The "women who watch" project is morphing into looking at the whole Cyber-Athlete phenomenon. Making spectacle and sport out of gaming is fascinating me these days. I understand why people might compete. Some of the banks for these competitions are over $100,000! But why would people watch? Is it akin to watching sports? According to the history of the CPL, three times as many people are spectators as are competitors at these events. Just you wait, Clear Channel (which is slowly controlling all live shows in the US including music and sporting events) is going to start promoting the CPL. And I swore I'd never pay attention to Clear Channel again after defending my dissertation.

Here is a shout out to the friendly guys at Demiurge Studios who invited me to their gaming night a few weeks back. It was fabulous to meet the Clone Bandits team as well as some folks from Harmonix (who work one floor down). I am extremely grateful for their gracious attitude towards me because I sucked major ass at Battlefield 1942. Sorry guys. I usually play alone and haven't figured out squad-based games yet. Anyway, thanks for the pizza and sharing your thoughts about the industry.