Okay Geek Farm
The world outlook on 'Geeks' is changing, forever
Brandon Davenport
If you were to watch the behind the scenes video from the latest Diggnation in SXSW without knowing anything about everything in the video, well you would think this was some sort of rock concert, with some guys drinkin' beers who were into technology. Yeah, I think around the moment when they were about to go on stage you would think, " Hey where are their guitars... wait a minute, this is no rock show..." but you would soon realize that in fact you were watching a rock show, just it's a tad different. It's two guys sitting on a couch with beer and an audience of around 7,000 people, with over half a million people watching it after in the internet. This makes me think, "Is this going to be the new Rock Concert?"...
I'm going to give you a quick look into why I think Geeks are becoming the new standard - Geeks are no longer being limited by their title. They are thriving in this time because of people like Kevin, Alex, Leo, Garry, and many more, are setting the standard. They aren't the "nerds" you thought about in those 80's flick with thick rimmed glasses, plaid tucked in shirts, and pocket protectors - these new geeks are far from that. The world is becoming accepting of Geeks and now everyone is realizing that all this "tech stuff" is no longer what the cool kids make fun of you for using and liking. In fact the cool kids make fun of you if you aren't using it, "HA! You're not on Facebook? lol!" And that in itself goes to show that the word Geek is slowly becoming a title that is treated like a badge.
Technology and Social Networking online is no-longer a niche area - it used to be 13 years ago with chat rooms and IRC's with a couple hundred people "chatting", or even 5 years ago, being social on the internet was hard to do, and considered "weird". I mean, does anyone remember when meeting people on internet was thought of as weird? But now it has an audience of hundreds of millions (maybe billions) of people, and is considered the latest trend; it's the new sport, the new team, the new way of fitting in.
Soon we are going to see parents trying to get their kids "into" technology. What I mean by that is that up until now the thing to do with your son is get to him to play hockey and football as soon as you can; It will make him popular, you will feel proud of him, and he will be successful in life - those are the main reasons people do this. All of these same reasons apply to the world of technology, and soon parents are going to see tech as a viable outlet and activity for kids to participate in, especially going into their teen years.
So because of this, we (the next generation) will become less obsessed about tech because of its exclusivity and originality - even though people are thinking the kids of today are going to become drones, or hermits living in their basements. It probably will not be like that and more likely the opposite will occur. Technology is becoming more social than it has ever been, and it will only become more so as the years go by. Ever checked out Foursquare or Gowalla? We are more and more integrating technology with stuff that we already do, like going out with friends, playings sports, hiking outdoors, and every other social activity we can do as humans.
The video of the behind the scenes of Diggnation is another huge piece of proof that everyone that made fun of you at school, or parents that nagged you to stop tinkering with your computer are now treating you differently. They will look at you one day and want to be just like you - just like Kevin and Alex. The world is changing, hop on and enjoy the ride because once you get on people won't just watch you go by, they will get on too.
