A Geek? No Way! Well, Wait A Sec…

November 3rd, 2008 by admin

By Jennifer Lindsay, Director of Digital Services, Social Media Evangelist / New Media Guru

 

It’s so bizarre to me. 

 

Following years of being the coolest kid in the working world ’cause I happened to work in TV news, I now work in PR and am occasionally - as lovingly as possible - referred to as a ‘geek.’

 

Eek! How the heck did that happen?

Well, when I started out in TV news, I was probably at the height of my coolness. I reported. On air. I was the shiz.

 

What is it that John Lennon said? “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” That’s it. Now here I sit… at Eastwick.

 

There’s more to to the story: the Peace Corps, pioneering ‘new media,’ my Columbia J-school degree. I wouldn’t change a thing; couldn’t if I tried.

 

But back to that geek thing.

 

I’ve noticed that word making a comeback. I was hesitant at first to join groups such as Facebook’s Geek Girl Dinners. But spending most of my day figuring out how to explain big-picture social media strategy in bite-sized pieces to well-meaning execs. I longed to talk freely, techie, ‘geeky’ to others who ’spoke my language.’

 

Nomenclature matters.

 

So I joined - Geek Girls Dinners anyway - and you know what happened. I got groupies! Honest to God!!! I won’t reveal names to protect the innocent (and not so innocent), but men wrote me things like, ‘Geek Girls rule!’ It happened enough that I started to believe it was more than a bad joke. Being a social media maven is cool to some.

 

Turns out it’s like everything else in PR, it’s all about the audience.

Posted in Messaging, Public Relations, Social Media |

2 Responses

  1. A Geek? No Way! Well, Wait A Sec… « been jennifered today? Says:

    [...] [Cross-posted here] [...]

  2. Gina Says:

    We appreciate the translation!

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