Finding out that a mildly psychotic ex-girlfriend (or her friend, I’m not sure which) posted something ‘negative’ about me out on the Internet got me thinking. The beginning part of the rant expounded a little bit about how big of a dork I was/am. Beyond being amused at how a now-37 year old woman would resort to ‘OMGyou’resuchanerd!’ insult tactics, I started thinking about how all of the things that could potentially classify me under the ‘nerd’ or ‘dork’ category are the things helped me to get where I am now.

Let’s look at some of those things…

1. Chat rooms - When I worked at the computer lab at the College of Applied Science during my 1998-99 school days, you can imagine I wasn’t constantly busy. And so I spent some of my time in chatrooms and on bulletin boards (BBSs). While not necessarily considered the coolest thing in the world, I didn’t particularly care.

Chat applications and BBSs served as the jump for things like myspace, Facebook, Twitter and the myriad other social media appliacations.  What are they, if not glorified and steroidized versions of chatrooms and BBSs? And those sites/services happen to be all the rage right now in the interactive space. I’m of the opinion (as are a good number of other interactive professionals) that these will be THE places to market products/services/etc. to the majority of the world, whether that be through your typical online advertising (banners, fragments, etc.) or some other genius way. Hooray for me being on the boat early.

2. Star Wars - This particular insult I found pretty funny. She referred to me as a “Star Wars groupie”. Is that really considered an insult? I’m  pretty glad that someone would refer to me as that. Most of the coolest people I’ve met could be considered “Star Wars groupies”. Of course, I suppose that would depend upon your definition of what a “Star Wars groupie” is.  Whatever your definition, Star Wars is one of those things the whole world can relate to whether you love it, hate it, or are somewhere in between. I can’t tell you how many friends & business contacts I’ve made just by being able to relate to Star Wars, whether it be through the movies to the books that have come out to the video games.

3. Computer parts/hardware: Again, another one that is hilarious when trying to insult someone. A lot of college kids aren’t the luckiest in the sense of having to work at jobs that are kind of crap. I can’t think of a lot of people that really WANT to work the jobs they work in college. Therefore, I consider myself lucky to have found a place that would help me develop a skillset that, ultimately, made me more cash than a normal college kid would have and would get me a lot of places when I would start my career.

For example, by working at a computer shop, I was able to buy components at very low prices and then build computers for my friends and their friends. I’d make a nice profit off of it, and they would get a computer for a price that was very reasonable.

Working there also spawned a number of other secondary skills and interests. I know both Mac and PC operating systems pretty well. I picked up and learned a lot of the software I now use today (Visio, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc.). Most of all, it taught me how important it is to keep up with technology and think about how it can be used in a practical way. We call that consulting, friends…and there’s a lot of demand for (and a lot of money in) that.

4. Creating a blog/site ‘about myself’ makes me narcisitic: Beyond the fact that this blog isn’t necessarily ‘all about G’, it’s kind of idiotic to say that creating a blog is grounds for being categorized as some kind of social misfit. There are so many good things about creating a blog that it’s almost worthless for me to try and list them all. However, a few positive things would be that you’re taking the time to write…one of the most important skills (if not THE most important skill) you can develop. It allows you to learn to become familiar with a broad range of Web development princicples and practices…like open source; like design for the Web and how it integrates with the code on the back end;  like how to use a content management system. It can help you learn principles of SEO/SEM. These are all extremely important if you’re considering a career in the interactive/digital field.  And even if you’re not, it allows you to relate to a broader range of people.

Plus, aren’t the the majority of people out there creating blogs about themselves? Afterall, I don’t think there’s a subject that one generally would know better, right?

The point of this isn’t to sit here and justify who and what I am. I don’t feel a need to do that. Actually, the point is cliche…

It’s important to realize and understand that, as long as you’re doing something positive for yourself, you need to continue to do it. Be who you are no matter how someone might judge you, no matter how someone might manipulate you or what you’re doing into a negative light. If you spent half the amount of time doing the things you loved rather than fretting about being judged negatively over it, the world…your world…would be a much better place.

So…viva la dork, I say. It hasn’t hurt me much.  I have a great job, am surrounded by great people, and…most importantly…

I still ended up with a hot wife. And those of us that have it figured out know that 9 out of 10 men and women prefer dorks…