Tech Geeks

I have a colleague at work that is preparing to give a presentation at the Ragan conference next month titled "Geek Culture: How to Talk With IT People - and Get What You Need". She asked for feedback from the IT department (where I work). My response to her follows:

I’m in the ‘IT’ department, but I’m not a techie. Perhaps my contribution would be – don’t assume that just because someone is in the IT department that they are a tech-head geek.

It’s true that I AM a geek, just not a techie. I’m a huge ‘ST: Next Generation’ fan, for example. But I’m also NOT a geek. I rock-climb, I write screenplays, I make short documentary films…

It begs the question: What IS a geek, anyway? Can’t you be a film geek? Can’t you be a sports geek? I mean, anyone who gets so caught up in every freakin’ minute detail of whatever could be considered a geek, could they not? When I rockclimb, there are guys out there with HUGE amounts of gear on them. Call them what you want – gear junkies, gearheads… essentially, they’re gear geeks, right? I listen to the Creative Screenwriting podcast featuring Jeff Goldsmith, that magazine’s senior editor. Jeff is simultaneously cool AND a complete film geek. He knows all these crazy details about the writers and producers and actors… And that’s his world. But he’s also so cool – hanging out with the likes of Ethan Hawke (also a geek/stud), John Logan, and Simon Kinberg.

Further, I’d just read an article in the BBC recently that suggests yesterdays ‘geeks’ are today’s ‘cool’ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/793983.stm) – a premise that I believe is more and more true.

Dennis Miller noted that being called an ‘Einstein’ in our culture is viewed as an insult. There’s been such a dumbing down in US society that anything requiring thought and intelligence is seen as geeky and uncool. I personally have an extremely hard time with that.

But I also believe that IT ‘geeks’ are partly to blame for their reputations. They use their understanding of technology (in some cases) as a means to look down their collective noses at the rest of the world. The “How do I…?” questions or the ‘I’m having a problem with…’ that we non-techies ask are met with heavy sighs, condescension and a rolling of the eyes, which then generally elicit a collective middle finger from those of us that bothered to ask for help in the first place. Not every question or problem is an ‘ID 10 T’ error. Asking someone for help makes one vulnerable, and there are tech-geeks out there that just don’t have the social skills to recognize that fact and to treat people with the dignity that they are due. I had a colleague at the University who was in charge of IT. He used his tech knowledge as a weapon against others, making people feel dumb and building up (what was probably) his low self-esteem. Most people that had computer problems just tried to avoid him and find others around the office to help them. I just started using my Mac – problem solved. ; )

That being said, let’s not give the techies ammo or tempt them in any way. Before asking for help with something, do the basics… Is your machine plugged in? Is your battery dead? Is the mouse and keyboard plugged all the way in to their ports? I think we need to make sure that we do as much troubleshooting as possible before we go wasting someone else’s time. There is way too much throwing up of one’s hands into the air and letting someone else fix the problem. And lastly, let’s also remember to keep a sense of humor about our own limitations… Have a thick enough skin so that if an IT geek gives you a bit of a hard time, you can just roll with it. Everyone has their talents… I speak Chinese, but I can’t code. Levi codes but can’t speak Chinese. But that’s maybe a bad example since we’re both so cool.

These are my initial thoughts on the subject. I’m going to take this and put it into my blog, however. IF I blog, does that make me a geek? If I twitter, am I a geek? If I have Spiderman action figures on my shelf at home, am I a geek ? (I don’t, by the way – I’m not a total geek)