7 Reader Responses

1. John Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 2:11 am

   i’d like to think that i had a hand in that, old friend… you helped me to become more of a nerd, and for that, I thank you.

2. zacharius Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 11:46 am

   this essay was more an extension of the occult evanglization thread, but I suppose it still applies here.

   http://goldenbraid.blogspot.com/2005/0...lution-will-not-be-spiritualised.html

   I think the critical thing is to reach out to people who are already looking for this stuff, rather than bust our heads open banging against the wall of social consensus.

   There are hundreds of thousands out there waiting for the call ot the majors.

3. alistair Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 12:51 pm

   it`s hard to tell that to young radicals and have them accept it. i suppose that`s why many don`t begin to explore spirituality until middle age.

4. Eurydice Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 1:11 pm

   Just show me where I can sign up to start my own local chapter of the Nerd Outreach Program. It’s a great idea!

   Particularly important, I feel, is to reach out to those geeks and nerds who are daily forced to deny said geekiness or nerdiness by well-meaning but ultimately misdirected parents who feel that roleplaying games, Star Trek, and/or girls wanting to work with computers is the work of the Great Adversary. I grew up in a circle of geek girls whose parents were one flavor or another of Christian fundamentalist, and nothing was sadder than to watch those girls attempt to channel their intelligence and interests into “appropriate” channels. I gave one of them a couple of original series Star Trek novels for her birthday, but had to do so in secret, as her mother didn’t approve. She kept them in a box hidden under her bed, and could only bring them out when she knew that her mom wouldn’t be around.

   I was lucky enough to have parents who were geeks themselves. Therefore, I think that we who were so fortunate should reach out to those without such opportunities, and at least sneak them a couple of d20s or a Heinlein book under the table when no one else is looking. It’s the least we can do.

5. Jack Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 1:45 pm

   Gaaah! Stop! I’m having flashbacks of watching my meticulously constructed fantasy campaign world (a big fat trapper-keeper full of years’ worth of imagination) go up in smoke along with my dice and books, because I had not hidden them adequately from my over-zealous born-again parents.

   I have since overcome my anger with God, but I don’t much see my parents anymore.

   Meanwhile, my own children are kept pretty dogma free, my own dogma included, and the difference is difficult to vocalize, it is so vast.

6. Fell Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 4:24 pm

   I have some very geeky friends, and one one in particular with no social experience (having grown up in Small Town, Alberta. He’s a huge Star Wars fan, plays tabletop Warhammer, Xbox junkie, etc. Over the past year we’ve turned him into a social experiment to see if we could get his confidence up, inspired him to explore different clubs and locales in the city, and he actually justed moved to the artsy area of a region of Edmonton known as Old Strathcona, where all the clubs, restaurants, cafés, clothiers, et cetera are all located. A huge move for a guy who just last year saw nothing but prairie and knew no one outside of the restaurant he worked in and his family that he lived with.

   This has been intentional on my behalf, partially because I wanted to see the process involved in going from geek to chic, if you will. We may not have reached chic with him yet, but at least he has the balls to stand up for himself and he’s beginning to enter the world of flirting… well, soon.

   In no way did anyone coerce him, ridicule him, or infuse any sort of dogma in his development. Essentially, we just encouraged him to approach the situations in his life he saw as difficult (some family issues, some work). Okay, in one regard we did plant dogma: we pushed him to try out new aspects of the community in which he sorta lived. In doing so, he got to experience and mentally catalogue what he saw and he could slowly choose to explore on his own the aspects which intrigued him with the new confidence he was finding in himself with the support network that has been established among coworkers at the restaurant (where he’s gone from salad prep and janitorial to the house bartender).

   I like the kid, he’s a good guy. So don’t think I am playing mad scientist with him or anything, it was a concerted effort of many people. But I like to encourage and take care of him when I’m with him.

