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AOL uses Porn Stars on AIM

19 years ago
61 Comments
by ck
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AOL
AOL Uses JDate Marketing Technique?
Thanks to boii for the heads up on this graphic that shows AOL using porn stars as models on their AOL Instant Messenger. You may recall that we reported how Haaretz busted JDate for also using porn stars in their publicity materials. So like what is this? A new trend or something? Whatever. AOL is lame and JDate? You suck. Don’t be coy, you know why.

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ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

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61 Comments

  • Gerekti?inde gecelik görü?ebilen sizin iste?inize göre saatlik ya da tek seans ?eklinde de randevular veren esma yada sar???n güzeller kalite standartlar?n? çok yüksek tutuyor sa?l?kl? ili?kileri ile sizi güvenilir ko?ullarda misafir ederek mutlu ediyor. Elit kad?nlara güvenin onlarla beraber harika ucuz girls ili?kileri ya?amak için harekete geçin. Enerji dolu seks ili?kileri payla?an dinamik üniversiteli genç k?zlarda Kayseri escort platformu içerisinde sizin için üyelik olu?turdu. Eve gelen ve otele gelen seçenekleri ile bu k?zlardan randevu alabilir s?n?rs?z seks ayr?cal???n? onlarla beraber ya?ayabilir hatta anal ve cimcif ili?kilerde de bulu?abilirsiniz.

  • Simply adding a reference to back up my statement that there are all kinds of Jews everywhere, from SouthHampton to the porn industry. And I thought some your more depraved readers would find themselves unable to leave the site, thus freeing you from their commentary.

  • When you say, “check out,” what exactly are you saying, Chutzpah?

  • Speaking of Jewish porn…the sterotype that Jews control Hollywood also applies to the porn industry. Check out some of Marty Zion’s work at Nectar Entertainment. He is just as rightfully Jewish as the Green Lubuvitcher, just into differnt kinds of mitzvahs…

  • “We are capable of anything and that’s what you should expect” is a GREAT line! Much more appealling than “100% Kosher”. All Jews are capable of any level of dignified or disgusting behavior.

    For exapmple, last night a chasid with long payees and full garb walked into the Jewish Lock & Key party and walked out with the most scantily clad woman in the room. I’ll assume he was the owner of the club to give benefit of the doubt, because I just can’t make any sense of it at all. The women I was talking to is first learning about Shabbos through various kiruv organizations and she almost passed out when she saw him! To his credit, he didn’t touch the plate of fried calamari, which was the only thing in the room that I was interested in touching. As usual, most of the women were cute, educated, friendly…and the men were just plain scary and completely lacking in social skills! Which proves my theory that if a Jewish guy is decent, he has no need for singles mixers or internet sites, women will just automatically flock to him wherever he is.

    This just in from that summer issue of New York
    “I feel sorry for the women my age, in their thirties and forties. There’s no market for them anymore.” OUCH!

    If Jdate is copying pictures off the internet and then not compensating the photographer who took the pictures, that falls into the whole new & complicated emerging area of intellectual property and copyright law with regard to the internet. Similar to the issue with your graphic of the ipod wearing Rabbi being utilized. Again, this is America and if they are not breaking any laws with the lifting of the porn pic instead of paying for the right to use a picture, more profit for them, not a bad thing if you are a business owner. Did they ever state they wanted a squeaky clean image? I never noticed that. (This should get me another free month)

  • laya,

    Your remark is glib and without substance.

    ck, I am satisfied that tho the pix do not follow the dictum of tznius, you think that it is a matter of personal choice, regardless of what halacha says about tznius.

    I can accept that, tho I don’t agree with pix that are inherently offensive and you don’t have to be a Jew to react in that manner.

    Thanks so much for the exchange.

  • barefoot jewess, I’m pretty sure the girl in the porn doesn’t define herself as adhering to orthodox judaism, so yeah, personal choice

  • Barefoot Jewess: I don’t understand why you are still confused. Paris Hilton, as she is pictured on this site, is totally unattractive. Hell, she’s practically the poster child FOR tznius. I’m not glorifying her, I’m mocking her and the ridiculous way she dresses.

    I mean, why not, as others have, get upset at the green martian Lubavitcher Rebbe? Was I trying to disrespect him? No. I was making fun of people who think Lubavitchers are some kind of wierd alien presence.

    So sometimes I come off as smug. But really most of the time I try to be respectful and deferential. And I’ve said it like a zillion times – just because one follows Orthodoxy it does not neccessarily follow that one is a better Jew. I’ll eat at anyone’s house who satisfies me that they keep kosher. I’m also fully satisfied with the way I lead my life and the standards I choose to adhere to. Making a personal choice is not the unique purview of Reform Judaism, it’s how humans function. I mean seriously, what don’t you understand?

