Tracy L.M. Kennedy is a Post Doctoral Researcher at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC where is part of the Virtual Worlds Observatory Project. Tracy investigates gender constructions & performances in various virtual spaces and games, and is currently exploring deviant practices in EverQuest 2.

Tracy teaches part-time in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture & Film at Brock University on topics such as virtual worlds, video games, digital culture and social media. As an avid cross-platform gamer, Tracy spends her work and leisure time investigating online gaming spaces.

Tracy is also lead Gameplay Telemetry Analyst at Ninja Metrics. Gaming & virtual worlds have become increasingly embedded within our work & leisure activities, and there is an increasing drive (and need) to understand the behaviors of 'gamers' in virtual & physical spaces.  With a keen interest and understanding of people's social and cultural practices, Tracy interprets player data to provide insight into game mechanics (know your system) and gamers (know your player).

netwoman AT gmail DOT com