Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Meet Stephanie Carmichael. She’s a pop culture loving, comic book obsessing freelance writer whose work has appeared in GamesBeat, Fast Company's Co.Create, and Kill Screen.
But perhaps Carmichael’s coolest, and most geeky adventure is with Classcraft. She’s the community and social media manager for this ed-tech startup that’s redefining classical curriculum. Classcraft is an online role-playing game that teachers and students play together. Playing in teams, students can earn points that can give them real-world perks like using notes on a test. Students with behavioral problems or those who let their academics slide loose points for their team.
Want to know more about Classcraft, or curious how you can get involved? Go ahead and tweet Carmichael at @wita.
In the meantime, check out her dynamic interview with BGC!
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: That’s a tricky question to answer as I have so many!
I first laid eyes on video games when I discovered my sisters’ NES in our basement as a kid (my sisters are eight and 10 years older than me), but my first true virtual love was Crash Bandicoot 2 for the PlayStation. I still remember how in awe I felt sitting cross-legged before our old, huge living room TV as my dad hooked it up and the start screen roared to life.
Books for me used to always be a private passion, but I always treasured and remembered the ones that were given to me as gifts — including my favorite of all time, A Wizard of Earthsea.
As for comics, it all started with cartoons — Batman: The Animated Series (huge, HUGE fan of the Bat), the ’90s X-Men show … I actually got into comics a bit late but absolutely adore the medium and its power for storytelling.
At some point, all of these things just collided for me in a way that told me that whatever I did in life, I wanted it to be about them somehow. Writing helped pull it all together. I’ve always been a creative and analytical person, so I naturally gravitated toward that skill.
Q: What’s the best thing about being a freelance writer?
A: Being a freelance writer certainly has its challenges, but the best part is getting to set my own schedule, work from home, and constantly shop my work around to new outlets. You flex a lot of new muscles that way and meet a lot of great people. And I love being able to take a quick nap, get out and walk around the neighborhood, break for some kitty therapy, or watch Netflix during my lunchtime. Because I can.
Contrary to what many people think, freelancing is tough work. You definitely put the hours in, but I love the freedom that it offers me.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
A: Definitely in high school. For a while I was totally into Think Geek everything, and my friend and I would have legitimate “geek fests,” where we’d stuff our faces and watch geeky shows and movies, like The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. Nowadays, I don’t label myself — I’m very comfortable with the fact that what I do and what I love is who I am. It’s just me.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Oh, man. There are so many good characters out there! I have lots of favorites. But I think by far I would like to go for a drink with Fox Mulder. I have a huge crush on his character, and I would just like to pick his brain for an hour.
I’m not much for beer, so it would probably be dry, red wine or a White Russian for me.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: That it’s OK if not everybody likes you — life changes a lot as you grow up. And to value every friendship more. Remember to treat people with kindness and to put yourself in their shoes and embrace their differences. I think that’s something you don’t quite realize how to do well until you get older.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Help! What to do when your cosplay wig gets tangled? Is it possible to incorporate Effie Trinket's avant-garde attire into your 9-5 wardrobe? How can you DIY a floral headband, and stat? Look no further than this week’s Lady Geek of the Week: Mia Moore.
Moore (@xoMiaMoore) is a Digital Media Management MBA student and geek blogger. You can find her over at xo Mia. She writes about cosplay, Luna Lovegood, daily outfits, and manicures. According to Moore, “in my spare time, I make costumes, hoop dance, go to lolita meetups, and partake in geeky events.”
In Moore’s interview with Being Geek Chic, she divulges her career goals, her fantasy superpower, and the self-love that led her to discovering her passion. Read on!
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: I have two primary passions (aside from digital media) - style and geekiness. I grew up thinking I wasn’t adequately feminine to wear girly clothing - and I thought trying would make me look vain. In high school and beyond, I realized that wearing dresses and skirts and paying attention to my appearance had a massive, positive effect on my self-esteem. Since then, I’ve placed a large emphasis on wearing clothing that makes me feel great about myself. That’s why I’m such a huge advocate for self-love and body positivity - it’s made such a huge difference in my life!
Geeky stuff started like it does for most, I think - childhood comic books and cartoons. As I grew older, I branched out into anime and manga, then western comic books, then cosplay (which merges geekiness with my love for dressing up).
Q: You’re currently an MBA student studying Digital Media Management. Where do you hope to land after graduation?
A: I love the Digital Marketing side of Digital Media Management. I would love to work in the marketing department, managing social media, blogs, and overall digital strategy. Bonus points if it’s a geeky or fashion company!
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky?”
A: I think it was the first time I was teased for watching Batman Beyond as a kid. According to children logic, you can’t be a female and watch Batman… but I didn’t care! I think that was my first hunch.
Q: If you could take a fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: This is tough.. but I think I’d go with Nightwing/Dick Grayson. He is my current favorite comic character - I’d love to talk with him about his opinion on Batman and the rest of the Bat family!
Q: You can choose one superpower. What is it?
A: Teleportation! I have so many friends that live across the globe, and it’d be great to travel anywhere I wanted in a few seconds.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: It’s okay to fully embrace who you are - even if your personality seems hypocritical or contradictory!
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
I can’t help but feel like my iPhone cover tells a story about how I’m feeling at any given point in time. It’s like a window into my thoughts. With all the new Bane and Batman images from Dark Knight Rises making their way around the internets, I’ve got comics on the brain. Here’s a round up of some of the BEST comic book inspired iPhone covers out there.
I’ve got to start with artist Danny Haas’s collection of iPhone covers available on Society 6. His Wayne cover (left) is the right mix of dark and light and the way it’s laid out on the case has a great impact. He’s also got a Clark Kent, Tony Stark and Peter Parker case too. All of them retail for $35 each.
If you love Wonder Woman (I do!), then there’s a bevvy of options for you. For starters, Amazon has an amazing number of options. Coveroo’s Emblem case ($34.99) is one of my favorites, because it’s simple and would look pretty amazing on a black iPhone.
Don’t you wish you would have skipped that bumper case right about now?
Coveroo also creates a standard Wonder Woman logo case (left), which is a bit less expensive at $29.99 and also wonderfully simple.
Performance Designed Products is offering Marvel iPhone and iPod cases too. The vintage inspired designs cost $29.99 each and are a call-back to the early days of each series. Plus, they’re offering free shipping for a while so take advantage of that while you can.
If you like skins, then check out some of the creations by Etsy seller skunkwraps. They’ve got a few different geeky skins, but the Boom, Pow text option comes in a lot of different materials, including leather. It would definitely set your iPhone apart to have a leather skin. The best part? Skins are much less expensive… The ones from skunkwraps start at $9.95 each.
Mimoco announced some new DC themed thumb drives at CES today. First up is a Vintage Batman which is available now.
The Joker, Robin and this kick ass woman are available starting next month.
More MIMOBOT series based on additional DC Comics’ characters, including Green Lantern, Superman and The Flash, will follow in the near future.
What no Wonder Woman?