  • Okay, the “personal choice” remark is aimed at laya.

  • ck,

    Honestly, I don’t think of you as a hypocrite at all! None of us necessarily square things according to our beliefs. None of us are consistent. I think that what bugs me is the triumphalist smug and certain overtones of what you write sometimes regarding Judaism. If that weren’t there, I wouldn’t be here, wondering.

    Frankly I envy you your certainty and your place in the order of the universe.

  • ck,

    I am however not the poster child for Orthodox Judaism. The decision to put up pictures that are less than tznius is a personal one, and as far as religious issues go, that’s between me and hashem

    Again, I appreciate your response, no lie. Does the fact that you claim to be no poster child for Orthodoxy make it okay, then? How do you reconcile it? Especially when you could just remove the pix? Or are you saying you willfully transgress? Maybe for some greater purpose?

    That you choose to keep your decisions between you and G-d I find interesting. When it’s a question of tznius, where women need to keep a lot covered, and it is a well known dictum in Judaism, and VERY public, why then does this become between you and G-d rather between you and your very public audience?

    If you can explain to me why it’s okay, I would be happy to listen. A personal choice? Wow, as TM has pointed out, that sure sounds like Reform. 🙂 (sorry couldn’t help it!).

  • TM,

    Thanks so much for your reply. If indeed, a post like this is experimental, permit me to say that the picture sucks and it did not need to be published to emphasise the point. Generally, I love the energy of this site, but this is a sticking point and quite confusing to me. Like you need pix like this to draw people in? What?

    And I still don’t see how one can reconcile the publishing with the major value of tzniut. Right now I am looking at the pic of laya with her tee and contrasting it with the others, and tho it may seem ironic or cutting edge, it just comes across as confusing. I am not accusing anyone of hypocrisy. Just wondering how people square it with their conscience and their religious leanings.

  • Since when does Netzach speak for us?

    Barefoot, we are a number of people from different backgrounds, life circumstances, ages and movements who have an outlet to write about things that we find funny, sad, worrisome, interesting, disturbing, of some value, of no value, etc.

    The great majority of the time we try to keep it Jewish-themed and that may include things that tangentially touch on Judaism or the Jewish world. Jewish porn? What can you do, Ron Jeremy is Jewish even as another corner of the Jewish world is inhabited by Nice Jewish Girl who at 35 has never even touched a man.

    There is also one more aspect which is that we have no control over what the others post. While I don’t really understand this particular post at all, on the same day and the day following, ck also posted a number of posts directly related to Israel and Judaism while posting another that had a very distant relationship to Judaism. He was probably having fun or putting up something that he thought was for general amusement. Since we have no rules and this is all one big experiment, consider these experimental posts.

  • the pic of PH, I believe, was to illustrate how raunchy she is. hence how marrying beneath her was a difficult, but not impossible feat, by marrying some dude who’s fam sells weapons to arab dictators = bad for Israel. I didn’t think it was so complex.

    There are Jewish porn stars. There are Jewish pimps too. This is not a “frum site” its a jewish one. Plus, we gotta give the little heredi boys something to keep coming back for when they check out Jewlicious at the internet cafe.

    as far as tznius go, we have extolled its virtures time and again, (often to muffti’s disagreement) but at the end of the day, it’s a personal choice.

  • Barefoot Jewess: I am fully affiliated with Orthodox Judaism. I belong to an Orthodox synagogue, keep kosher, respect the sabbath etc. etc. I am however not the poster child for Orthodox Judaism. The decision to put up pictures that are less than tznius is a personal one, and as far as religious issues go, that’s between me and hashem. I also don’t wear a black fedora or have payess. Like I said, Orthodoxy is not a monolith. If it helps any to understand where I’m coming from, I am also Sephardic.

    Finally, semi-naked men and women exist in the Jewish world. I like to think opf Jewlicious as a snapshot of that Jewish world, warts and all. Or butt cheeks. Whatever.

    If you wish to imply that I am a hypocrite, go right ahead. I’ll try to live with that. But in other posts I have sung the praises of tznius – do a search and see for yourself. In fact that pic of a scantily clad Paris Hilton may be seen as advocating tznius. Paris Hilton looks like a tart and is not at all attractive in that photo. The message is that if you too want to look idiotic, go ahead and dress like Paris. If not, or if you wish to truly understand sensuality, consider tznius.

  • Thanks for the reply, ck. Fact is, you represent yourself as an Orthodox Jew, which is a religious Jew, right? Fact is, that you could have actually blogged about this without the pix. And semi-naked women show up more than once in the posts. This site is about Judaism and Jews? Then why the pic of Paris Hilton?

    I don’t know where the idea of your being paid came from- not from my comments. As for imposing a standard? Not my intent. Just wondering how you all reconcile Judaism with your presentation.

