Games Developers’ Association of Australia calling for GCAP 2010 abstracts #gamers #geekgirl

The GDAA is calling for Abstracts for GCAP 2010

The Game Developers’ Association of Australia has announced that the annual Game Connect Asia Pacific event scheduled will head to the Gold Coast in October. In an event that will be held simultaneously with the EB Games vendor show, Australia’s mini E3, the event will focus on the changing game development ecosystem and Australia’s future role in the global industry.

Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP 2010) will focus on the key theme ‘The Player Experience’ and will explore the world of video games from the eyes of the game player, ensuring an interactive, thought provoking and insightful conference program.

As such, this year’s conference will take a holistic view of the development process, exploring how every single line of code, piece of art, business and marketing decision ultimately impacts on our audience. A strong focus will be placed on the rapid iteration of ideas and how every studio is able to create a catalogue of concepts for presentation to the global publishing and game playing audience.

“With such an exciting and thought provoking theme as ‘The Player Experience’ at the very heart of what we’re doing this year, we’re gearing up for a community driven GCAP. This year the industry will come together to dissect the global games industry and look at how, with investment from every discipline in the game making process, we come up with amazing new game concepts and gameplay innovations,” commented GDAA CEO, Antony Reed.

 The GDAA is now putting out a call for the submission of abstracts for inclusion in the GCAP 2010 program.

GCAP 2010 will consist of a number of tracks – programming, art, design, audio, business development and marketing. The conference will also include multiple presentation formats, such as panels and round table discussions, lectures and hands-on workshops.

All keynotes, sessions and workshops will focus on various aspects of the overall player experience. To find out more about GCAP 2010, visit http://www.gcap.com.au/

To submit an abstract, please send to abstracts@gcap.com.au  Submissions close, COB Friday 10 September, 2010

‘the creative class doesn’t exist’ #arts #artspace #cognitivecapitalism

‘the creative class doesn’t exist’
With Maurizio Lazzarato and Angela Melitopoulos
Location: Artspace

In Sydney for one public event only: Maurizio Lazzarato and Angela Melitopoulos in dialogue on artists, precarity and collective experimentation.

The changing boundaries between work and leisure, the conquering of distance via tele-technologies and the exponential expansion of the culture industries in the late twentieth century are supposed to have created a new ‘creative class’. People who work in the media, the Internet, museums and the entertainment industry seemingly comprise this engine-room of neoliberalism. Yet the segmented and differential nature of these industries generates a situation where most artists, for example, declare an income from their activities that falls below the poverty line. Contrary to the idea that the creative class embodies the values and privileges of the expanding creative industries, many artists and art workers instead find themselves in the same boat as intermittent, casualised and precarious workers.

In this conversation between the sociologist and philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato and the artist Angela Melitopoulos, a space opens up for questioning the current place of artists and of ‘creativity’ within cognitive capitalism. They discuss the contradiction deep at the heart of creative industries and contemporary cognitive capitalism: the erasure of non-productive time, which is precisely the time required for creation to take place at all. They debate the question, initiated by Marcel Duchamp, of how ‘an-artist’, rather than the Artist, might function to open up new ways of feeling, doing and saying and of experimenting with new institutions that might promote different forms of collective creation.

Maurizio Lazzarato is a sociologist and philosopher who lives and works in Paris. Among his recent publications are: Lavoro immateriale. Forme di vita e produzione di soggettivita (1997); Videofilosofia. Percezione e lavoro nel postfordismo (1997); Tute Bianche. Disoccupazione di massa et reddito di cittadinanza (1999); Post-face à Monadologie et sociologie (1999); Puissance de l’invention. La psychologie economique de Gabriel Tarde contre l’economie politique (2002); Les Revolutions du capitalisme (2004).

Angela Melitopoulos, is an time-based artist, realizes video-essays, installations, documentaries and sound pieces and curates exhibitions and seminars. Her work focuses on duration and mnemonic micro-processes in documentation. Her work has been shown in many international video and film festivals, exhibitions and museums (Antonin Tapies Foundation Barcelona, Manifesta 7, Centre Georges Pompidou Paris, Whitney Museum New York). Currently she is a research fellow at the Matrix East Lab in the University of East London.

6 July 2010, 6:00pm
ARTSPACE

T: +61 2 9356 0555
F: +61 2 9368 1705
artspace@artspace.org.au

Some mugs will believe anything – #geekgirl sets the record straight.

It must have been a slow news day when this piece
http://www.zdnet.com.au/claws-out-over-geekgirl-trademark-339303290.htm was published.

