GeekSugar

Geeky Girl We Love: Ingrid Diaz of Play Girlz

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:04:19 -0700

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is Women's History Month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet.

Ingrid Diaz is one of those women that proves geek is chic while bashing the misnomer that girls can't love video games and celebrity gossip. She's the co-editor of Play-Girlz, a fun site that "proudly shows that gaming isn't just a guy sport," and the editor of Grey's Anatomy News and Top Model Gossip. Besides being a great ying/yang combo, Diaz is pretty hilarious and not afraid to admit she likes to frighten the neighbors by singing loudly and off-key while she plays video games. She's also the first geeky gal to admit she thinks Bill Gates is sexy...or maybe that was her joking again... For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell the geeksugar fans how you became a blogger.
Ingrid: Hmm. A little about myself. Well, I’m a level 70 human mage. Currently fire/frost specced, though this changes … Oh. You meant the “real” me. Ahem. Well, my professional career began at the ripe age of eight when I became the President of the Nintendo club on my street. It came complete with uniforms (white t-shirts with Nintendo logo patches expertly stitched on by un-talented eight-year-old hands…) Then came the obsessive collecting of video game consoles whenever they’d come out.
Then came the moment a couple of years ago when I was offered the chance to get paid for my video gaming obsessions. A good friend of mine, Erin Harvey, emailed me out of the blue and said, “Hey you want to write on this video games blog with me?” and I was like “Hm. Write about video games? For money? Let me contemplate this deeply and in the lotus position…” and then I had a phone meeting with Jeremy Wright of b5media and Play Girlz was born.

Geeksugar: The most obvious question: So many people think girls aren’t gamers or geeks – what do you say to them?
Ingrid: Well I probably wouldn’t say anything. I’d email them, or IM them, or send in-game tells with disapproving emotes. And then it’s likely that I’d challenge them to a “friendly” PvP duel, pwn them, and then do a little victory dance … and then I’d do my nails.

Geeksugar: What are your three favorite video games?
Ingrid: World of Warcraft, SingStar (I like to frighten the neighbors by singing loudly and off-key), and Grand Theft Auto (I like stealing cars… in the game … not in real life … erm…)

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Ingrid: Depends on the day, but usually anywhere from 12-18.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Ingrid: Desperate attempt by a 10-year-old to create a super computer out of duct tape, construction paper, and a series of other household items that didn’t work out quite the way she’d planned. She was then forced to turn it into a space ship (this didn’t work out very well either…) My first working computer a Texas Instrument something or other that only had a chess game on it. I played a lot of chess.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about the sites?
Ingrid: It gives me a chance to re-label all of my dorky, geeky, and previously known as “procrastinating activities” as “working.”

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Ingrid: Noooo … this is a very serious business. SERIOUS. No laughing allowed. *whispers* This conversation isn’t bugged, is it?

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Ingrid: Uh… 543. I have an unhealthy addiction to the subscription button…

Geeksugar: What are some of your non-geeky hobbies?
Ingrid: Um. Er. Hrm. I like to juggle … that’s not geeky, is it? Oh! I like shop! …. Online. Hm.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Ingrid: Marshall on Alias, Bill Gates (so sexy), and the Lone Gunmen on X-Files (does that count as 3?)

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Ingrid: Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Brennan from Bones, Oracle on Birds of Prey, Elphaba on Wicked, and Abby on NCIS.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Ingrid: Caitlin R. Kiernan. Well, she’s not really a professional blogger per say, since she’s actually a fiction author, but her online journal is a must-read for me. I love her style and her beliefs about writing and I’ve always found her to be a big inspiration. Her books are awesome if you’re into dark fantasy type stories.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Ingrid: I feel warm and fuzzy inside. I love it. It’s so much better than being told I’m “normal.” What a dreadful tragedy that would be.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Ingrid: After much contemplating and running it through my super computer (still made out of duct tape and construction paper) I have calculated that the geekiest thing about me is 7.82.

Geeksugar: Anything else you want to share?
Ingrid: Gum. I have gum. Would you like some?

Check out our other interviews with geeky girls.

Number Of Female Gamers Increases

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 09:30:38 -0700

I've always known that girls love video games. Just ask Ingrid Diaz, who is co-editor of Play Girlz and a self confessed gamer addict. She uses her website to prove there's no such thing as a "girl game" or even "girl gamer" and she does a darn good job. Apparently, Diaz is not alone - recent statistics are slaying the stereotype of teenage boys being the only ones who play video games. In fact, NBC recently reported that Deputy Attorney General Tonya Sapp is one of a growing number of women finding an outlet in the world of video games. Here's more:

"It helps really to relieve stress," said Sapp. "Sometimes I come home, I've had a bad day - you know, I run around the countryside and shoot something to relieve tension. That's really what I like, the shoot-'em-up games."

