On 
the surface, it would seem like 2015 is an ideal year for porn to break into the mainstream.
Adult actresses are becoming increasingly well known—making cameos on popular TV shows and sometimes trending on Facebook. Meanwhile, one of the year’s more anticipated movies—50 Shades of Grey—is an erotic tale that explores themes previously relegated to the world of adult film.
Amazon’s 
purchase of Twitch wasn’t something we were expecting.
The reports, after all, had been quite definitive: Google was going to be the buyer. But on Monday, everything turned upside down.
Amazon’s 
interest in the video game world is taking a huge step forward with Monday’s $970 million deal to buy game streaming service Twitch Interactive.
The all-cash deal, which came out of the blue after months of unconfirmed reports that Google’s YouTube unit was about to buy the company, will give Amazon an extraordinarily popular streaming video arm—one that could actually rival YouTube. It also continues the company’s ongoing efforts to assume a significant role in the gaming industry.
Google 
is undeniably a big deal, and analysts believe it’s only getting bigger. Ten years after it went public, the search and advertising giant has become an indispensable part of many people’s daily lives.
With a healthy cash stockpile on hand, an active venture capital arm and a cache that’s unrivaled in the online world, Google should be able to not only maintain its king of the hill status, but expand upon it over the next decade, analysts say.
In 
the 10 years since Google’s IPO, there has been a lot of coming and going among the company’s executive ranks.
Some senior staff members, wealthy from their stock options, decided the time was right to take a chance on a new venture. Others were lured to new positions, where they saw the chance to lead an Internet powerhouse—something they’d either never get to do at Google or would have to wait most of their career for the opportunity.
The success rate of Google’s executive defectors has been phenomenal, however. Here’s a look at where nine of the most notable have landed.
Has 
the long-rumored merger of two online video titans finally occurred?
Venturebeat is reporting Google has signed a deal to buy game-streaming service Twitch, for $1 billion. (Both companies are declining to comment on the report.)
Google 
is getting out of the porn advertising business.
The changes, which went into effect late Monday, prohibit any promotion of most sexually themed sites, specifically those that feature “graphic sexual acts with intent to arouse including sex acts such as masturbation.”
There’s 
going to be a lot of deja vu at this year’s Code Conference, put on by our partners at Re/code.
Anyone who attended the groundbreaking D: All Things Digital conferences over the past 11 years will recognize the high-powered lineup of senior executives. And the conversations about the impact of technology on our daily lives might seem familiar. But looming over this inaugural event is the shadow of another recognizable tech world presence: A possible bubble in tech valuations.
Two 
online video titans are about to team-up.
Variety and The Wall Street Journal are both reporting that Google’s YouTube is in negotiations to buy video game streaming service Twitch. Variety says the deal has been reached, with a price of $1 billion. The WSJ, though, contends talks are still in an early stage.
Microsoft 
vs. Sony is no longer the biggest battle in the video game world. These days it’s Apple vs. Google — and it’s proving to be a lucrative fight for game makers.
Just as the console giants regularly battle it out for third-party exclusive games, the kingpins of mobile are turning their sights on game developers as they look to widen their market share.
Chris Morris: Journalist 