Thursday, September 2, 2010

They sit in their bedrooms with the curtains closed, busily tapping away for hours on their laptops.

At school - they hide in the corridors reading a book; at work - they chat ‘code’ with the IT guys, while on the weekend they’re either found cleaning their glasses, puzzling over a Rubik’s Cube or designing a futuristic robot. They’re geeks - and they’re everywhere.

Nowadays with the swell in popularity of online social sites, communities and forums, it appears we all have some geek in us.

From Facebook to Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, blog sites and much more - what was once thought of as nerdy behaviour, is now the new norm.

In celebration of all things geeky, The Shelter - a Dubai community workspace that encourages thinkers, intellectuals and creatives to connect and exchange ideas - has decided to launch the first ever Geekfest; a ‘real’ social occasion for online people. It takes place this Wednesday in Dubai.

Facebookers who poke online, MySpacers who upload videos, bloggers who rant and rage and Tweeters who have more than 140 characters worth of things to say, can now all meet face-to-face at Geekfest.

So what type of people will be attending this event?

We caught up with a couple of self-confessed geeks to find out if they’ll be partying on down at The Shelter, as well as why they are so enthralled with these online communities.

Dubai-based PR guru Alexander McNabb uses Twitter, Facebook and likes to write on his own blog (fakeplasticsouks.blogspot.com). As an ex-journalist, blogging has allowed Alexander to get back into the writing game - and he says it has broadened his mind.

“Writing a blog allows me to focus on topics that interest and engage me. It helps me formulate my opinions and makes me more critical of the world around me. “It also often ends up in online conversation and this helps modify my opinions, which is really healthy,” he says.

Alexander will be at Geekfest with bells on and is looking forward to meeting some of the people he has conversed with online.

But won’t it be a bit strange for all these geeks who are used to socialising - alone - online, to suddenly find themselves all in the same room together?
Twenty-four year old Geekboy Sam, who can be found at sandman-files.blogspot.com or twitter.com/Sandman84 - isn’t too worried about it.

“I think it’s good to get people who usually only socialise in an online space to meet up and get to know each other better,” says Sam.

“What will happen when they get together? I’m not too sure - maybe a dungeons and dragons tournament will break out! “I’m guessing it’s just going to be like any normal function, except with more use of the word ‘tweet’,” he says.

Many internet addicts say it’s a misconception that online users are withdrawn and antisocial. In fact, they say it’s actually the complete opposite.

“Online relationships are often more intense than offline ones, as people let more of themselves go online,” says Alexander.

Serial blogger Aisha Raju, even thinks that her online friends know more about her than her real-life friends.

“I have been blogging for five years and have made a dozen of really close friends. Some of these blog friends possibly know much more about me than my friends in real life. They are more open to my views and understand me,” says Aisha.

James Clar, director of Media Technology at Traffic - an art and design platform in Dubai - who communicates via a personal web site, blog, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube - agrees.

“Being online is not about anonymity. It’s the opposite. It’s relatively easy to find information about people online,” says James.

“These social platforms allow us to communicate with each other in ways we couldn’t before. This is by no means withdrawn.”

If you love technology, are a Facebook addict or a MySpace nerd, then head down to Geekfest this Wednesday, July 29 from 5pm onwards. It’s as free as a Twitter account to attend, simply show up and mingle over a delicious More Cafe coffee.

For more information visit www.shelter.ae. Also, see today’s Explorer column (page 23) for the top ten ways to connect online