    I asked specifically about tznius. How do you reconcile that with the pix you post? I think that is a fair question.

  • Hmmmm…. Jdate is a part of Spark Net, a company that runs a group of dating sites internationally. Are the owners Jewish these days?

  • Good grief. The story is about two companies, one of which is run by and for Jews, who try to maintain squeaky clean images but who nonetheless use porn in their marketing because it’s cheaper than stock photography and they assume people won’t notice. If the teeny, very pixelated nudes offended or titilated you – that wasn’t my intent. Sheesh. At least we didn’t write about the Hitler sex dolls.

    Furthermore, several people work on this site and I am no representative of religious Judaism. This site is just about Judaism and Jews, that’s all. We’re not Aish or askmoses.com, we’re not affiliated with anyone and no one pays us. So please do not try to impose any kind of standard on us, nor should you expect one. We’re capable of anything – that’s all you should expect.

  • netsach,

    You are right- it is real porn. I hadn’t looked closely. Actually, I wish I hadn’t.

  • Barefoot Jewess,

    I would call these pics above like real porn, not just semi porn.

    The truth is I admire youre sense of offense of this. You may have more sensitivity then I would. That is not really a bad thing.

    From what I know of this site, It is not completely run by “religious” people as such.

    To answer those questions with more authority I would refer you to a guy named CK.
    I believe that this article is his work and he has a lot of say over screening comments and such.

  • netsach,

    I am asking differently. Nothing to do with “sin”.

    Hey guys, why the semi-porn on a site run by religious Jews?

  • Netsach,

    Thanks for your reply. I did not think of it as hypocrisy. I really do find it confusing. Honestly. Truly.

    As for the “there are all kinds of sins” argument. You’re kidding me, right? I did not perceive it as a sin as much as a conundrum- because regardless of the stream of Judaism, semi-porn goes against tzniut at the very least. And the kind of tzniut we’re talking about here is one that all streams can agree upon.

    Honestly, the women are almost naked. And the Jewish justification for that is?

  • If you are asking, I will try to answer with a
    certain spin….

    I think you are indeed looking at a form of
    hypocracy. I provide no apology. I am no
    framer or programer of this site either. I would
    like to emphasize again, that there are all
    kinds of other “sins” besides hypocracy.
    Sometimes it doesn’t take much to see that
    hypocracy is often the least of evils that
    happen. Why should I be so judgemental to
    assume which is has more weight. Who can
    know which sin is worse then another….?

    I am not in mood to go around getting in
    peoples face about thier sins. I am not thier
    rabbi. I don’t even know if its a Rabbi’s job to
    do that either.

  • Okay guys, bear with me here. I lurk once in a while (tho less so over time). I used to enjoy some of the debates that went on. I particularly like that ‘themiddle’ has a voice and speaks for me many a time.

    I noticed that there is a huge emphasis on Orthodoxy here. Yet what confuses me is all the pictures of semi-naked women, especially recently.
    It’s like you guys are sending a mixed message, cause tznius seems so important and yet you publish these pix (which, btw, I find offensive, especially on a Jewish site).

    What am I not getting?

  • First, just because a model makes money through pornography doesn’t mean she should be prohibited from making money with her clothes on.

    I don’t think the issue is that it’s the same model – I think the issue is that it’s the same picture.

  • Judi,

    I don’t know about “jewish relationships” to be found. However, for the professional working lady we are talking about a solid source of good paying clientele looking for goods and services offered.

  • netzach…well…I like it when Jewlicious is edgy and underground…not meet the press…I mean only if it’s meet the press like WB NEws…edgy and kind of stupid, yeah, baby!

  • jsirpicco,

    Do you find this blog and subject more entertaining then the rest of the “Yaawwwnnn” material here?

    I cant see anybody really taking a blog like this that seriously. At least I hope nobody does….

  • I guess I’m missing something. Are these porn stars actually looking for good, solid Jewish relationships? I mean, it must be tough working in a field where everything’s naked and superficial. After a while a girl just can’t wait to settle down, put on a sheitl and cover her elbows.

    Now ck, when are we going to start seeing naked men on the site? Just asking…

  • Jsirpicco is Back! And you thought it was safe…Jdate Jdate Jdate….ahhh….it’s the collective NEUROTIC Cry of the entire Jewish people…love me, sleep with me, so I can dump you, you worthless nothing! That’s how jdate works…and yet, it’s just so TEMPTING to hope and pray, maybe, just maybe he or she is out there, my perfect cyber Jew….only Jews could have figured this one out….jsirpicco over and out. New post, too. jsirpicco.blogspot.com

  • VG point there, so many people are born into the system, as opposed to the Baal Teshuvas who make the choice.

