YNOT – Expanding niches and categories. Adding features. Upgrading design elements, navigation and user interfaces. All of those things are important for adult websites when it comes to staying in the game. In addition to hot content, consumers are loyal only as long as their favorite hangouts continually invest in better technology, shinier digs and features that are easier to use.

One of the latest crazes in adult websites is the so-called adult social network. A logical evolution in a cyber-world gone Facebook-crazy, adult social networks live or die by their ability to give consumers a viable cross between tube sites and mainstream social hangouts. For adult social networks, it’s all about a sense of connectedness — a sense of community.

The developers at Pinsex.com understand this all too well. Pinsex’s developers said the destination entered the market a bit later than several other adults-only Pinterest clones because the network spent extra time in creating a robust, extensible playground. Development is ongoing, resulting in frequent additions of new tools and options that expand the site’s reach and attraction.

Two new features, in particular, have earned approval from both consumers and adult-industry marketing types who use the virtual pinboard to promote their businesses: an expansion into the gentlemen’s club and escort niches, and a user-to-user messaging system.

“The user-to-user messaging with our new Pinsex InMail system — along with traditional chat rooms and our massive webcam section — brings together all of our guests and registered members in exciting new ways,” said Marketing Manager João Matos. “This expansion of services is the key step in evolving our pinboard content interface into a fully functional adult community portal that provides erotica fans with everything they desire in a sexy way that is as powerful as it is simple.”

In fact, Pinsex is deceptively simple. The sleek, no-frills interface shows off the content instead of design elements, allowing users to find what they seek without distractions. A quick look behind the scenes finds members who travel using the community to hook up with gentlemen’s clubs and paid companions wherever they are. The webcam area — replete with more than 100,000 webcam performer profiles — is popular because it allows the kind of fantasy interaction many porn fans crave. As they do at more traditional webcam sites, Pinsex users employ the area as both a diversion and a matchmaking tool.

Affiliate webmasters, program owners and content producers have discovered Pinsex’s partner program enables promotion in new ways by connecting them directly with the consumers who seek their products. Performers, too, are using the site as a tool to reach their core fans in ways Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook don’t allow. They can be as nasty as they like on Pinsex, and no one will delete their accounts. For the more traditionally minded promoter, banner and ad space offer traditional kinds of … ahem … exposure.

As constant as their upgrade and update work is, the developers always seek new ideas. Adult industry insiders are invited to email questions and suggestions, feedback or business propositions. They’re particularly interested in contests, prizes and section expansion notions right now, Matos said, especially since the company expects to close a second round of investment funding in February.