About Pidgeo.com and FAQ

Who or what is a Pidgeo?

Pidgeo is me, Brad Pidgeon. Pidgeo also is my main nickname and Xbox Live gamertag.

What is Pidgeo.com all about?

Pidgeo.com is my personal blog/website. I previously was the Connected Entertainment Evangelist for the Entertainment and Devices Division in Microsoft Australia and New Zealand but now am independently sharing my opinion on the positives about the latest in gaming and technology.

How did you end up in your old job?

A little bit of luck and a lot of hard work while going the "wrong" way around. Instead of studying hard during the HSC going onto uni and studying economics then actuarial studies like I was suppose to, I took a job as a web designer/IT support guy for an accounting software firm in Sydney. I ended up taking a break of sorts after that job and enrolled in a paid course to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Database Admin (MCSE/MCDBA) in 2002.

Since 1986 I have been playing video games. My first computer was an Apple IIe and my after school carer had a Commodore 64 and since then I've been hooked. I grew up as a Nintendo fanboy as the SNES was my first console that I owned and with the N64 following after with the game that turned a hobby into an obsession (GoldenEye) I was a huge advocate of the Big N until 2001. I had also spent many hours on the PC side of gaming with my cousin and I sharing games for many years.

2001 saw the arrival of the Dreamcast which took my attention away from the N64 and I enjoyed GT3 on the PS2 but it was the Xbox and Halo in 2002 that really changed the console game for me. Halo was by far and away the best thing I'd ever played or seen at that time and from there I've been an Xbox man through and through.

What better time to get an interview for a job in Xbox than after finishing Halo on Legendary? I was looking at seek.com.au in November 2002 and stumbled upon an advertisement for a "Games Console Support Technician". After reading it and seeing things like "passionate about gaming". "plays the current consoles", "is a confident public speaker" and "has a deep knowledge of games and gaming history" I had to refresh the page to actually believe it! Once I re-read the ad I wrote my cover letter, attached my resume and sent it off.

A few days late I got a call from the recruiters asking would I like to head in for an interview..... "um what do you think?!?!" The interview was literally talking about gaming for an hour and I did enough to get through the rest of the interviews and score the opportunity of a lifetime! I found out afterwards that unless I stuffed up in a big way the job was mine as my resume was the only one out of hundreds that had "video gaming" as a personal interest. I still shake my head and laugh at that!!

I started 6th January 2003 and the rest as they say is history. The role has changed a fair bit in five years but has evolved to something I love and enjoy doing - talking about gaming and technology.

Although the end result was fantastic, in all honesty if I had my time again I wish I had studied harder at school and gone to uni, if for no other reason than to have a degree and not have to try and find the time now to still get one!!

Why did you leave?

I just needed a fresh start and a new challenge. I have a number of business ideas that I will be trying to build over the next few months so hopefully they come off.

What can we use the Contact form for?

You can send through comments and feedback about the site. You can also ask questions about Microsoft gaming, gadgets and technology and I'll do my best to provide an answer. I am NOT able and won't answer support questions so please call 1800 555 741 for Xbox Support and 13 20 58 for all other Microsoft support queries. You can also enter any competitions that I run on this blog as well - just remember to add the right subject for the comp you wish to enter. Any abusive or derogatory comments will be ignored and deleted.

How do we leave comments on posts?

Just click on the Comments link under the posts and enter your details and your comments. I will need to approve them so that is most likely the reason the comment has not appeared. Please be patient as I do check them regularly.

What is the technology running Pidgeo.com?

Pidgeo.com is powered by DotNetBlogEngine 1.2, an open source blog project using the Microsoft ASP.NET platform. It is hosted on a Microsoft IIS 7 server by Amnesia

Does Microsoft tell you what to write?

Short answer - No. This blog is my personal blog and the opinions expressed within are my opinions and not those of Microsoft, its employees or partners. However I do get asked to post certain news or offers on pidgeo.com as I can update this site with a moment's notice and get the info into the hands of the community as qucikly as possible.

Can I contribute to Pidgeo.com?

You certainly can by visiting, leaving comments, entering competitions and participating in tournaments that I run for Xbox.com.au. I will be having guest bloggers from time to time but I'm not actively recruiting and not planning to at this stage.

How do I be a part of the Australian and/or New Zealand Xbox or Games for Windows communities?

There are plenty of ways to be an active participant in the ANZ Xbox/G4W communities! Here's a few suggestions...

• Join a forum!! As a start, begin reading and posting in the Official Xbox AU or NZ forums. What a lot of people do is visit the official forums as well as one of the Xbox community forums such as XboxWorld, XboxZone and MyGen
• Go to a LAN! The sites I just mention as well as the masters of the Xbox LAN - Spectre - run competitions and events all year round. They are great fun no matter what your skill level and its always great to put gamertags to faces. Also, we at Xbox run a few big events every year so stay tuned to the Xbox.com.au/nz Community section for the latest news on upcoming official events
• Subscribe to a community blog/podcast - XboxOZ360, Dimorphic and the guys at OzBoxLive do a great job of giving you a down under take on the events and news in the land of Xbox 360. They too run LAN's that are definitely worth going to. I went to the first DarkLAN that the team that XboxZone and XboxOZ360 ran and had a great time.
• If you are a member of Facebook, join the Official Xbox Australia Community Group!
• Keep checking GamesForWindows.com.au for updates - This is definitely something to stay tuned to....
• Keep visiting Pidgeo.com of course!!!

It seems all you do is gaming!! Do you have any other interests or hobbies?

Hobbies not so much these days but interests definitely. I am a sports fanatic! If I wasn't doing this job I'd be trying to find a way into sports broadcasting. I will watch any sport involving a ball and have attempted the vast majority of them with mixed results. My favourite sports to play (or used to play... lets be honest here!!) are golf, football/soccer, Aussie Rules, basketball, volleyball and netball. The funniest part is that netball was the sport I went the furthest in, probably because only a handful of blokes play it!! Still, a great game to play. I also love adventure sports like hiking, skiing and rock climbing. Growing up in the Blue Mountains and my family's history of wilderness exploring meant I could navigate through the wilderness with a compass and rock climb before I could swim! Due to my obsession with my job I don't head out in the wilderness anymore but it is on my to do list in 2008.

One interest I am certainly passionate about is my two "boys" - my dogs Oscar and Tiger. Unfortunately neither of them live with me anymore. Oscar lives with my ex-girlfriend and we had to give Tiger away as our new yard was just too small for the big fella plus I couldn't spend enough time taking him for the eons of walks/gallops that he needs. Thankfully I still get on with Katie (the ex) very well and we found a wonderful home for Tiger with a huge backyard and his new parents Santina and John are awesome. Not only did they already have an Xbox 360 when we met them, they bought a ute just for Tiger!!

(Oscar on the left, Tiger on the right)

Pre-determined yes, fake not so much. As many a wrestler says you can't fake gravity!! Yes they are working together in a match and not actually trying to beat the snot out of one another but to me, I enjoy the showmanship, the amazing athleticism and drama of it all... plus the fact I only need to use three brain cells while watching