Sex Tech News: Bumble CEO on Post-Pandemic Dating, XBIZ Exec Award Nominees & ’90s Phone Sex
Also, the celebrity-backed sex toy trend is here to stay with the release of “Demi Wand.”
“The series is hosted by Tina Horn, host of sex, kink, and gender podcast Why Are People Into That? and creator of sci-fi sex rebel comic book series SFSX.
“In the early 1990s, American TelNet brought together an army of phone sex operators that focused on fostering a human connection – an empathetic ear to the lonely and repressed – and in the process, grossed over $2B. Despite the staggering revenue and groundbreaking innovations in aural connection, the podcast series uncovers the truth behind how the operators themselves were left to struggle alone with the shame and stigma of providing these live sexual services, and how that led to the company’s downfall”. (via Peter White/Deadline)
- XBIZ Announces Nominees for 2022 Online Exec and Retail Exec Awards
Nominees for both the online and retail industry editions of the 2022 XBIZ Exec Awards were announced last week.
The online industry awards are set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at the Kimpton Everly Hotel in Hollywood. Go to the list of nominees for the 2022 Online Exec Awards.
Conversely, the retail industry awards are set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at the W Hollywood Hotel. Go to the list of nominees for the 2022 Retail Exec Awards.
“The annual XBIZ Exec Awards honor the best of the best from the adult business community for their outstanding creativity and leadership, celebrating exceptional career achievement across a wide variety of prominent industry roles. Nominees are selected based on a range of success factors including business acumen, community standing, and overall leadership,” stated XBIZ in a news release.
Voting for the 2022 XBIZ Exec Awards continues through Tuesday, Nov. 23. (via XBIZ.net)
“Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd joins Emily Chang to discuss the online dating app’s third-quarter results, international growth and what the future of dating holds post-pandemic and in the metaverse.”(via Bloomberg Technology)
“Released in collaboration with Bellesa, Lovato’s ‘Demi Wand’ vibrator is meant to de-stigmatize sexual wellness (and induce a little pleasure)…
“Although Lovato’s public endorsement of a sexual wellness product is certainly progressive, the past couple of years have seen several celebrities backing sex toys and sexual wellness brands, including Lily Allen, who launched her “Liberty” vibrator on Womanizer.com last fall.
“Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop, meantime, released its first vibrator on Valentine’s Day. Around the same time, rapper Cardi B featured Vush’s “Majesty 2” vibrator in the video for her single “Up.” And in November of last year, both Cara Delevingne and Dakota Johnson took on executive roles at sexual wellness companies (Lora DiCarlo and Maude, respectively).” (via Oscar Hartzog/Rolling Stone)