It was either that or a PR bull-terrier behind an item adorably titled,  ”Claws out over geekgirl trademark.”

Lads’ Mag slug aside, it was the content that really ticked me off.  While the piece has been edited many times since it appeared last Friday, it did initially paint me as a copyright thug.

In the hope of beating down this beat up, I elected to do the “no comment” thing.  I’m a feminist, for goddess’ sake.  The last thing I want to  do is add fuel to the flame of a “catfight” story.

But, I’ve had enough of staying quiet. I won’t repeat the threats and insults pelted at the geekgirl door. Let it suffice to say that they have  been loud enough to tempt me out of silence.

Since the piece first appeared, the editors have amended their words.  As the edits took place, I changed from a freedom-eating monster into an unwilling partner in a dispute I didn’t start.

I’m glad the reporters actually got their reporting freak on and bothered to change this PR spin.  In the meantime, though, I’ve become the target of some pretty outsize abuse.

In recent days, I’ve been drenched in the sort of bile you only find on the internet.  For a day there, I became a trending topic. For a week now, I’ve been the object of scorn from a number of prominent online commentators.

Enough. Let me set you straight.

In 1995, IP Australia awarded me trademarks for ‘geekgirl’; this was in large part due to my recognised contributions to cyber-feminism and in mentoring women in IT.

In April 2010, IP Australia rejected the January application by Sydney-based IT consultant Kate Carruthers for the same name.

Kate’s initial reasons for her January application are still unclear to me. What is clear, though, is she has been building a PR narrative in which I star as the Copyright Monster with Fangs.

In recent days, she has claimed in media and podcast interviews that all she really wanted to do was “liberate” the phrase “geek girl” for use in everyday speech.

I might be able to understand Kate’s public and private actions if I was, say Time Warner, or Oprah Winfrey instead of a cyber-feminist nerd running a small business. And, you might be able to understand them if there was clear evidence of me running around issuing cease-and-desists to everyone and their dog.  Which I wasn’t.  Which I wouldn’t.  Try me. Say “Geek Girl” in conversation now.  Anything happen? No.  Marvel as I do not beat down your door and demand an immediate retraction.

Of course, you could be forgiven for thinking that’s how I’ve behaved. Kate did, after all, do an A-Grade PR Number.  If you ever need some good spin, use her people.

What catalysed the hate-storm was Kate’s assertion, expressed in direct quotes to ZDNet, that I had told her directly not to use the Twitter hashtag #geekgirl.

WTF?  She has since retracted this statement and admitted it is not true.

I just don’t “get” this absurd situation. I don’t get why Kate felt it necessary to protect something I was never contesting.  I don’t get why she’s nominated me as this month’s bete-noire. I don’t get why she never thought to pick up a phone or a mouse to talk this through. Most of all, I don’t get the hate expressed by a handful of hatey haters.

Things can move at such high-speed.  It would be great if we could slow down just a bit and wait  for the truth to arrive before hitting ‘send’, ‘post’ or ‘tweet’. It might also be nice to remember that behind those avatars you’re tearing apart to make your important point about IP, mindshare, liberty or whatever, there are people.

To be clear: yes, I want a fair and reasonable control of IP that is demonstrably and legally mine.  While I acknowledge and understand the many arguments against ownership of any kind: seriously. It’s not like Leo Tolstoy has called me to task, here. No. It’s a person who lists Business Process Reengineering, e-Commerce and Strategic Planning among her professional specialties.

I suspect that Kate, with her impressive business résumé, understands trademark law. I suspect that Kate, with her impressive business résumé, has a fairly cosy relationship to capitalism. So, I also suspect that she’s being disingenuous when she says she wants to “liberate” and “share”.  It feels to me that what she may want to do is “take” rather than “share”; all the while building up the “online reputation” successful business people talk about in Digital Marketing workshops.

I am proud of the little virtual place I have built. I am proud to bursting of the women I have mentored.  I am proud of never having gone  to business school or writing the words “Business Process Reengineering” on my résumé.

I am also proud to launch the new line of my merchandise, starting with:  ”Some mugs will believe anything” Buy now

*hugs* geekgirl

hashtag-geekgirl-mug

The Yes Men create the Yes Lab – helping train you how to become an activist

The Yes men are launching the Yes Lab, a series of brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups carry out Yes-Men-style activist projects on their own. They’ll give advice and facilitate, but participants will carry out actions themselves, without them.

