I am an Associate Professor of Media Industries at New York University, specializing in historical, cultural, and economic analysis of the video game and computer industries.

As we struggle to understand our digital present, my research on our computational past helps us put contemporary experience in its place. I speak, write, and consult across these topics for academic conferences, industry venues, NGOs, and fan conventions, and have served as an expert witness before the U.S. Copyright Office.

My first book, The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal, is out from University of Chicago Press.

Following up on The Apple II Age, I am currently working on a new book project:

• Before We Were Gamers: Remembering and Forgetting an Industry's Dawn, which charts the rise, demise and unexpected resurgence of the flagship computer game company Sierra On-Line

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I am an Assistant Professor of Media Industries in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University. Prior to NYU, I was an Assistant Professor of Digital Media in the School of Literature, Media and Communication at Georgia Tech, and held a postdoc through the Intel Science and Technology Center for Social Computing.

As part of my long-standing interest in expanding historical study of the game industry within the academy and beyond, I have co-founded ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories. ROMchip is an open access, hybrid-audience, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to fostering the historical study of games. I am also the co-host of Unboxing: Play and Profit for the Gaming Curious, a podcast about the game industry I launched with NYU Stern colleague Joost van Dreunen in 2022.

I have a successful background coordinating events that build community across industry and academic divides. I've made my mark producing events like the first Different Games Conference, Mistakes Were Made, and Command Lines. Additionally, I lead the conference organizing team as the Vice-Chair of Meetings for SIGCIS from 2017-2022 and served the Journal of Visual Culture in varying capacities, including Managing Editor, for 9 years.

In past lives, I was a C-List Internet celebrity, received a medal for my writing as a graphic design critic, worked in newspaper and book design, and had a stint as a short-order cook. I carry a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Stony Brook University, a M.A. in Cultural Studies from Kansas State University, and a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Dayton.

Hobbies include motorcycles, texas hold 'em, and tugboats.

Photo credits | Sylvie Rosokoff (top), Kette Thomas 

For speaker inquiries, please contact [email protected]
[email] laine [dot] nooney [at] gmail.com
[bluesky] @lainenooney.bsky.social