Free online courses will focus on safety, marketing, and film production.

Sex work is a job just like other types of work. Newbies can benefit from training on how to succeed in a tough industry.

That’s one reason why popular adult platform FanCentro created Centro University, a free online school for aspiring performers and cam models. Live courses began on October 7 and kicked off with a student orientation.

“With the shift to premium fan sites, sex workers need to be versed in online marketing and film production, as well as actual sex,” said Kat Revenga, vice president at FanCentro.

The timing of these new courses’ release is particularly appropriate, given the high number of sex workers who have turned to online platforms since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The courses tackle not only the bread-and-butter of cam modeling such as video production, but also other important topics like adult marketing, online sales, taxes, accounting, and adult contracts.

They will also teach aspiring online sex workers how to protect their privacy, safety, and health while doing their work. Some lessons will be focused on consent and how to make sure that it’s respected at all times.

Once traveling regulations are lifted, Centro University says it plans on holding offline courses for a limited number of students.

Image source:FanCentro

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Crave’s Kickstarter campaign for updated clit stimulator offers virtual perks.

The sex tech brand Crave, which is mostly famous for its iconic Vesper necklace vibrator, has just launched through Kickstarter a new version of its Duet clitoral stimulator: the Duet Pro.

At the time of writing, the campaign has well surpassed its $20,000 goal—raking in more than $45,00 from over 360 sex-positive fans.

The Duet Pro has the same elegant design and metallic details as the previous version, but what makes it extra special is its customizability.

In fact, this gorgeous clitoral stimulator is fully programmable: the user can add new vibration patterns to the toy via a private online app called MyVibes.

According to the company, the app doesn’t collect any personal information aside from the product’s serial number in order to protect the privacy of the customers.

The user can also have fun with the vibrator’s 16 pre-set patterns, created by the company using extensive customer research, and a TURBO mode. It is possible to tweak or delete any pre-set vibration pattern using the MyVibes app.

So you want to build your own vibrator…

Other than the Duet Pro, Crave is offering its traditional Build-a-Vibe sessions online, via a Zoom session.

In the previous years, the company offered the opportunity to build your own sex toy during an in-person workshop with a Crave Technician. This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has brought the experience online for the first time. 

At the time of writing this article, backers can get a fully-assembled Duet Pro with a pledge of minimum $109, and a Duet Pro unassembled kit with a Build-a-Vibe session with a pledge of minimum $129.

Image sources: Kickstarter

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Separated or together, lovers are exploring virtual sex as a way to spice up their sex lives.

Lockdown lust is on the rise as American couples become more sexually adventurous and embrace virtual sex, according to a survey conducted by Lovehoney.

“Whether isolated together or separated due to social distancing, couples are also relying on sexting (89%) and virtual sex (48%) to keep the bedroom-fun going,” states the sex toy retailer.

In fact, over 54% of couples from the country took advantage of lockdown to have sex in a more adventurous way.

Surprisingly, 38% of respondents reported that the quarantine measures actually improved their sex lives. In addition, 43% of couples used sex toy more frequently during the COVID-19 crisis.

32% of participants said that they had a fulfilling sex life during lockdown and 76% will continue being more adventurous after the crisis ends. 

That said, not everyone has experienced a boost in their libido during.

Respondents aged between 18 and 34 experienced the most decrease in sexual activity, around 14%. The cause is probably that many young couples don’t live together, so they were forced to stay away from each other. 

In fact, nearly one quarter of participants haven’t been able to see their partner under quarantine mandates. This resulted in sex-related challenges for 63% of couples. Among couples who share a roof, 44% said they had to have sex more quietly to avoid disturbing family members in the house.

California has had the biggest decrease in sexual activity, with sex for couples dropping 19%. In Florida, instead, couples had 14% more sex than before lockdown.

Image sources: Wow Tech Group/Unsplash

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Popular news site plans to launch sexual wellness and review section.

According to a report by Digiday, sex toy sales have risen since the beginning of quarantine in March.

After all, it doesn’t surprise that, being stuck at home and unable to connect with flesh-and-blood lovers, many people have re-discovered the pleasure of masturbation.

Aside from that, this increase in sex toy sales boosted the revenue opportunities for publishers who advertise adult retailers on the internet. 