  • First, just because a model makes money through pornography doesn’t mean she should be prohibited from making money with her clothes on. Kudos to Jdate and AOL for giving these models a chance to make a more respectable living!

    Second, there is nothing wrong with the Management or Customer Service at JDate. I have been a premium member for 3 years. They were innovators in designing easy to use software and they have every right to charge whatever prices the market will bear.

    I’ve often been told “it’s not the Torah that is flawed, the problems are with the people who are trying to practice the Torah”, similiarly, I would say “it’s not JDate, it’s the people who are trying using the system”.

    People who have problems with the JDate are usually trying to get the service for free or get around the system in some other way. This is America. They have the right to make their money and censor the profiles if they want to, just like you have the write to edit comments on your blog if you want to.

    Had it not been for Jdate, I would not have met all the whackos I have been dating for the past 3 years. I don’t blame them for the wild and weird experiences I have had.

    (Now I think I will send them a copy of this and ask them for free month)

  • Why a moose is kosher that is waht it has to do with something Jewish.

  • Gee Esther,

    From hearing that perpective on east coast
    culture, chock up another reason I am glad I
    didn’t really spend enough time there to get to
    understand what you are talking about.

    Yeah Jobber,

    bezeman hakayatz
    Tsochaik im hazion…zeeu

  • One of my readers wrote to me earlier this year and asked a question about this…it also gets into questions of “how Jewish” a person should be to be on JDate, questions of matrilineal/patrilineal descent, how honest to be when…

    All the Gentiles I know in NYC are pretty darned Jewish. Of course, if they fall in love, there’s still the issue of if a bird loves a fish, but…I think that most of them think all New Yorkers are, in some way, Jewish. I blame Seinfeld, a show on which no one is Jewish and everyone is Jewish all at the same time.

  • Netsach, its all just jokers, Soon we will find other sites to bitch and moan at. Where you going for vaca this summer?
    Peace,
    Jobber

  • Sometimes I find it difficult to know when
    somebody is being faceteous or not; I can’t
    read minds. Often what people say is
    ambiguous, in fact that is one device out there
    to make a point, which I sometimes miss. That
    is one reason I felt like ranting like I just did. I felt there has been times I misread opinion here as serious and starting raving, ranting and carrying on….Only to find myself totally off the mark. If this guy is actually being serious; I think I should give him my blessing.

  • Solomyr! I love Gentiles! I really do! And yes, I have non-Jews over for shabbat and for seder and just for the heck of it! So really, I have nothing against non-Jews. Like.. at all.

    Having said that, Jews go to JDate expecting to meet Jews. And in that respect JDate provides an important service. However, JDate ought not facilitate Jews hooking up with non-Jews, especially given their predatory marketing practices. I mean I don’t wanna sound close minded but there’s simply not enough of us to go around. We can’t afford it. We need all our Jews. And JDate ought to help but they are so revenue oriented that they just don’t care. So anyone can go on JDate, Jew, Gentile, single, married, whatever and as long as you have that $39.00 a month, they don’t care. That’s not really the kind of company I can work with or support. They are actively engaged in practices that offend my values and beliefs. So fuck ’em.

    But gentiles? I have no problem with gentiles. Ask any gentile that knows me.

  • You don’t use JDate becasue they let gentiles use it? ck, that’s a just bigoted. it’s one thing to prevent gentiles from holding the torah or preforming certin mitzvot, but to avoid using a freakin’ wetbiste becasue you might hit on/get hit on by a non-jew chick is just close-minded. don’t you invite some goyish kids to seder? don’t they read this blog? say it was a joke ck. say it ain’t so.

  • Well Netsach, I have no tats and I only eat kosher food. I also do not use JDate because they allow non-Jews to use the service too. Heck if I wanted non-Jews I can just walk down the street to any local bar!

  • Jewlicious Kvetch:

    There is such a thing as a Jewish Pig.
    I named my pig hymie shwartz, a resident of

    hymie town.That doesn’t make Pig kosher.
    Oink….
    Lots of Jewish things are not kosher. Now I
    don’t know what Jewlicious people were really
    thinking when they called thier site “Jewlicious
    100% Kosher”
    Except maybe the tattoo on whats thier
    name’s ass that says,

    Kof, Shin, Raysh….

    Kosher….

    Oh yeah, that explains it

    I got a special blessing for anyone who takes
    this stuff, including Jewlicious, to seriously:

    Bahrooch ata…..

    Keesh Meer tuchas

  • Moose, relax and just run with it. Or would you like another Jewish Education discussion?

  • JDate – a JEWISH singles site, used porn stars in their ads and now so has AOL. It’s a subtle dig against JDate… sort of. Just a reminder of what f*ck ups they are

  • As I keep saying what dose this one have to do with any thing Jewish?