Just when you think things really can’t get worse in the whole Gamergate story (see episode 1 for a longer chat with Natalie Zina Walschotts about this) SXSW enters the fray and essentially lays down arms without a shot fired.
Their two scheduled panels — “Level Up: Overcoming Harassment in Games,” and one that featured Brianna Wu — were down-voted by the types of people who believe gaming is under siege by an “army of sociopathic feminist programmers and campaigners” who are “lying, bullying and manipulating their way around the Internet for profit and attention.” That’s real by the way — written by Gamergate advocate Milo Yiannopoulos.
SXSW has tried to walk back this terribly cowardly response by announcing a full-day summit on the issue — we’ll see if any of the people on the original panels who were un-invited will deign to attend.
If that wasn’t enough for you to take a listen to the podcast, then tune in for our look at the new viral Barbie ad and the new ‘Hello Barbie’ that uses Siri-like tech to speak back to your kids.
And if you’re in the market for a new BFF, and you’re a woman AND you live in Toronto, you may be in luck. The Hello Toronto App is supposed to relaunch this month and provide you with someone to hang out with over a glass of wine.