anellists at the Smooci app launch and screenshots of the app. Photos courtesy of Smooc

by Jake Hall
13 August 2019,

Smooci, a self-described “next-generation escort booking platform” that launched in Thailand back in 2016..

It’s 6pm on a hot, sticky weekday in east London, and a small selection of sex industry experts – some educators, some workers – are preparing for a panel about life as a sex worker. Tonight’s host is the charismatic Silvia Saige, who balances her work as a porn star with a career in stand-up comedy. She’s on top form; her one-liners come thick and fast (pun intended), as do her questions.

Buoyed by popularity and positive feedback, Kingsley and his team then set about developing the idea and creating an open platform. The core ideas were simple: clients could send bookings directly, and then escorts (called ‘companions’ on the app) had a ten-minute window to decide whether to accept.

An early marketing aspect revolved around GPS tracking, leading tabloids to latch on to the tagline of a sort of "Uber for escorts". Initially, sex workers would be tracked via the app’s location service, and clients would be able to see their exact location – a feature which raised concern amongst sex worker communities and presented obvious security fears. “We got that wrong,” Kal admits.

Still, Smooci is undeniably making some strides: its mantra is #ITakeWhatIMake, meaning that the app doesn’t take a cut of escorts’ earnings. However, the free service only allows escorts to make three bookings – after that, it locks them out for 72 hours unless they pay a $50/month membership fee

full https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/bjw8 ... g-platform

Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:12 am
anellists at the Smooci app launch

freudian slip?