Tracy Kennedy
Biography
Tracy Kennedy is a PhD Candidate in sociology at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral thesis investigates how pervasive household Internet use in Canada has led to its domestication. Tracy is a research consultant in virtual and physical worlds, and she has co-organized several blended reality events in Second Life. Tracy has worked closely with the Community Technologies Group and Games User Research Group at Microsoft in Redmond, where she examined women’s online gaming experiences, and the issues the industry faces in attracting non-traditional gamers. Currently, Tracy is a research coordinator at NetLab and a researcher at the Pew Internet & American Life Project. She teaches in communications, popular culture, and film at Brock University on topics such as ‘Cultural Studies of Virtual Worlds’ and ‘The Information Society’. As an avid cross-platform gamer, Tracy spends her work and leisure time exploring the socio-cultural implications of social interactions in online gaming spaces.