Comments on: Is the Web Overrun by Geeks, or Is Everyone Geeky Now?

By: Geek Studies » Blog Archive » More on Death in Games

Geek Studies » Blog Archive » More on Death in Games — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:26:08 +0000

[...] As an unrelated aside, I find it amusing that the Escapist is the first result that comes up when you google “Yahtzee.” I’d argue that this is some small evidence that geeks still largely control the web. [...]

By: Jordan

Jordan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:29:14 +0000

It would be cool to see some statistics about who is using the internet combined with stats about how frequently/long they use it, and cross referenced with which sites/subjects are getting the most traffic. In other words, even if “geeks” are a smaller proportion of internet users (than before), they probably access the internet much more frequently. This has a snowballing effect — if you only use the internet to check your email or Yahoo news, then you might be less likely to understand the utility of wikipedia, digg, etc. You kind of hit on this in your paragraph where you mentioned Malcolm Parks.

By: Jason Tocci

Jason Tocci — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:47:07 +0000

Regarding Matt’s point: A couple years back, when I started researching geek culture, I asked an interviewee why he thought non-computer geeky things still get lumped in with computer geekery, and he noted that when he was a kid, he had to turn to BBS’s to find anybody with similar interests. There’s also an essay early on in She’s Such a Geek! that implies this, at least for one contributor. I’ve heard a few other examples along these lines as well. I’m curious as to how common this is.

Personally, I met some fellow geeks in middle school, and it was through them that I started using computers as a tool for entertainment and social connection. Following that, early BBS’s were definitely one way that I tapped into broader networks related to my interests—I even met my first girlfriend on a BBS (insofar as someone you hold hands with in eighth grade counts as a “girlfriend”)…

By: Church

Church — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:53:29 +0000

I’m wondering about the timing here. Stories that make it out into the national news are routinely discussed weeks in advance online. I’d love to see someone do a comparison of the first time story X gets mentioned online versus when the Gang of 500 glom onto it.

By: Matt S

Matt S — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:27:09 +0000

I agree that we are definitely seeing an echo chamber effect in these numbers.

While I was reading this though a thought occurred to me. The early life of a geek usually involves a certain degree of isolation from one’s peers. In the past, this dictated a certain degree of social isolation over all. It wasn’t until college, or at least post-high school, that geeks began to find a social network that they fit into.

Today’s young geeks though have the internet as an outlet where they can minimize that sense of social isolation by connecting with other geeks online. Since humans are typically social animals who crave a certain degree of social interaction, it makes sense that those of us who are unable to find that social element in our day to day lives fill that void through using the net.

I guess what I’m getting at is the question of whether the preponderance of geeks online isn’t a natural outcome of the social situation that geeks tend to fall into?

If this is the case, I wonder what kind of long term effect this will have on the stereotype of the socially inept geek. A significant element in the rise of this stereotype is that degree of isolation that we face during our formative years. Limit that isolation and what effect does that have?