We live in the age of data, on the personal and demographic scale.  Research is changing our understanding of who consumes content, how they do so, and what value they offer advertisers and partners.  We know now that there is a group of people who control 70 percent of domestic consumer spending; spend more time  on social media; buy 52 percent of  movie  tickets and 68 percent of theater tickets; and watch more TV than any other group.  This demographic is vast: 51 percent of the population.

This post first appeared a guest post on Bitch Flicks.  Read the rest here.

There comes a time in every LARPer’s life when you go to a game and meet someone who you feel like you know, and yet you are certain you’ve never met before.  Perhaps you knew them in a past life, or they are just a master of cosplay.  More likely, though, you don’t know them.  You’ve just been to enough LARPs that you’ve started encountering certain types repeatedly: the Rules Lawyer, the Cat Lady, the All-Powerful Eastern Assassin.  Every LARP over a certain size contains one or two, and bigger games might have half a dozen.  In truly exceptional cases, you’ll get the full set in a single weekend.  If you recognize the following ten people – and especially if you are one of them – you’ve really arrived as a LARPer.

See the list at LARPing.org.

There is a general opinion about nerds that we are socially inept, isolated weirdos – and if you are seen a certain way, people will often treat you accordingly, thus perpetuating the social stigma.  LARPing is perceived as one of the nerdiest pastimes of all, and thus LARPers are seen as some of the worst offenders when it comes to the nerd stereotype.  The irony is, LARP is a way for players to gain the very social skills that they are, by virtue of being LARPers, derided for not possessing. There are many highly social, functional, popular nerds, and a lot of them became that way in part through LARP.

Read the full post at LARPing.org