Dr T.L. Taylor
Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Dr T.L. Taylor is Professor of Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and cofounder and now Director of Research of AnyKey, an organisation that supports and develops fair and inclusive esports. She is a qualitative sociologist who has focused on internet and game studies for more than two decades.
Dr Taylor's research explores the interrelations between culture and technology in online leisure environments. Her book, Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming (MIT Press, 2012), chronicles the rise of esports and professional computer gaming. She also authored Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture (MIT Press, 2006) using her multi-year ethnography of EverQuest to explore issues related to multiplayer online gaming. In 2012, Princeton University published her co-authored book on conducting ethnographic research in online multi-user worlds, Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method. Coming in October is her book about game livestreaming – Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming (Princeton University Press).
Dr Taylor is a highly sought-after speaker. Both the White House and the International Olympic Committee have invited her to special summits focused on gaming. Journalists for the New York Times, PBS, the Los Angeles Times, the BBC, CBC and many others often reach out to Dr Taylor for her expertise.