There's another thing Josephine and her clients have in common: Like many of the techies she caters to, Josephine views herself as an entrepreneur. The Bay Area's high wages and concentration of young guys with disposable income have made it a magnet for sex workers -- a broad term that can refer to a number of services, including sexual massage, prostitution, and escort and dominatrix work. To protect their privacy, CNNMoney agreed to use pseudonyms or the professional names of those we spoke with for this story.
It's no surprise that a region where a sizable population is flush with cash has a thriving adult services industry. What's more intriguing is how those in the industry are using both the tools and the language of the area's tech startups to build their businesses -- and to try to change the public perception of their work.
She uses the same apps to grow her evening business. I also use Twitter calendar, which is just this simple free thing, but it's got very interesting analytics data. Stryker is a vocal advocate for the right of women to choose sex work and pursue it safely. She's proud of her job and spoke about it recently on " The Whorecast ," a podcast created by Siouxsie Q, a stripper, sex worker and activist. Siouxsie goes about building her client base in ways that will sound familiar to many small business operators.
Twitter is an especially good marketing tool for her for video business, which includes live shows where viewers can pay to interact with her. Like the startup founders who flock to the Bay Area, sex workers see their own potential for striking gold. Unless minors are involved, prostitution is typically a lower-priority crime for law enforcement agencies.
In San Jose -- the sprawling city that calls itself the capital of Silicon Valley -- the vice unit was disbanded in because of budget constraints. He sees technology as one of the sex trade's biggest growth drivers. With websites and smartphones, buyers and sellers who would never be comfortable trolling out on the street in public can arrange for discreet transactions, he says. Those "hobbyists," as regular clients call themselves, have dozens of review sites where they can offer appraisals of the providers they frequent.
