It's either a searingly insightful new piece of sociological research, or a sure sign the silly summer months are upon us. Let's, for the sake of a blog post, decide it's the former.
So, new research from the SciFi channel shows there's a new demographic for the commercial world to grapple with: the New Geek. The New Geek is quite something: "an aspirational, socially dominant driving force with the power to make or break £billion brands," according to the PR bumf that's arrived at Guardian towers. There are 6.9m of them, one third are women, and they spend £8.2bn a year "pursuing their passions".
"Whereas once geeks were seen as solitary, embarrassing and uncool, the statistics show that New Geek is chic, popular and hugely influential", it says here.
Well, actually I think you'll find it was nerds who were always "solitary, embarrassing and uncool", and that most geeks would happily be called a geek, because they know the difference between nerd and geek. But making that kind of comment probably marks me out… well, as a geek.
But perhaps an old, unreconstructed geek, as it looks a lot like New Geeks are much more fun than the rest of us. New Geeks are typically young (by the channel's generous definition - 83% are under 44), wealthy (21% have family income of more than £50,000) and are party people (they're 125% more likely to visit pubs, clubs and bars than the average person). A third of the 835,000 female gamer geeks in the UK spend more than £50 on games each month.
Of course, all this is coming from SciFi channel, which is doubtless looking to sign up some top-paying advertisers aiming at its undoubtedly geeky audience. They'll make more money if geeks are seen to be affluent go-getters, rather than moderately well-off bring-pizza-to-me-ers, so we should take all this with a pinch of salt.
And, you might argue, this is exactly the kind of demographic that's media-savvy, and so media-deluged, that advertising messages simply won't get through. But that's the subject of another, heartbreakingly dull, blog post to come.
Still, you're probably now wanting to know if you're a member of this high-rolling, slightly obsessive crowd. And – what are the odds? - the researchers have offered a handy checklist.
So, you're a geek if…
• You have a passion you pursue
• You spend lots of time, money and energy on your passion
• You are someone your friends ask for advice on what to buy or do, or where to go
• You are a "media sophisticate" (well, clearly, you already are if you're reading Newsblog. Ahem)
• You – I'm going to have to quote this bit – "customise your t's and wear underground labels"
• You're forward thinking, so think "London going for the Olympics is good use of taxpayers' money"
• You're a fastidious researcher – especially using Google
• You've endless knowledge that you're willing to share on your specialist subject.
So: are you a New Geek? Old Geek? Unreconstructed nerd? Or just a bit bored by it all?
