If you are also looking for a job, you have to read this

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:15:23 GMT

There I am, reading my endless feeds when I come accross with an article that interested me in special.

I have been going from interview to interview, looking for another job that will allow me have some life (yeah, it gaming life, but that is what I like doing) and as I have been on the Internet for ten years already, the subject caught my attention.

Almost two weeks ago, I went through a very tiring assessment management test and one of the last questions that they hit me was: "Wouldn't you make your hobby your main activity?". HELLO!!!! We are in Belgium!!!!!! If I could make any chance, I would be camping in front of Microsoft or some of my favorite game developpers begging for a Community job ages ago. The thing is that it doesn't work like this on this side of the ocean. That is why I am looking for something in my career (no one can imagine how hard it is to get "Honors" for two years in college having classes - and exams, of course - in a language you are learning on the go), that pays me what I deserve and that still don't take away half of my day.

I love and I will always love gaming, blogging, dreaming about gadgets and hovering all over the Xbox Community. This is me, for god's sake! Thinking due to me not being a submissive woman who lives by the book, it doesn't mean I am irresponsible to the point of not being handle my work.

If you read the article, you will see that it is more related about abusive drinking and disrespect for work, however, I wonder if it is really only that... How far can this pre-judgment go?

*just wondering*

Angel

Link to Want a job? Clean up your Web act

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Technorati tags: MSN Tech & Gadgets, no-no, article, job, searching

From a very frustrated female gamer

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:55:52 GMT

My dearest friends,

There is a subject that has been stuck in my throat for a while and I finally decided to spit it out.

When I wrote the article The New Gamer Girl (published on Xbox.com on XUG's page), I was under a very positive impression of the steps foward taken by women in the gaming community. I was totally aware of the difficults faced by us and all the negativity that we still had to face on the Live and other situations. However, it was a lot different than in 20 years ago.

The most positive aspect I realized then was the fact that the media and the industry themselves had also started changing the way they saw and treated us. We were little by little becoming more than only pretty (and silly) faces.

I don't know if it is an European thing, but I have to admit that part of my positivity has been going down to drain lately...

On this entry, I want to write about one of the gaming programs shown here, in Belgium. Recently, it has changed format, hosts and content. Not only I have the impression (MANY times) that those guys know little (possibly, nothing) about gaming, but there are some things that do drive me crazy.

Remember that GRAW 2 event that I attended, but wasn't given time to do my interview? Well, the guys from this program were there too. And needless to say that they were the first to do their thing. However, not only were they unable to pronunciate the name of game correctly ([gRou] instead of [graw]; ['re-con] instead of ['ri-con]; etc), most of their remarks were at least not intelligent.

The most impressive to me was (get ready girls!!): GRAW is not a game for women!

This one made me cry.... Please, can someone send an email to them and let them know that the Frag Dolls exist, that they have representants from 3 different countries, that they are sponsored by Ubisoft (developer of [grou] among other shooters), that they win tournaments and that can be challenged during the Frag Dolls' Fridays any time someone wants to have their butt kicked?!?

OK. You may say that I am mean, however, their ignorance is still the least of my concerns. What do disturbs me though is one part of their program meant to "rise the number of viewers".

They depict one different girl per week, in sexy clothing and poses, showing off for their own entertainement (????). On the very first episode last week, they even showed a close-up on one of the hosts simulating masturbation (sorry for the hard word, but that is The one to describe the scene) with his hands in his pants! This at 8:30PM. Hello! Kids are awake!!!!!

WTF is that?!?

What do TV producers expect with that? Why doesn't the industry (here???) work in changing the image of gamers instead of distorting it even more? What kind of parent would like to see their child taking game to another level when the "role models" on TV show only the worst?

Here are some guidelines from BM2 Love Angel to anyone interested:

Gamers ARE NOT violent people because they play GTA.
Gamers ARE NOT a bunch of perverted adolescents/adults.
Female gamers ARE NOT toys in the hands of the guys.

There is a lot being said and done against gaming and the industry. Depicting us as good-for-nothings; useless and lazy people; inmature; and all the other negative attributes normally spreaded out, does not help!

Whatever a person does is her/his own choice. Unfortunately, we, real gamers, are constantly aim of mean judgment and a LOT of misunderstanding. Instead of playing the role of stupids, why doesn't anybody care to show the successful entrepreneurs of the industry who started as gamers? Why not showing that there are a lot of successful professionals in different areas that game for fun? Why not showing the great examples of well raised children whose parents game? Why not showing the amasing women out there who, despite various difficulties, are fantastic gamers?

I sincerely hope that it is a local phenomenon. I still believe that we have evolved. I prefer thinking that efforts like the Xbox Ambassador program, the GamerchiX, groups like the Frag Dolls, the PMS Clan and many, many others are not in vain.

Sorry for the confession my friends, but I couldn't silence about it anymore...

*cheers*

Angel

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Technorati tags: TV, games, female, girl gamers, no-no

BM2 Love Angel: no-no

If you are also looking for a job, you have to read this

From a very frustrated female gamer