   So in light of the research garnered, at least for me via this personal observation, I begin to posture an idea of a brand that could, in fact, bring about the notion of a “Nerd Outreach Program,” and I can use the aforementioned fellow as a consultant. I mean, my friend Jason and I were both dorks in school to an extent — we played the Rifts RPG, read comics fervently, skipped class to read books, and so on. But we also sold drugs, cycled, learned to skate, and we grouped with the so-caleld outcast “skid” and “skater” cliques from the other schools in the region to form an über-group of punks, skaters, and skids (who was to know that skaters would grow to become the new generation of jocks?).

   So we have a few markets here:

   The Vulgar Masses: Seekers that are familiar with their own religions but know of nothing outside of it. I know lots of these. Content, good students, athletes, generally what we call “general populace” because there is nothing discerning about them. They just fit right into the mould. But there are numbers of them that are pursuing something more, they are ripe for an offering. Materials should reflect pop culture trends in sports and entertainment, making imagery and symbolism relative to their utter lack of any sort of cultural knowledge outside of what tv tells them.

   The Hidden: A hard group to find as they’re almost totally tabula rasa, as exemplified by our little restaurant friend above. They grow up insible to the world, are never introduced to any outside excitement, and are quiet. Any sort of gentle approach to intriguing and encouraging them to explore something that will empower them will be hugely beneficial, but hard to do cuz they have no idea what it is or how it can help them. Limited vernacular means for a harder message to convey. Suggested marketing approach: use Jedi analogies and a structured hierarchy of experiences to be expected, from going to a pub with friends or how to dress (it’s all in the shoes, a fitted shirt, and some sexy denim… go Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on them, but just enough to make them feel empowered or educated), then get them to actually talk to a girl (or vice versa), etc. Jedis and the slow realisation that a girl will talk to them, then onto enlightenment.

   Will to Power: Those out there that have pursued their own paths, like most of the people I think I know, which have pursued their own spiritual paths and are slowly establishing themselves as their community leaders in their holistic and alternative fields. Many of these subjects, such a Qi Gong and reiki and NLP, can definitely fit into the occult approach to overall understanding, but the difficulty is that chances are they’re involved in brand tribes already. Bonus is that no brand exists to bring together the spiritual in a way they can be proud to show off. Hardest part here is that if it’s hippies with copies of Adobe Photoshop who think they’re designers, but with no education in design, brand, aesthetic, pop culture, or marketing psychology, you’ll inevitably end up with Ultraculture® versus Prada, Chanel, D&G, Diesel, Etnies, et al.

   Guess what, they’re established and defining themselves with products a thousand times more established and powerful than some new brand based on something thus far undefined. Prada will kick the shit out of the occult. And this would be the hardest group to attract, but as persons broadcasting this particular brand, these are the alpha dogs (trendsetters) you want establishing the brand in the public eye. Well, these folk and the geeks who actually successfully grow from being socially inept to being involved in their community or field. People like myth, and every success story is a marketable myth to empower your brand.

   I could go on, but I’ve been working on this for a while and am well underway with my own project. But it’s not like spirituality should be limited to one brand. And if anyone bitches about branding a spiritual approach, they can lick mine arse. Look forward, not backward.

7. bill Says:
   July 20th, 2005 at 7:48 pm

   Tim,
   Great idea.
   It is the Nerds who develop the technology to produce the paychecks and to make life easier for the rednecks, good-old-boys and self-proclaimed leaders. Yet nerds put up with a lot of crap.

   The Internet is a place of the nerds, by the nerds and still significantly for the nerds. But this happened before, with each wave of technology. Let us enjoy it while we can.
   Somewhat covertly, faithCommons is a Nerd Outreach, albeit from a Christian perspective. To some extent, nerdy types are most welcomed there because there is no attempt made to dumb things down. But another nerdy aspect is the assumption that visitors can—and will—think for themselves and that they will puke at “we have all the answers,” easy, step-by-step HowTos.

   bill