Are you a geek?

I'm confronted with this question and need to be sure that I am not a techie geek!

In order to answer this I need to consider the three genres of participation with new media that the MacArthur Report (1998) suggest exist:

1. Hanging Out
2. Messing Around
3. Geeking Out
   

If you imagine the above three categories along a continuum the hanging out stage is merely using media to 'connect' with others. It is quite a basic level of interaction with technology and is simple in it's interactions. Using Bloom's digital taxonomy map, the skills involved in this stage are low order thinking skills.

As one begins to "Mess Around", they become more involved with 'tinkering with and exploration of new spaces of possibilities' (2008: 25). The thinking skills start to move up in bloom's taxonomy, but according to the MacArthur report the activity is still 'embedded in social contexts where friends and a broader peer group share a media-related interest and social focus' (2008: 26); few higher order thinking skills are reached.

“Geeking Out”, defines a serious shift and involves 'an intense commitment to or engagement with media or technology, often one particular media property, genre, or type of technology' (2008: 28). The key point here is that the intensity increases. There is a definite shift in thinking skills that involve higher level thinking and self directed learning from peers.

So what motivates my engagement in technology?

I primarily engage in technology for communication. I have very briefly dappled with blogs (with not much success). I tend to test technology with the attitude of... if it makes my life simpler, quicker and easier it is worth it. If technology pulls me away from reality, it I am firmly against it. Do I have the urge to become a Geek? Yes, on occasions, but something thankfully pulls me aside and makes me remove myself from 'the cloud' and see the real clouds in the sky. I'm not a geek, but I am sure grateful for the advances that the geeks have made for me!