ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Did I wake up on the wrong side of my coffin today or does today’s toy news just kind of suck ass? You’d think I’d be down with this because I find technoplushes intriguing. Via Gizmodo: The Voodoo Buddy combines ancient curses with modern technology. Users prick the networked voodoo doll with pins, and the output is annoying spam, disturbing email images, and disquieting text messages and phone calls channeled to the victim. Click the Gizmodo link to watch a brief video of how this works.

According to the Telepricker website:

In the TelePricker Project, presence is (mis)placed into a miniature physical form and this usually friendly, cuddly plaything becomes a source of misery and annoyance. Users beware! The voodoo doll could turn on you– prick too often and the doll might take your picture and send it to your victim, revealing your identity.

Kudos to the brilliant students of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program for using their high IQs for good, not evil.