The story goes on to prove that Sapp isn't alone. Apparently women over 40 actually make up the largest percentage of gamers who play online games. According to the Entertainment Software Association, about 23 percent of gamers are boys under the age of 18. They are easily outnumbered by women over the age of 18 at 30 percent. Watch the news report with Sapp here.

Video Games That Girls Love

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:06:42 -0700

This year at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, a panel of experts came together to discuss Getting Girls Into The Game: Designing and Marketing Games for Female Players.

As the population of female gamers continues to rise, game developers and media enterprises are reportedly working hard to create games that women will love. To do this, they are striving to tap into the female player market in order to understand what the latest trends and expectations are of this new demographic.

The experts of the panel agreed that the Nintendo Wii is brilliant because " it's cutesy and for girls, but because it makes gaming fun for everyone, not just the hardcore console crowd." I am not of the camp that video games need to be tailored to women in order to appeal to them, but I know it does help. I also know this is a touchy subject for both men and women.

I once asked the editor of Play Girlz what she'd say to someone that assumed women hate or aren't interested in video games and she said: Well I probably wouldn’t say anything. I’d email them, or IM them, or send in-game tells with disapproving emotes. And then it’s likely that I’d challenge them to a “friendly” PvP duel, pwn them, and then do a little victory dance … and then I’d do my nails. read more

To see what else the panelists had to say about designing video games for women, check out the story on Joystiq.

Oh and boys, I know that is a PlayStation controller in the photo by the way. I may not be Ingrid Diaz, but I've been around the game room!

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This Week On Geeksugar - Wifi Rabbit Rules The Radio!

GeekSugar — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:00:58 -0700

Are you bored with your old stereo? Fed up with the overwhelmingly confusing plethora of ugly looking internet radio stations? Ever thought about using a wifi rabbit instead?
Can you guess what celebrity we spotted waiting for an important call and showing off her BlackBerry 8700? Hint: She recently just returned from a romantic rendezvous.
My friend refuses to buy a digital camera and I decided it's finally time for me to help her out. Got any suggestions? Help me find her the perfect camera in time for her birthday party next week.
Microsoft has announced it will extend its online gaming service for its Xbox consoles to all those gamers who use Windows PCs to play games over the Internet. News that is sure to please gamers like singer Natasha Bedingfield and fabulous geeky gamer girls like Ingrid Diaz of Play Girlz.

Haven't you always wanted to have the same cell phone as Bond man Daniel Craig? The Cyber-shot camera phone took center screen in Casino Royale and stole my heart.
If you're sick and tired of being part of the vanilla masses, you probably need the adorable Emotibud Earbud Set. They're colorful, fun and well, the cutest headphones ever!

Rumor has it that the American game developer and distributor Electronic Arts is attempting to create a Harry Potter game which will utilize the new Wii-Mic. Basically the Wii remote will double as a magic wand so users can use the mic in conjunction with gestures to cast spells.
This photo of a young Israeli schoolgirl proudly displaying a Leonardo DiCaprio sticker on her cell phone as she waits outside Leo's main squeeze Bar Refaeli's house, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Hollywood heartthrob made my day. Do I blame her? Not one bit.

The 13 Most Beautiful Avatars Of Second Life

GeekSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:00:08 -0700

No this isn't a post about America's next top avatars contest, but it is about the model-like beauties of Second Life. Based on Andy Warhol's short films: 13 Most Beautiful Women and 13 Most Beautiful Boys comes a serious of canvas mounted portrait prints by the Italian artists Eva and Franco Mattes. Actual Second Lifers originally created these creative avatars. What are your thoughts? Do they scream beautiful in a virtual, digitally enhanced sorta way? Leave your comments below.
[via play-girlz] Want to know more about Play-Girlz's co-editor Ingrid Diaz? Check out my Geeky Girls We Love interview with her.

Microsoft To Offer Online Gaming For Windows Users

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 08:00:16 -0700

Microsoft has announced it will extend its online gaming service for its Xbox consoles to all those gamers who use Windows PCs to play games over the Internet. News that is sure to please gamers like singer Natasha Bedingfield (seen here) and fabulous geeky gamer girls like Ingrid Diaz of Play Girlz.

Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming network that serves some six million Xbox users, is scheduled on May 8 to open its basic and premium features to online PC gamers. Live gamers will be able to easily find and play supported titles online with their friends across a Windows computer or an Xbox 360. The service will be available in every country and region supported today by Xbox Live. For a full gallery of Natasha getting her game on and more about this program, read more

Here's more

Debuting on May 8, 2007, with the launch of the Windows Vista version of the Xbox blockbuster “Halo 2,” Games for Windows - LIVE will connect Windows gamers to over six million gamers already in the Xbox LIVE community. Then, launching in June, “Shadowrun” will for the first time connect Windows gamers with Xbox 360 players in cross-platform matches using a single service. “UNO,” releasing later in 2007, will also support cross-platform play between Windows and Xbox 360.

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