KickTraq

Making hardware is easy. Making sex toys and selling them on Kickstarter is, sadly, hard. Though sex toy makers have long been lumped in with pornographers and and other businesses of ill repute, there is a new crop of sex toy makers looking to get real and hit the mainstream. And we must remember that the sex toy industry isn’t some furtive little market. The industry is worth over $15 billion per year and, whether Kickstarter likes it or not, millions of toys are sold per year to millions of happy customers. (Read More)

Kickstarter is only the most recent technology company to find itself forced to choose what kind of speech is allowed on its platform. (Read More)

It's hard out there for a single person. Here I was thinking that the latest developments in "pick up artistry" I would have to deal with while, say, at a bar might be that a fellow would come up and try to "neg" me. That move, espoused by pick-up bibles and seduction guides like Neil Strauss' The Game, is apparently hopelessly declasse these days. (Read More)

Facebook isn't the only one with content issues these days. Kickstarter has been forced to apologize and change its guidelines after a "misogynistic" seduction guide raised more than $16,000 on the crowdfunding platform. (Read More)

This time, the pitchfork-wielding Internet mob is right. (Read More)

Seduction Culture and its proliferation of seduction manuals is one of the most fascinating – and troubling – cottage industries on the Internet. Spanning the mediums of books, ebooks, seminars, paid-content web sites, and even television shows, (and, yes, Opposite Day posts as well), these manuals dangle the “secret” of bedding women to lonely young men. And not just any woman – each seduction manual promises its reader the hottest women in any bar. The phrases “model,” “super-model,” and “looks just like a super-model” are thrown about with the same frequency that Stephen Hawking throws around “gravity” and “time” in his books. (Read More)

Last week, a Kickstarter campaign for a book called Above The Game: A Guide to Getting Awesome with Women received much flak after comedian and writer Casey Malone pointed out disturbing passages from the book posted on Reddit. Yesterday, the book’s author, Ken Hoinsky, announced that he will be rewriting parts of his book, with guidance from Ben Kassoy, a petition writer at DoSomething.org, as well as other anti-sexual assault advocates and organizations. (Read More)

The author of a “seduction guide” that preached “physical escalation” and constant touching of women apologized for some of its content while complaining that it can be misinterpreted in a statement posted online on Monday. (Read More)

Pick-up artists are, sadly, a community. It even has a handy three-letter abbreviation: PUA. It dates back to the 1970s and has been enabled and expanded, like all affinity groups, by the Internet's network effect. In the last week, I suspect that tens of millions of people, if not more, have become aware of the extent of the subculture due to a Kickstarter campaign for a book about applying PUA stratagems. A guy not involved in that community spotted the project and raised an objection in a blog post in its closing hours due to what he said was material intended for the book but not posted on Kickstarter that advised forms of sexual assault. Kickstarter declined to halt the campaign; it funded; Kickstarter then apologized and made changes. Was the writer correct about sexual assault? Are PUAs misunderstood? Did Kickstarter under-, then overreact? (Read More)

On Wednesday morning Kickstarter was sent a blog post quoting disturbing material found on Reddit. The offensive material was part of a draft for a “seduction guide” that someone was using Kickstarter to publish. The posts offended a lot of people — us included — and many asked us to cancel the creator’s project. We didn’t. We were wrong. (Read More)

In theory, Kickstarter is a great medium — we love that struggling companies or lesser-known charities can get the attention and funding they deserve, and don't even get us started on the wonders it's done for the Veronica Mars movie. But, like many things in life, all it takes is one bad seed to ruin the whole thing for everybody. And today, we found that seed on Kickstarter. (Read More)

You may have heard about Above the Game. If not, it’s a book written by someone who is clearly a virgin offering his perspective on how to make a woman have sex with you. Note the wording; there’s not really a whole lot of “Women are people” in this guy’s philosophy. Among other things, he basically advises invading a woman’s personal space and forcibly putting her hands on your groin. If that sounds vile and abhorrent, you’d be correct! But Kickstarter is not taking it down and, loathsome as it may be, I think they’re probably right not to. Here’s why. (Read More)

Crowdfunding website Kickstarter has apologised to its users and banned people from raising money for "seduction guides", after criticism of a book project named Above The Game that was accused of encouraging sexual assaults on women. (Read More)

We love Kickstarter. We genuinely thought they'd pull the project down or at least issue a statement explaining why they weren't pulling it down but that they care about violence against women. Instead, the last 48 hours has been a case study in how NOT to handle a crisis. (Read More)

There’s a new kickstarter movement out there, and it is to boycott Kickstarter.com. One of the goals of a Kickstarter project is to find creative ways to “kick start” a project that might otherwise be impossible. Films, music, campaigns, etc. All with one thing in common, they need funding to get the project off the ground, that’s where the company comes in for funding. Having your own Kickstarter is the “in” thing to do, and it comes as no surprise that a few distasteful projects have mixed in. A book project titled “Above the Game” is one of these ventures, a complete how to guide of sexual assault. That’s right, the book details how to dominate, subjugate, and force another person into sexual acts. (Read More)

Over the past couple of days leading up to the successful funding of the Above the Game: A Guide to Getting Awesome With Women Kickstarter, the project has come to the attention of many for its questionable content, and its success in the context of Kickstarter’s basic guidelines. I will preface this post with a trigger warning, as the information below constitutes a sensitive, but very important, subject to discuss. The main issue that has been raised with this particular Kickstarter, a book project begun by Ken Hoinsky, is that the material in the book, while not stated as such on the Kickstarter page, includes advice on “getting awesome with women” that constitutes harassment and even rape. (Read More)

What one man calls his guide to "getting awesome with women" is being labelled a manual for would-be rapists by others. On Wednesday, popular Reddit user Ken Hoinsky reached the $16,000 mark for a Kickstarter project to turn his "Above The Game" series into a book. (Read More)

There's a pick-up artist project on Kickstarter — (over)funded almost exclusively thanks to Reddit, natch —- that encourages men to "force" women to rebuff advances because “personal space is for pussies." Will Kickstarter shut it down before the creator receives over $15,000 this afternoon? (Read More)

I can't believe this rapey advice book is actually happening. (Read More)

We hit $9000! This means I will be including a bonus chapter on Juggling Multiple Relationships! The next bonus chapter is at $12,000: Rules of the Wingman! Please spread the word and try to make it happen! P.S. There is still 1 early bird coaching... (Read More)

Another stretch goal hit!! You guys are amazing!If you're going... to San... Francisco... or New York City, then you are welcome to join the free seminar for all backers! Dates to be announced! The next stretch goal is $9,000: Bonus chapter on... (Read More)

Hey guys! You guys keep amazing me! First off, I am taking questions live on reddit. Check out the "Ask Me Anything" event: CLICK HERE Not only is the book fully funded, but you unlocked 3 stretch goals so far! These are: Bonus chapter on ONLINE... (Read More)

Hey guys! I've been absolutely overwhelmed by the reception Above The Game has received so far. The book is really shaping up nicely, too! I've finished the first manuscript and will be working with the designers this week. Stretch goals time! So far... (Read More)

TARGET REACHED! You guys are AWESOME! Thanks to your support Above The Game is officially being published! And we reached the goal on the first day (wow, was not expecting that...) Also, we reached the $3500 STRETCH GOAL! I will be adding a chapter... (Read More)

A few people have griped that Kickstarter doesn't support Paypal. Also some redditors (I love you guys!) offered to donate via Bitcoin. Please message me on here or email me at TheRealTofuTofu@gmail.com and I will provide you an alternate way to... (Read More)