by: David Armano
I apologize in advance for all of the "2.0" posts recently—but I couldn't help myself. My recent "Geek Dinner" experience impacted me more than I anticipated.
(click for larger image)
Sure it was cool that I got to rub elbows (literally) with Robert Scoble and some other Silicon Valley shakers—but what really got my gears turning was the notion of what passes for as a "Geek" these days.
Geekdom, is nothing like what I remember it to be from High school. Today, it seems that the most cutting edge, tech savvy and just plain "cool" people around proudly wear a "Geek badge". But to me, it seems like it's an evolution of "Geek culture". Geeking out in the classic sense means going gaga over our gadgets. Learning how to tweak them to their highest potential. And if you think of it, most of the "2.0" Web applications out there that are fueling this whole movement are created and designed by… Geeks.
But these aren't your parents Geeks. These are the Geeks that invent the Facebook's Firefoxes and Flickr's of the world. These are the Geeks that have taken Silicon Valley by storm. They are also the Geeks who are coveted and sought after by smart companies such as Google.
And here is the kicker. Though the comfort level with technology is a pre-requisite, Geeks can be anyone. You can be a Design Geek, a Writer Geek—heck, you can even be a Marketing Geek.
In fact, maybe you should. In marketing, when we look at how Web applications like You Tube have totally interrupted the Advertising model—maybe it makes sense to "Geek out" and really grasp how these emerging media technologies are feeding the appetite of consumers at ease with their digital lifestyles.
Maybe we're all really Geeks in the end (or need to be).
And if that's the case—we better figure out how to create the right kinds of experiences and tell the most compelling stories to our own Geeky selves.
Original Post: http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/09/geek_20.html
