Unseen (Unseen.tv)
Encyclopedia
Unseen is an online marketplace
for erotic art
. It does not produce nor commission any of the artworks featured on its site. Rather, it provides an eCommerce infrastructure enabling the hosting and sale of the erotica artworks authored by individual artists, which Unseen calls “grassroots erotica.”
The content ranges widely, spanning all major artistic media, varying in subject matter from naïve snapshots to political cartoons and contemporary shunga
, and ranging in quality from amateur cyberporn to works of considerable artistic competency.
produced by individual artists. Unseen aims to capture a portion of the Internet-based Adult market by leveraging a completely new content production and delivery model . On the supply side, Unseen counts on the untold millions of individual authors ranging from established artists to amateurs, to home video enthusiasts. On the demand side, Unseen’s audience is equally diverse and includes a casual cyberporn aficionado and a serious art collector alike.
Another point of departure from typical Adult Web sites is Unseen’s stated policy of inclusiveness with respect to sexual orientation and subject matter. While most Adult sites on the Internet occupy a very narrow niche, Unseen offers a home to all types of visual expressions of human sexuality
.
ads) to 400 registered users and 14,000 daily image views .
Unseen features completely open metadata
. In other words, any registered user can adjust any metadata
pertaining to any other user’s work (not just his own), such as “hardness rating” or the sexual orientation
of the content. This is a radical departure from the generally-accepted way the modern Web 2.0
sites, such as Flickr
, treat user metadata
by allowing only the owner of the content (or, in some cases a group of people designated by the owner) edit the metadata
. Unseen’s stated reason for this departure is to broaden the base of metadata
authorship
. Server-side algorithms weigh each metadata
adjustment based on a variety of factors (owner vs. non-owner, the number of adjustments to date) in order to guarantee fairness and convergence.
In keeping with Unseen’s open metadata
model, it features open and adaptive tagging. Not only can any registered user add tags to any content, but each tag has a weight with respect to each gallery. Over time, each gallery acquires a set of tags that reflect not only its author's but the entire Unseen community’s perception of the content. Each time a user performs a search on a particular set of tags and interacts with the search results, the server-side algorithms readjust the weights of the tags with respect to the galleries on the hit list.
Online marketplace
Online marketplace refers to a type of ecommerce site where product and inventory information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processes by the marketplace operator. Online marketplaces have become a driver of new business for online merchants that leverage them as...
for erotic art
Erotic art
Erotic art covers any artistic work that is intended to evoke erotic arousal or that depicts scenes of love-making. It includes paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, music and writing.-Definition:...
. It does not produce nor commission any of the artworks featured on its site. Rather, it provides an eCommerce infrastructure enabling the hosting and sale of the erotica artworks authored by individual artists, which Unseen calls “grassroots erotica.”
The content ranges widely, spanning all major artistic media, varying in subject matter from naïve snapshots to political cartoons and contemporary shunga
Shunga
' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement...
, and ranging in quality from amateur cyberporn to works of considerable artistic competency.
Concept
Unseen’s principal idea is to deliver a self-regulating Web-based marketplace for all types of erotic artErotic art
Erotic art covers any artistic work that is intended to evoke erotic arousal or that depicts scenes of love-making. It includes paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, music and writing.-Definition:...
produced by individual artists. Unseen aims to capture a portion of the Internet-based Adult market by leveraging a completely new content production and delivery model . On the supply side, Unseen counts on the untold millions of individual authors ranging from established artists to amateurs, to home video enthusiasts. On the demand side, Unseen’s audience is equally diverse and includes a casual cyberporn aficionado and a serious art collector alike.
Another point of departure from typical Adult Web sites is Unseen’s stated policy of inclusiveness with respect to sexual orientation and subject matter. While most Adult sites on the Internet occupy a very narrow niche, Unseen offers a home to all types of visual expressions of human sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
.
History
The Unseen site was launched on March 1, 2008 by Liquid Amber, a Berkeley, California based Internet development firm. By September 1 the site grew (through the word-of-mouth and occasional CraigslistCraigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
ads) to 400 registered users and 14,000 daily image views .
Web Site Features
The Unseen web site implements a range of features designed to support a rich user experience for both content authors and content consumers. The home page features two sets of gallery thumbnails: “the most viewed” and “recommended.” The most viewed galleries are presented in the order of popularity as recorded and calculated automatically by the Unseen application. Recommended are the newly uploaded galleries designated by the Unseen editorial staff as meeting a certain standard of quality and artistic competence. In the future, Unseen plans to deploy sophisticated social networking capabilities which will (among other things) automate the editorial recommendations .Unseen features completely open metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
. In other words, any registered user can adjust any metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
pertaining to any other user’s work (not just his own), such as “hardness rating” or the sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
of the content. This is a radical departure from the generally-accepted way the modern Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
sites, such as Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
, treat user metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
by allowing only the owner of the content (or, in some cases a group of people designated by the owner) edit the metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
. Unseen’s stated reason for this departure is to broaden the base of metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
authorship
. Server-side algorithms weigh each metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
adjustment based on a variety of factors (owner vs. non-owner, the number of adjustments to date) in order to guarantee fairness and convergence.
In keeping with Unseen’s open metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
model, it features open and adaptive tagging. Not only can any registered user add tags to any content, but each tag has a weight with respect to each gallery. Over time, each gallery acquires a set of tags that reflect not only its author's but the entire Unseen community’s perception of the content. Each time a user performs a search on a particular set of tags and interacts with the search results, the server-side algorithms readjust the weights of the tags with respect to the galleries on the hit list.
Monetization
Unseen offers two way for the artists to monetize their work:- Direct sales of original works of art, not unlike a traditional art hosting site.
- Sales of reproduction prints of the artwork, not unlike a traditional photo sharing site. Reproduction prints are offered as postcards, note cards and 3 sizes of gallery quality inkjet prints.
- Unseen has hinted at the possibility of introducing premium content galleries in 2010.
See also
- erotic
- eroticaEroticaErotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
- erotic artErotic artErotic art covers any artistic work that is intended to evoke erotic arousal or that depicts scenes of love-making. It includes paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, music and writing.-Definition:...
- erotic photography
- nude photographyNude photographyNude photography is a style of art photography which depicts the nude human body as a study. Nude photography should be distinguished from glamour photography, which places more emphasis on the model and her/his sexuality, and treats the model as the primary subject. Nude photography should also be...
- life drawing
- figure drawingFigure drawingIn art, a figure drawing is a study of the human form in its various shapes and body postures - sitting, standing or even sleeping. It is a study or stylized depiction of the human form, with the line and form of the human figure as the primary objective, rather than the subject person. It is a...
- figure paintingFigure paintingFigure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
- gesture drawingGesture drawingA Gesture drawing is work of art defined by rapid execution. Typical situations involve an artist drawing a series of poses taken by a model in a short amount of time, often as little as 30 seconds, or as long as 2 minutes...
- nude modeling
- depictions of nudity
- sex-positive feminismSex-positive feminismSex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s...
- paid contentPaid contentPaid content is the non-free electronic commerce of digital content and information goods in digital media. Examples of digital media are, for example, the Internet, the World Wide Web or mobile media...
- user-generated contentUser-generated contentUser generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
- online communityOnline communityAn online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...