For most people, anyone involved in technology is a boring geek, with little or no creativity. And at the top of the geek pyramid rests the IT geek. The stereotypical computer guy in the movies with the thick glasses, who never gets the joke and will never get a date in his life. He's the guy they always interview after a star wars movie releases or after the launch of the new xbox. The one standing in line for 2 days to get his piece of geek paradise.
I've been in the IT consulting industry for about 5 years now and I have to say just as I do about everything else... enough with the stereotypes. While we do have some guys as described in the movies and your mental image, on the other hand the industry employs and nurtures people who are just as creative as a movie director and just as passionate as a music composer. Do you really think Van Gogh could have designed the iPod any better? Mozart probably didn't have as much of an impact on the music field as Napster did and will have in the future (OK maybe it's a slight stretch).
The other misconception about geeks is that they are caught up in their own small world of lines of code, LED displays, wires and all that jazz and couldn't care less about anything outside that world. The fact is, technology from the beginning has been used to solve business problems. And to solve those problems, the industry needs to understand them as well if not better than the actual business owners. So don't be surprised if a techy explains to you how the entire publishing industry works and why print is different from internet.
There are very few aspects of everyday life that are not affected by technical innovation, creativity or just pure genius. When you work from home so you can watch over your kid who's not keeping well... it's because of the geeks. When you send flowers to your girlfriend / boyfriend sitting 5000 miles away with the click of a button it's because of the geeks. When you listen to your favourite music from a choice of 15,000 songs while your'e driving.... yes... you're getting the drift, it's because of the geeks.
So the next time you sit down with your friends for a drink, you may want to raise a toast to the geek as well .. because chances are you looked up the venue and invited your friends over the internet .... which ofcourse once again .. is because of the geek.
