culture

Geek As Citizen: To Know

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So I’ve taken it upon myself to ponder the question: what is the role of a geek as a citizen? We have our own unique skills and inclinations and the like, so just what is the role of people like us in a functional society? Note I say “functional” society – we’re working on the ideal here.

Last column I defined what geeks were in an “inclusive, definitional” sense for the purpose of my work and because I obsess over the subject. Here’s what defines geeks for me:

  • Passionate about a subject or subjects – on a personal level.
  • Apply that passion and knowledge – not always for monetary reward, but there are blurred lines.
  • Leverage tools and technology to apply that passion.
  • The person’s identity and social involvements are part of this strong interest.
  • Geeks are often part of a larger gestalt and culture, but not always – the “Geekonomy” and “Geek culture” don’t encompass all geeks.

Or “Geeks are personally passionate about a subject that they apply, and that knowledge and application is part of their identity and social scene.” Simple, but I kind of like my bullet points.

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Geek As Citizen: What Is A Geek?

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As I mentioned last week, I’m going to be exploring the role of geeks as citizen. What is our place in a functional society? Where do we belong? Where are we needed? I think a lot of us kind of have an idea, but it’s worth exploring in an age where, almost accidentally, we kind of created modern society and to a lesser extent run it.

I’m not sure we intended to do this, but there you go. Me, I’d want better environmental policies and a reduction in stupid reality shows. But that’s for another time.

In order to actually ask “what is the ideal role of a citizen geek” we kind of have to define geek. I’ve taken a stab at it – many have taken a stab at it – and doubtlessly we’ll be arguing about it for years to come. But I’m going to make an effort (again) to try and do it at least to solidify my recent insights and give us a working theory.

Let me note that my definition is designed to be descriptive and not exclusionary.  I have no interest in promoting geek exclusion or exclusivity, there’s enough “not geek enough” garbage out there.  Instead I’m interested in it as a kind of demographic description – pretty much a case of “you are one if you think you’re one and identify as one.”

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Comics: The Leaders Aren’t Leading

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Comics’ problem is that there’s no real leadership from the big names?

I’d say actually this is a problem in a lot of media.  No one takes chances, everyone is comfortable, and no one is really leading towards something.  There are times leadership is bottom up.

Do you feel like leading?

– Steven Savage