Geek Pride Day

Geek Pride Day, the effort to promote the Geek Culture. The initiative officially originated in Spain in 2006 and spread around the world via the Internet. However, history suggests Tim McEachern organized similar events called Geek Pride Festival from 1998 to 2000 at a bar in Albany, New York. This is now referred to as a prelude to Geek Pride Day.

Annually, on May 25th, the Geek Pride Day is celebrated as a day for geeks all around the world to reclaim the word and celebrate their culture. Traditionally geek-related occupations (computer programming, science, and engineering) have also taken center stage with the information revolution. Has Geek become chic, or not? But it has surely become more mainstream.

They are now admired by their peers for their superior intellectuality despite their perceived lack of sociability. Now we see the rise of ‘geek chic’ as celebrities like Justin Timberlake donned geeky fashion clothing and the inseparable geeky specs. Famous Geek Personalities like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Steve Jobs is now immensely rich, famous, and most importantly, worshiped by everyone else for their innovations.

Geek Pride Day : As It Happened

The history of Geek is dark but 2006 saw the first celebration of the Geek Pride Day in Spain and on the Internet, drawing mass attention. The biggest concentration took place in Madrid, where 300 geeks demonstrated their pride together. Spanish blogger Germán Martínez is being credited for the effort.

In 2008, Geek Pride Day was officially celebrated in the U.S., where it was heralded by numerous bloggers, coalescing around the launch of the Geek Pride Day website. Math author, Euler Book Prize winner, and geek blogger John Derbyshire announced that he would be appearing in the Fifth Avenue parade on the prime number float, dressed as number 57.

In 2010 the festival spread further, taking in cities as diverse as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Budapest, Hungary, Israel, Romania, and San Diego, California. In 2013, a Geek Pride parade was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it was decided then that it would be an annual event.

The world starts embracing the geek culture. Video games are more popular than ever, and discussions about how to beat the bosses in these games are no longer taboo. Technology like iPhone, Facebook, and Xbox 360’s Kinect become the most talked about topic in social circles. All of us await eagerly on the next technological innovation to be out and be the first to play on it.

So from the computer – technology – internet – various Social, blogging, engagement platforms, Geek has become the new currency of the Modern Age, without which, this world may fall apart. Celebrate Geek Pride Day this year, on May 25th.

Join The Geek Realm… N-O-W!