Geeks vs. Jocks: How Geeks are Winning the War of Public Opinion - ABC News

57 percent of Americans consider being called a geek a compliment.

44 percent of Americans would prefer to be called a geek.

22 percent of Americans would prefer to be called a jock.

66 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 consider being identified as a geek a compliment.

39 percent of respondents 65 and older consider being identified as a geek a compliment.

17 percent of Americans self-identify as a geek.

82 percent of Americans say they believe it is more acceptable to be a geek today than it was 15 years ago.

Opinion Research Corp. surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults 18 and older May 4 to 8 on behalf of Modis.

via abcnews.go.com

we are all geeks when it comes to different subjects, the medium is the message and the internet's message is that there is finally a mass media with the capacity for the huge range and variety of human interest and knowlege. Chances are if you have a passion, no matter how obscure there are at least a dozen people if not hundreds who share that passion. Furthermore general / broad interests that were once the basis of popularists media like telivision, newspaper and radio create a generic landscape that fails to connect individuals while further defining our interests can lead us to more meaningful interactions with others. The internet turns the fame and popularity model of these traditional media on their ear and rewards the obscure, the learned, the just plain geeky by connecting such geeks with their peers.

On the internet you can not only be the fat tuba player from nebraska, but you can be the brilliant fat tuba player from nebraska and the internet will love you for it.