Interesting post over at Gigaom about the opportunity for porn companies to take advantage of Apple’s use of HTML5 instead of Flash for its mobile devices. And, to complete the “which came first, the porn or the tech” cycle of engineering, how porn’s adoption of HTML5 will push HTML5 into the forefront of multimedia authoring and delivery.

Why Porn and the iPad Are Key for HTML5
The emergence of HTML5 is largely being spurred by the iPad and its big, high-resolution screen, which offers a far more immersive (read: porn-friendly) experience than any handset can deliver. So adult sites are moving quickly to re-encode their video content for the new, video-friendly device.
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Mobile porn has never found much of a market here in the U.S. thanks to carrier prohibitions and handsets that make for poor platforms to view it. The rise of the iPad will change that, though, providing an easy way for users to access adult content online wherever they are. And there’s no question that demand for online porn is immense: the worldwide adult web industry has an estimated value of $37.2 billion. The rise of the iPad will only fuel that fire.

I don’t know where that figure of $37.2 billion comes from, and my sources within “the industry” say that numbers like that are usually exaggerated. But it’s only fitting to let porn in through the back door, considering Apple’s reluctance to carry adult-oriented applications and content openly, not to mention its inability to define its “adult” standards with any sort of consistency.

According to Gigaom, porn studio Pink Visual is already on board with HTML5, and DIY porn exchange YouPorn is encoding everything for the new standard. Gay site RocketTube was well ahead of the game, ready with its shiny new HTML5 video before the iPad even launched. All this despite known security issues with HTML5.

I guess we’ll find out what’s more important to consumers, content security or easy access to porn. I know which way I’d bet.