Geek gods, jejemon mortals and the poetic license

It's cool to be geeky now. Or geekiness has become cool. At least a computer geek (in its original sense, back when it was "outside mainstream") is. According to ... well wisegeek, a computer geek is:

"a term for a person, male or female, who has above-average expertise in computer technology. A computer geek may be an expert in programming, networking or other specialized fields of computer science. He or she may use those skills in computer-specific careers or have more of a devoted hobbyist's interest. The term geek was originally used in a derogatory sense, but many computer professionals came to embrace the term and began using it as a badge of pride. The term has gained such popularity that fans of other professional and recreational pursuits also may describe themselves as geeks." (Emphasis mine)

See? Geekiness has evolved from from being confined to the margins of society to being way up there! And why not? Computer geeks are capable of doing things mere mortals only imagine.

The meaning of geeks per se has also evolved. Take for instance this definition of a geek in another website.

geek
Slang.
1. A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest.

2. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.

3. A carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken. (Strikethrough of the last two are in the original)

The article on wikipedia shows how the word geek has acquired a new, positive meaning.

Going back to computer geeks. Computer geek lingo used to be .. well just "geeky" in its pejorative sense. But lo and behold! Computer geeks gods were able to create such innovative things - hardware and software alike - or introduce an online twist to old habits -- all with a license to name their creations!

And so, today geek lingo is common place. But you can still detect geek lingo. They're words that consist of strange letter combinations including lots of double letters (O's, G's and B's are usually on the menu), poetic attempts to draw analogies (net, mouse, virus, worms), and everything else preceded by an "e-" or an "i-". Anyway, there are just so many geek creations that are known to mere mortals by no other name except what they were named by their creators, whether they're common nouns or proper nouns. Just to name a few geeky nouns we now all use: google (gooooooooooogle is even geekier, and it gets geekier the more o's are added), blog (short for web log, for God's sake!), wiki (it even rhymes with geeky haha). world wide web is actually geeky if you come to think of it.

A jejemon, on the other hand, does not have the poetic license. Or perhaps it's because they haven't created anything special enough to force on the "mainstream" their lingo. Anyway, a jejemon has been defined in an online urban dictionary:

Usually seen around social networking sites such as Friendster and Multiply, jejemons are individuals with low IQs who spread around their idiocy on the web by tYpFing LyK diZS jejejeje, making all people viewing their profile raise their eyebrows out of annoyance. Normal people like you and me must take a Bachelor of Arts in Jejetyping in order to understand said individuals, as deciphering their text would cause a lot of frustration and hair pulling.

The distinction between geeks and jejemons, therefore, lies in the IQ. Or at least how IQ is perceived. Poor jejemons. I hope someday they find relevance for all those strange letter combinations, enough to become immortals like the geek gods have become.

Salma F. Angkaya

Entry #14