Guys should rejoice, according to the Associated Press, for they no longer need to “throw themselves over their computer screens when the boss walks by.”
A July 20 article by AP reporter Don Babwin read like a press release from Playboy, announcing the magazine's new “safe for work” site. The new site features links and article about fashion, humor and, of course, sex. It even includes pictorials from the Playboy archives, but is technically nudity-free and contains direct references to “Playboy” in an attempt to avoid automatic filters.
The website is named The Smoking Jacket, a reference to Playboy creator Hugh Hefner's favorite attire.
Babwin's 16-paragraph article contained quotes from Playboy Editorial Director Jimmy Jellineck, Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey, the new site's lead producer, Matt Gibbs, and Tim Hwang, who runs ROFLCon, a conference on Internet culture.
"A lot of our audience logs on (to Playboy.com) after work and we saw that we were missing a golden opportunity to reach guys when they're online the most: when they're sitting at their desk, not working, sending e-mails to their friends," Jellinek said.
"The ideal is to be ... the go-to site for those who are bored at work,” Gibbs said.
Babwin didn't mention the lost productivity associated with sites like The Smoking Jacket, or the risks involved in so-called “safe-for-work” soft-core porn sites. The main page of the new site included at least 6 photographs of women in their bathing suits or underwear, as well as references to “getting laid,” “sexy babes,” “hot chicks” and “boob job benefits.” Safe for work, indeed.
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