more profitable enterprise) manage to interest mainstream money? Alas, it's not that simple: Zivity got the funds because it was a not very risque not-porn site started by Silicon Valley insiders. Very risque enterprises, started by Silicon Valley outsiders (or hey, even insiders) just have too many strikes against them to attract the VCs. But hey—given the fate of Zivity, maybe that's not so bad.

· Zivity (zivity.com)
· Amicable Split for Zivity and VC Investors (dailyfinance.com)

Well, eight months after it first started making headlines we finally managed to score an invite to the Zivity beta site, and now we can tell you: not very much.

After all the hype it's received, we expected ... well, something we hadn't seen before, or at least something pretty special. You know, something slightly more than just an opportunity to set up a profile page and look at some pictures of naked chicks female beauty.

Granted, Zivity has entered the market at more than a bit of disadvantage. With megaporn site (excuse us, modern pinup showcase) SuicideGirls setting a certain standard for adult communities online, it can be pretty hard for any new kid on the block to compete. Still, given that Zivity is clearly aware of SG (Missy Suicide is one of their photographers), you'd think they'd at least try to have a site that's more impressive.

No such luck, though: aside from the photos and their totally original voting system, there's not much there there Does anyone really need yet another website where they can set up yet another profile? Sure, the pictures are pretty hot (if a bit tame) ... but why do you have to have one more profile to keep track of just to look at them?

Sample model page

Sample Photo Set

Photo Upload Page (note: no nudity for nonmodels!)

To be fair, Zivity is in beta, so maybe they have some other features in the works that will be in place before their public launch. If not ... well, we sure hope at least a chunk of that $7 million is winding up in their models' pockets. We hate to see good money going to waste.

· Zivity

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Previously: Zivity's Big Score: Good Money After Bad?, Porn 2.0: Haven't We Been Here Before?, The New Porn.com: When Bad Things Happen To Good Domains

According to insidery Valley blog Techcrunch, the site will remain in "private beta" mode until at least 2009, but has already secured $8 million in private financing. When it does eventually go public, it will pay the models and photographers who generate the most interest based on user votes ... but not with that $8 mil. That money will come from user subscription fees, since you will have to pay to look at and vote on content.

However, as we've wondered in the past with other pay-per-view ventures, with so much free content available on the web who will open their wallets for it, especially for non-hardcore work? (Zivity's motto is "tasteful" art and beauty shots). Nude photography in particular has oversaturated the web with dozens (hundreds, really) of artistic model and photo sites giving away thousands of free pictures, so it's hard to imagine an abundance of people lining up to hand over their credit card numbers. At least, not at the level that justifies an $8 million investment.

Obviously subscription models can work. They are working for many sites that actually turn a profit. But investors aren't willing to fund those companies, because they deal in hardcore porn, not art. Which is the better business investment?

On the other hand, we don't pretend to know anything about business or the details of this particular deal—we just know porn and how much we're willing to pay for it—so maybe we'll be the ones looking foolish in the end. Perhaps we should just trust in Zivity Co-Founder Cyan Banister. After all, she's not just the Chief Strategy Officer ... she's also one of the site's first nude models. (That's her up above, courtesy of old friend Merkley.)

· No Longer Under Age: Zivity Takes $7 Million In Venture Financing For Adult Content Social Network + As Promised, Zivity Founder Does The Full Monty (techcrunch.com)
· Cyan - SkyCam (Flickr)
· Zivity : Promoting Beauty 2.0 (zivity.com)

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Previously: Porn 2.0: Haven't We Been Here Before?, The New Porn.com: When Bad Things Happen To Good Domains