The Nauru Elegies #Melbourne #DJSpooky

A Portrait in Sound and Hypsographic Architecture

The Nauru Elegies is a multimedia portrait of the island of Nauru. The work explores the island in a state of economic collapse and environmental devastation. It has been realised through the collaboration of composer Paul D. Miller, best known as DJ Spooky, and architect Annie K. Kwon.

The music component of the Nauru Elegies reflects colonial and postcolonial issues facing the digital economy of the 21st century translated into a string quartet, composed by Paul D. Miller/DJ Spooky, while the architectural component conceptualized by Annie K. Kwon spatializes and formalizes otherwise invisible economic flows and irreversible ecological devastation.

Venue: Blindside Gallery, Nicholas Building,
Level 7, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Dates: 19 February – 6 March. Times: 10-5 daily

http://www.experimenta.org/

IBM FITT #Melbourne FREE Networking Event – Feb 23, 2010 #geekgirl

IBM FITT Melbourne FREE Networking Event – Feb 23

Hmmmmmm, senior female IBM executives…

   – Janet Matton – IBM Vice President Sales Operations And Executive
   – Nicole Crooks  – IBM Vice President, SO & Global Technology Services
   – Robyn Woodley – IBM Client Director BHP
   – Jane Chen  – IBM Executive IT Architect

The IBM panel will discuss matters related to their careers in the ICT industry, and the challenges and opportunities they see for business in 2010 and beyond.

After the presentations we will have question time for the audience to ask questions to the panel and then networking time and refreshments.

For more information, goto FITT website<>
(Females in Information Technology & Telecommunications)
 .
Date & Times:
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Arrive: 5.30pm
Finish: 7.30pm

Venue:
The Arts Centre
Level 8, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

The Arts Centre is a couple of minutes walk from Flinders Street Station
Or take any tram (except tram no.1) along St Kilda Road and disembark at the
Arts Centre. Stop number 14.

Check out Mozo’s Vice Calculator and become Australia’s first vice president.

It’s on the search for Australia’s first “vice” president using the quirky Vice Calculator. The “vice” calculator shows how much you will spend on vices in your lifetime.

Here’s a chance to figure out your vices, either giggling heartedly or nervously at the results! Mozo is asking people to post their “vice score” and a campaign pledge on Facebook to win $5,000. Perhaps a great way to bring some levity to the excess of the silly season and fuel for a New Year resolution!

Check out the campaign landing page and maybe find out your vice score:

• http://mozo.com.au/vice-calculator

Go Home On Time Day on November 25

Every year Australian workers give their bosses a $72 billion gift in the form of unpaid overtime, research released this week has revealed. The Australian Institute says a typical full-time employee is working 70 minutes of unpaid overtime a day, which equates to six-and-a-half standard working weeks. In response, they have launched national “Go home on time day”.

Why Go Home On Time?

Around half of all employees work more hours than they are paid for. On average, a typical employee works 49 minutes of unpaid overtime per day. For full-time workers, the average daily amount of unpaid work is 70 minutes, which equates to 33 eight-hour days per year, or six and a half standard working weeks. Put another way, this is the equivalent of ‘donating’ more than your annual leave entitlement back to your employer.

Overwork can have negative consequences for your physical and mental health, your relationships with loved ones and your sense of what is important in life.

Where did the idea come from?

Go Home On Time Day is an initiative of The Australia Institute, the country’s most influential progressive think tank. Based in Canberra, it conducts research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues in order to inform public debate and bring greater accountability to the democratic process.

Find out more here and lodge your Go Home on Time pass: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/

Docos wanted. Australian Ethical Documentary Australia Foundation callout

Australian Ethical, in association with Documentary Australia Foundation, is calling for film makers to submit a mini-documentary piece on the theme of ‘corporate responsibility and the environment’.The winning documentary piece will be awarded $12,500 in prize money, which will be presented at the Australian International Documentary Conference on 24–26 February 2010.

Entries close December 18

Australian Ethical website

FamousWhenDead screens Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist, a documentary “focuses on suppressed historical & modern information about currently dominant social institutions, while also exploring what could be in store for humanity if the power structures at large continue their patterns of self-interest, corruption, and consolidation” it says rather modestly on the zeitgeist website.

Free screening at FamousWhenDead Gallery, Thursday 29 October, 7 pm.
Running time 90 mins.
For RSVP’s please  email JD Mittmann so he knows how many seats to supply.

FWD Gallery
207 Victoria Street
West Melbourne 3003 Australia