Porn by any other name

Sex sells.

I am not sure who coined this insightful adage, but I do believe he or she was onto something. Be it a twenty-something starlet shaking her derriere on stage or an infamous novel about a rich businessman's penchant for BDSM - if it's sexy, people are going to be interested.

But if sex be the product - Google isn't buying.

The Internet heavyweight recently announced it had made changes to its Glass Platform Developer Policies, prohibiting apps that contain pornographic content on its wearable Google Glass devices. "Our policies make it clear that Glass does not allow Glassware content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material," a spokesman for Google wrote in an e-mail. The spokesperson added that any apps violating the policy would be blocked.

And the first casualty in Google's move to disallow sexually explicit content - an app called Tits & Glass. Hmm, sounds classy.

The T&G app was created by adult company MiKandi and allows users to watch videos and photos filmed with Google Glass. Users can also take and share photographs, or opt to view and rate photographs taken by others. According to MiKandi co-founder Jennifer McEwen, while the app's Web site did receive 10 000 hits on the day it launched, reactions to the naughty application were mixed.

But Google gave the app a big thumbs-down. "Over the last decade, adult companies have seen themselves locked out of more and more technologies and services - the latest being mobile applications. Adopting new technology is costly and time-consuming, so it's no wonder some have become risk adverse," said McEwan.

There are those who have applauded Google's decision - championing the move from a moral standpoint and stressing that making pornographic content freely available contributes to the degradation of society. On the other end of the spectrum, some have criticised Google for the policy changes, viewing them as a divergence from its acceptance of adult-themed apps for Android smartphones.

Others are concerned the policy shift may mean that Google, whose Android platform has maintained a largely open-border policy, may slowly be closing the gates to its illustrious kingdom. A particularly poignant tactic when its kingdom houses a signature piece of hardware with the potential to shake up the mobile device industry.

Last year, in an interview with the Guardian, Google co-founder Sergey Brin criticised Apple for its "restrictive" ecosystem, linking open policies and innovation. "The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the Web was so open. Once you get too many rules, that will stifle innovation," he said. Well, it appears the company may have changed its tune, as this is not the only Glass restriction. Google has also disallowed advertising and facial recognition software on Google Glass, essentially telling developers that Glass will not serve as a platform for willy-nilly software trials.

But, will the restrictions last?

Many have hailed pornography as a driver of new technologies - crediting the industry with the adoption of everything from the VCR to Tumblr. And with pornography being the multibillion-dollar business that it is, I reckon it's only a matter of time before the Internet's go-to search engine changes its tune.

For me, the fact that MiKandi only has to make a few tweaks to the T&G app in order for it to comply with the more stringent policies makes the entire thing a matter of semantics.

Here's the way I see it...

In the same way that real estate agents describe a dump of a house as a "fixer-upper", or that guy on the Internet dating site lists his height as five-foot-nine when he is actually five-foot-nothing - sometimes bending the truth slightly can change the public's perception.

Sometimes bending the truth slightly can change the public's perception.

Had the no doubt charming folk at MiKandi opted for a more romantic name choice, and been a little less premature in opting to define the app as "pornographic" - rather marketing it as a sexy, adult photo sharing service - would Google have gotten so hot under the collar?

Instagram is not devoid of explicit content. At the end of last year, the Instagram team announced it was overwhelmed by x-rated images, dubbed "Instaporn". These images are easily accessed by anyone using the platform. But, because its main function is to allow hipsters to share rose-tinted pictures of their late afternoon lattes, no one has accused Instagram of being a smut peddler.

Similarly, anyone who has watched an episode of 'True Blood', 'Game of Thrones' or 'Girls' will have seen their fair share of nudity and between-the-sheets action, but because these shows aren't labelled as "softcore pornography", which they sometimes are, they are deemed socially acceptable.

If you call it porn, people will be affronted, but label it a TV series, photo-sharing service or a romance novel, and few seem to mind.

Ultimately, if people want to see boobs and bums - be it online, on their phones or on TV - they will find it. And if Google isn't offering it, they'll find another company that does.

* Please note the use of the word porn in the title was an attempt to prove/disprove the adage mentioned in the opening of this column.