VideoVoo: Online Video Marketing

OK, I was not prepared for geek halloween costumes haunting the web in a large number. Don’t ask why. I simply went to Makezine to check out some Halloween tips, and then decided to run a search on ‘geek halloween costumes’. Lots of results: it is mainstream to be geek at halloween, whatever you should understand by being geek.

Let’s see who could be the top ten geek (or g33k) girls, women in history:

1. Marissa Mayer, the Google girl: surely, Valleyvag would add Marissa’s laugh as a special choice for those who want to add some spice to their Halloween impersonification . Practically, the most well-known geek girl is Marissa these days. Plus she is the face of Google search interviews, once Larry page and Sergey Brin decided to stay away from time-consuming media appearances. Take a blonde wig, a Google T-shirt, some search technology vocabulary on universal search and have fun.
2. Ada Byron Lovelace would be a great choice, had I known before who she was (hey guys, apparently the world’s first progammer!). So you could get away as a geek girl at a Halloween party in an impeccable 19th century costume. Don’t forget those beautiful locks, and the black fan to cool yourself (now that could be a computer fan). The bad thing is that it’s somehow so encyclopaedic.
3. Pris the replicant from Blade Runner (yes, it is Daryl Hannah herself): the only drawbacks is are that a, you need to be fit and b, you may be asked to perform some of those wonderful acrobatic jumps that make her so unmistakebly unique. On the other hand, it is very sexy and to boot it all, it’s an easy choice: black semi-transparent body, a very dishevelled white wig and a neatly drawn black eye strip. There you go.
4. Ripley, aka Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, (impersonated by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien series, although it has originally been cast as a male role). I asked my husband, Attila who he would choose. In fact, He suggested the survival queen, Ripley. Perfect choice. What do you need if you choose the daring Ripley costume? A white underwear (an athletic plain vest and triangle-shaped panties), an artificial ginger cat, and (great news): no makeup. Curl your hair back to the eighties, try to appear just having confronted with 3 aliens. If you want to be more covered, go for the dungarees, easy to make from a repairman’s uniform. Of course, you could be Mother too, the nightmarish ship’s computer from Alien, but that is really a challenging choice. Just like the male HAL (the computer in Space Odyssey) for your partner. Yet, HAL could be a very simple costume: that big watching eye as your head, and maybe a ‘Computer malfunction’ legend on the screen (your chest).
5. OK, let’s go through the compulsory round, which you may have expected to be in the first place: Princess Leia, chain in the neck, charming bikini etc. Be prepared to meet some other Princess Leia at the same party and claim your validity. If you have a Jabba with you, you stand a better chance. Here in New Orleans, setting up Jabba’s underground jazz band should not be a problem.
6. Trillian, in the HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Not the film version, as it was simply week. Invent your own Trillian, the way you see any pan-galactical hyper smart girl. The number 42 neatly placed on your back, boobs, calves, space suite, mouse fur, anywhere, but in big fonts, may give some hint to your friends who you intended to be.
7. Susan Calvin, Dr, the chief robopsychologist in Asimov’s classic, web-free science fiction series. (Again, Attila’s choice). I have no idea what she wears though. Still, you may just make it up (maybe cyrillic letters on a silver teacher’s robe, having your hair in a strict bun?)
8. Sarah Connor from the Terminator. For Sarah, it’s a white vest and jogging pants, or you may wish to choose the more brutal military version.
9. Trinity from Matrix: black patent uniform, lots of hair gel, and stylish sunglasses, of course. Put on a serious look.
10. Edna from the Incredibles: the über geek fashion designer. Black hair, black dress, mini body size paired up with maxi giant glasses, gym trainer speaking style and, style in general. Must repeat ‘darling’ many times and interrupt others continuously.

The list is not perfect and hopefully will never be. Unfortunately, there are far less real life geek women heroines in the list that I wanted to see. Although we have a Limor Fried, and a Vanessa Fox to check out for future references. And of course many more that I have not mentioned but they are out there. Somewhere, some day. And being a geek girl is not deterring any more. 3 years was ages ago. Not most importantly, but from a superficial impression: more and more stylish laptops are crashing the male pizza eater image that may have threatened more feminine users. Of course, having a laptop does not mean that you can handle it without getting help, but that’s how the procedure for changing a car wheel started for women drivers…

By the way, Chris Pirillo came up with the following list for male halloween geeks: Steve Jobs, an iPhone or iPod, Chris Crocker, A Blue Screen of Death, the FreeBSD Demon… or even the Linux Penguin. How about current geek heroes like the Fake Steve Jobs, or even better the Microsoft guy in the Apple ads? The search twins? Hal, can your hear me? etc.