Geekdom is not a club; it’s a destination, open to anyone who wants to put in the time and effort to travel there. And if someone lacks the opportunity to get there, we geeks should help in any way we can.

John spoke in-depth about this article on a few recent podcasts:

• Episode 3: Cry Me a River, Internet Boy — IRL Talk
• 5by5 | CMD+Space #85: Being a Geek, with John Siracusa

As geekdom becomes less of a fringe quirk and more an aspirational badge, those who consider themselves true geeks might start to feel threatened as the walls of their knowledge kingdoms come tumbling down. However, if they are concerned about the object of their interest becoming less cool as it becomes mainstream, that would make them hipsters, not geeks.

What ever the object of attention—comics, cars, computers, sportsball, etc.—the information needed to become a geek is out there, readily available to anyone who cares enough to seek it out. However, there is nowhere to download the required enthusiasm.

Mistakes will be made in the march towards the future. But the worst possible mistake is neglecting to do the work required to get there because you think we’ve already arrived.