My friend, Brian Solis, pointed me to the “Society for Geek Advancement” today, something which rings true to many of my thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Being a “geek” now is much different than when I was younger. Years ago, having a “geek” badge was something that was almost shameful, and people were ostracized because of it. Now, all of us “geeks” wear this badge not as a scarlet letter, but as a symbol of forward thinking, living in the now and help shape the future in the process.
The Society for Geek Advancement is about the need for people to actually embrace their inner and outer “geekdom” and to truly enjoy this process. To quote “As individuals who love learning, innovating and believe in possibility as well as change, the second step of responsibility is to ‘be the geek that keeps on giving’.”
This quote from their site really sums it all up:
“I AM A GEEKâ€, like all geeky side projects, started out as a tongue and cheek video we spent way too much time on and were going to simply throw out to the wild wild interwebs. But as more people came on board, the question of using “social media for social good†seemed to become more relevant. With Twitter and other social networking sites like Facebook blowing up by the second, it’s not only possible to get noticed and create “social capitalâ€, but to use that for a greater good. Individuals now have the opportunity to be heard and bring awareness and attention to causes like they never had before. We saw this new wave of social philanthropy come to life recently with the global Twestival raising $250,000 worldwide for Charity:Water.
When I set out to create my own Geek presence (the end result being this blog), it was done with a bit of trepidation. I was afraid that no one would care or even listen. But, creating it was truly who I am. I am able to write, analyze and talk about things that I really enjoy. Blogging and Social Media have helped draw out the Geek within us all, and it does not necessarily have to be related to technology. A person can be a geek with whatever passion they have inside. For me, that passion is about gadgets, software, hardware, and technology.
But what truly sold me on taking the time to post this was the video that was conceptualized by Shira Lazar and Lon Harris:
The personalities on the video include:
Shaquille O’Neal (The Real Shaq), Steve Wozniak (Apple Co-founder), Kevin Pollak (Actor), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jason Calacanis (Internet Entrepreneur), Samm Levine (Actor), Felicia Day (Creator of The Guild / Actress), Kevin Rose (Co-Founder Digg, Revision3), Alex Albrecht (Co-Host Diggnation), Leo Laporte (Technology Journalist and Broadcaster), IJustine (Internet Celebrity / Lifecaster), David Karpe (Founder of Tumblr), Veronica Belmont (co-host of Revision3’s tech-centric show, Tekzilla,), Sarah Lacy (Sillicon Valley Journalist and Author), Randi Zuckerberg (Marketing Director Facebook), Pete Cashmore (Founder of Mashable), Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com), Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV), Jonathan Coulton (Famed Singer-Song Writer), Kevin Pereira (The Cable Television Darling), Tay Zonday (YouTube celebrity), Julia Allison (Internet Celebrity, Lifecaster), Julia Roy (Blogger), Marina Orlova (HotForWords, YouTube Internet Celebrity), Shira Lazar (On-air personality, blogger), and Brian Solis (Social Media Extraordinaire, PR2.0/FutureWorks/Bub.blicio.us).
It is important to let your “inner geek” be free and to nurture, grow and share it. Do it in a way that expresses yourself and helps others in the process.
HTD Says: “Geekdom” encapsulates my passion for technology, gadgets, software & hardware. Briefly #IAMAGEEK.
