Day-before-yesterday in publishing: turns out the YouTube-to-bestseller helter-skelter can deliver you right into the croc pit. Zoella, vlog sensation, became the proud recipient of a fastest debut seller ever crown early in December. Then this week, we’re all atwitter because maybe there was assistance given, in the writing of this book. What’s that, Scoob? A…
Dear NYCC ’14
Dear NYCC ’14, I’ll admit it. I was the girl looking through my fingers, cringing to my soul at the “I LOVE BIG CANS” banners of you previous incarnation. I wasn’t angry then, just… embarrassed for you. You were the guy in that teen movie, selling out your real friends to look cool for the…
Kickstarter of the Week: RISE: Comics Against Bullying
For proof that bullying still exists, check your social media feed for the day’s latest story. Lately, there’s been so much derision and hate, let’s fight back by supporting a comic series that aims to entertain and educate on the serious issue of bullying.
Shocking Twist: Data Show #GamerGate Is About Harassing Women
According to objective data, #GamerGate is not about journalistic ethics. Colour me surprised Newsweek had Brandwatch analyze 25% of tweets to the GamerGate hashtag. The social media analytics firm looked at 500,000 tweets, going back to the inception of the hashtag. They found that the vast majority of tweets were directed to female developers and game critics, not journalists: GamerGaters…
Recommended Reading: Gamergate
It’s hard to believe that GamerGate is still going strong, even as media coverage of the so-called consumer rights movement becomes increasingly damning and gaming sites and trade groups move to distance themselves from it. You can find all of our previous GamerGate coverage here, including background information for those lucky few who have remained…
Stalking Is Never OK! Authors, Bloggers, Entitlement and Obsession
I didn’t expect to write this and I honestly wish I didn’t have to. This morning, I woke up to an explosion of chatter on my feed that was being directed to an article from the Guardian. Author Kathleen Hale wrote a piece that chronicled her journey of… stalking a book blogger who gave her a negative…
Baldwin-faced Misogynist: Please Don’t Publish Mr. Gamergate’s Book, Dark Horse
I don’t know if you know this about us, but neither Megan nor I have any time for Firefly. How many times have I bent her ear about the truly absurd & terrible poster for Serenity? So many times! So you’d think I’d be all pleased about an opportunity to spread my seeds of hate….
You Wanted a Movement? #StopGamerGate2014
Yesterday afternoon, Utah State University was sent anonymous threats of violence. “Feminists have ruined my life,” the man claimed. He would shoot up the university, targeting women, especially feminists, if Anita Sarkeesian was allowed to give a planned talk on sexism in video games. The talk was cancelled. To be clear: I didn't cancel my USU…
Products Over People: What GamerGate Gets Wrong
When I was ten and my brother twelve, we got Sunday morning paper routes. He used his money to buy gaming consoles; I used mine to buy comics. He stayed up late most nights gaming, and most mornings he’d be dead to the world in compensation. I was stuck delivering his share of the papers so often (thanks, bud!)…
GamerGate Rolls On — Does It Affect Your Personal Behaviour?
How it all started: Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian released her latest installment of Tropes vs Women in Video Games and was promptly deluged with threats of rape and violence. She had to leave her home and contact with the police. Zoe Quinn, developer of the game Depression Quest, had nude photos and personal information released…
Zinesters Interviews
Interview with zinester: Sarah Scalise/SA$$Y Zine: Understanding the Beauty Myth: A Girl’s Guide to Human Sexuality, Interpreting Popular Culture, & the Cultivation of Pimples and Pubic Hair!
Dragon Con Dispatches: Saturday – Monday
If you’re just joining us, Labor Day Weekend was Dragon Con — the biggest sci-fi/fantasy/comics/multimedia comics convention in the south, celebrating its 27th year in 2014. It’s in many ways comparable to a SDCC of the South, but without the Hollywood interference messing with the signal to noise ratio. It boasts guests from every nerdy…
