Geek community

Danah Boyd came with some interesting information on Apophenia: Geeks are worried that their communities are being diluted by non-geeky types. The question I ask myself then is: "What defines the geek?" Is there some sort of geeky code? Do I have to do some special test to enter the realm of geeks, like hack into the White House mainframe computer? Do I need gadgets? Is owning an iPod enough, or do I only qualify as geeky when my three computers and my laptop run on Linux and are connected through a wireless network?

I was talking to A, a twenty year old colleague of mine, fresh from school and thrown in front of the wolves already. She was telling us about her computer and how she would get a new one that hopefully could run Windows95. Writing here on LJ, knowing the difference between PC and Mac, using the boyfriend's bloody iPod, I suddenly felt very geeky today.

P.S.: Don't forget to read Danah Boyd's entry! She has a wonderful take on how this behaviour can be regarded as a form of xenophobia.