What is g33kWatch?

g33kWatch is a central hub where we provide news, event reviews and journalistic perspective about anything and everything related to the geek community.  It’s a long way of saying that we will talk about anything geeky, and go to many different conventions to tell you how they are and whether or not you should go to them.

Didn’t you guys used to have a different site name?

Yes we did!  In the winter of 2008 we were founded under the name CosWatch.  In 2010 though, with a full year of conventions and site maintenance under our belts, we changed our name to g33kWatch.

What was CosWatch?

CosWatch was the premiere destination for the best in Cosplay, pop culture, and geekery online.  The site was started with the express purpose of finding out what makes Cosplayers tick and why they choose to adopt the personae of their favorite characters from Anime, Cartoons, Comics, T.V., and film.

Where can we find you guys?

Besides the homepage, the g33kWatch staff attends a number of conventions annually including Penny Arcade Expo, Zenkaikon, A&G Ohio, Anime Boston, Anime USA, DragonCon, etc.  So keep your eye out for a couple of weirdos and maybe you’ll be featured on the site!

What do you guys do at conventions?  Are you going to <insert con name here>?

We do many different things once we get to a convention.  We go around, make new friends, play games, and take a ton of pictures and video.  No matter what we do, the stories and the media assets we have always make their way back onto the website.

We do many different things at a convention, whether just going for fun, being asked to come as a Press Representative, or being booked as Guests.  Here’s just a small list though.

• Running Panels / Workshops
  We are supremely geeky and well connected in the community.  We can talk host a bevy of panels on a wide range of topics.  Video Games, Wargaming, Board Games, Role-Playing Games, Game Mastering Advice, etc.  Whatever you want us to talk about, we are qualified for the task!  Of course, our main panel, “Con Survival Guide for the Older Geek / Gamer / Otaku” has been very well received at Anime Boston, and Anime USA.  It’s a crowd favorite for con-goers that are 18+
• Judging Contests
  Doesn’t matter if the topic is Cosplay or Rock Band, we can judge it.  Our staff members have won multiple Best in Show awards for Costume Craftsmanship along with Skit Performance.  In addition, we have taken part in and run many different gaming tournaments and contests, and feel very comfortable with running an event of any size or magnitude.
• Hosting / MCing Main Events
  We love to listen to ourselves talk, but more importantly we are also adept at running a show.  All of our staff members have extensive theater experience, and as a result we feel extremely comfortable in front of large crowds.  Whether you need us to provide commentary on video game tournament matches, MC a large Cosplay event, or would like us to interview the convention guests in a Late Night Talk Show format, we are prepared for the task!
• Running Scavenger Hunts
  May seem like an odd thing to put on our guest related resume as it were, but the staff members of g33kWatch have been running large scale Scavenger Hunts for the better part of 5 years now.  These events have grown in complexity and scale, now spanning three states and a list that grows in style and format each and every year.  If you want to give your con-goers the opportunity to take part in a really unique competition, we can make it happen for you.

This is of course only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what we can provide a convention as Guests.  What do we ask for?  Not much, just a free pass and a Hotel Room to crash in on our down time (which won’t be much!).

If you want us to be at a particular convention, best thing to do is to suggest us as a guest to the Con Chair or Guest Relations contact.  If you are directly staffing a convention and want g33kWatch present, please send a request to the e-mail addresses below.

• jvalenti57@gmail.com
• info@g33kwatch.com

Hey! We’ve heard that you’re really selective and picky; how can we get noticed and hopefully featured on the homepage?

Well, this is a tough and highly philosophical question requiring some background…

All of the members of the g33kWatch staff have extensive experience in the realm of Geekery, Gaming, and Cosplay; be it on the Con circuit, in the legitimate world (i.e. theatre), or just in real life.  Yeah, we’ve got stories.

But we got to the point where it just wasn’t happening for us anymore and we started to think, “say, wouldn’t it be great to just go around at Cons and chat up people and see what they liked about these events?”

And that’s what we did with g33kWatch.

So, since we’ve been around the block so to speak, we’ve developed a kind of fussy taste in our Cosplay and Interviews.  We’ve seen a million kids dressed like Naruto, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, etc., done extremely well and amazingly terrible.  But, to get our attention and most importantly gain a place in interweb fame, you’re gonna have to dig deep and by that I mean DEEP; old school, ridiculous, obscure, outrageous, perverse… you get the idea.  However, we do have some general guidelines:

1. Vintage Anime
2. Cult comic books
3. Killer movie / gaming characters
4. Breath-taking accuracy
5. Superb craftsmanship
6. Really, REALLY hot
7. Something you’d never expect to see in real life

Also, let us mention that if we catch anyone or any group of people dressed as one or all five members of the Voltron force, you automatically will win Cosplayers of the Year and receive a special prize.  Seriously.  Oh, and Klingons, we freaking love Klingons, even if you’re totally out of place.

It’s that simple.  So wow us, dazzle us, go for gold.

Whoa whoa!  What’s the deal with this donate button on the bottom right hand side?!  You trying to steal my money?!

We would never steal your money, never ever.  Please, put down that phone and don’t call the cops, I swear we can explain!

The staff of g33kWatch loves going to conventions and special events as much as the next guy, this no one can deny.  Yet anyone who has been to a lot of these events, knows that expenses can pile up over time.  Hotel rooms, gas, tolls, airplanes, etc that all comes into consideration when we are making up our schedule for what events we are going to go to and cover.  If we could be present at all of them we would, but alas, we just don’t have the funding for it.

That’s where you come in.  If you are feeling generous, and really want to ensure that we are going to be at more events, then you have the option of donating a few bucks our way.  The money is only going to be used on website hosting and on the actual convention expenses.  You aren’t funding our muscle car addiction (though if you want to, send us a message), and if you donate to the cause you will get special mention on the website and interview during the convention!  It’s not much, but it’s a start and as we grow and expand, it might be even more!

So as you can see, no police officers are necessary.  We really love our job and we want to keep doing it for the fans.  If you like what we are doing, then please feel free to lend us a hand!