The Tale Of Geek 2.0
Last week I discussed how we, the nerds, geeks, fans, otaku, eggheads, and other people who can debate the Jungian symbolism of Buffy fanart should own the labels we have had applied to us. I believe there is pride in the nerdiness, the geekery, that defines us and is part of our lives.
I do it. In fact, it’s part of my career.
I call myself a Professional Geek, Geek 2.0. It’s on my website, it’s on my Twitter profile, it’s on my business cards. My business cards themselves don’t have a picture, but an anime-ized version of me*.
I am a Geek on the job.
Why?
I do it because it’s honest.
I am a Geek. I read the Barsoom novels before they were cool, had a computer in Junior High (in the 80’s), saw ‘Akira’ in theaters, and to this day am a raging inferno of nerdy. This is who I am and you can’t change it.
By not hiding it, I have nothing to worry about. No Geek closet for me. No worry someone will secretly discover my love of bad movies or the 200 hours I put in on Skyrim. I’m out there, I’m me, and if people have to live with it.
By being honest, I also find people respect me more. There’s no illusion, no false mask (well, unless cosplay is involved), no fakery. When people see you’re you, they trust you and respect you.
By acknowledging my geekiness I connect with others. I still recall how, years ago, a conversation on Halo action figures let me get around someones desire not to give me a server.
I do it because it’s powerful.
When you’re yourself, when you own your labels, when you’re blatant about your nerdity, then you can call upon all your resources without shame. You can rally your friends to help you solve a coding problem, get a fanartist friend to assist with a corporate logo, or hunt for recruits at a convention. People know who you are when you own your labels, and that lets you fully call upon who you are.
When you’re yourself, when you take command of how people describe you, you can call upon your own internal resources. Your imagination, creativity, strange (and possibly disturbing) knowledge is there for you to use fully. No shame in advising a marketing researcher on what they can learn from My Little Pony**, no fear in mentioning gaming trends tell you something about interface design.
I do it because it’s me.
If I’m not going to be myself in my career, I’m going to be pretty miserable for the rest of my life, and that’s going to be a long time***.
So go own your identity as a geek, nerd, otaku, whatever. Make your own label, your own term, and use it happily and strategically.
I think you’ll not only be happier, but more successful – because you’ll be you more often, and I get the impression the real you is pretty cool.
* I look more handsome that way, unfortunately.
** His expression was priceless, but it was a great illustration of accidental viral marketing.
*** Especially if my plan to upload myself to the internet encoded as fanart succeeds.