BuzzFeed’s spokespeople told Digiday that the site’s revenue from sex toy advertisements in April 2020 was nearly 600% up in comparison with April 2019. The famous news site is planning to launch a new section dedicated specifically to sexual wellness and sex toy recommendations.

In addition, Alexis Swerdloff, editor at The Strategist, commented that, while sex toy sales didn’t experience a sudden spike, like home office equipment did, they definitely increased over the quarantine period. 

Opportunities in the sex toy industry are particularly appealing for publishers because commissions are always competitive. Camilla Cho, SVP of ecommerce at Vox Media, and Nilla Ali, SVP of commerce at BuzzFeed, both stated that commissions for adult products from Amazon and other retailers tend to be pretty appealing.

The main reason is probably that adult retailers can’t promote themselves with other means, like ads on many social media platforms.

Hopefully, this increase in sale will help big and small sex tech business to overcome the COVID-related financial crisis successfully.

Photo by Dainis Graveris on SexualAlpha

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European sex tech organization announces in-person and online event series.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, Sx Tech 2020 is scheduled to open its doors on November 20 in Berlin, a month later than originally planned.

This year, the European conference comes back with a big upgrade: a 1,000-m² expo space for manufactures and retailers to showcase their sex tech products. This will provide a unique opportunity for sex tech innovators to find investors, strengthen relationships with their existing clients, and acquire new B2B contacts.

The event will be held in compliance with all regulations intended to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for both attendants and exhibitors.

Speakers will include Lucija Mlačak, Luka Matutinović, and Maja Matić Širola of LELO, respectively the global brand manager, global marketing director, and content manager.

There will also be several personalities who create feminist pornography, including Paulita Pappel, adult director and co-founder of Lustery.com, and Anna Richards, founder at FrolicMe.com.

Mariah Freya, founder of Beducated.com, a website that offers sexual wellness online courses, will also give her precious advice to the attendees.

Sex tech founders panel series

To further support sex tech companies hit by the coronavirus crisis, Sx Tech is also launching an ongoing virtual event series, called “Sx Tech Summer Bites – Online Talks With Founders in Sex Tech.”

The first of the series will be called Sex Tech & Founders of Color and will take place on June 18 at 7 PM CET time.

Featuring black business owners Raven Faber, founder and CEO of EngErotics LLC; Nenna Joiner, founder of Feelmore Adult; and Lidia Bonilla, pleasure product inventor, the panelist will share insights on prospering in the industry in the midst of the pandemic and social unrest

Image sources: Sx Tech Conference

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The popular app aims to end nude video calls and online orgies with machine learning.

Social distancing can take a toll on the sex-positive and swinger community: no more sex parties and orgies. At least not in person. 

Virtual orgies are now booming in popularity as sex clubs and group parties take refuge in video meeting software Zoom

Unfortunately, however, the video conferencing giant isn’t too happy with its new reputation for being the place to host virtual sex parties. 

Rolling Stone reports that Zoom is allegedly using “a mix of tools, including machine learning,” to detect and crack down on these adult events. 

A Zoom spokesperson told the media outlet that using its software to host online sex violates user policies that “explicitly prohibit any obscene, indecent, illegal, or violent activity or content on the platform.” 

The Zoom spokesperson didn’t confirm specifically which tools or processes it is using or how they detect sex-related content.

Adult director Alexandre Sartre is one of many sex party hosts who took to Zoom after lockdown measures kicked in. He offered his fans the sight of a lesbian foursome over video conference. Oscar Buzz, who previously hosted queer sex parties in Brooklyn, also use the online platform as an alternative sex party venue. 

But not everyone chose to host their virtual orgy on Zoom. 

Sex-positive organization NSFW hosted its virtual Couples’ PlayDat party elsewhere. While founder Daniel Saynt admitted to Rolling Stone that he chose to use another platform, he added he didn’t want to mention it for fear of it shutting down the sex parties. 

According to CNBC, Zoom’s daily users skyrocketed to 200 million in March. 

This surge in popularity, however, has come with some privacy issues, including “zoombombing,” which means when an intruder posts offensive content in a meeting.

Image source: antonbe, stokpic

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