Do you ever wonder why us geeks tend to hang out together almost exclusively? Aside from the obvious “common interests” angle, I think it’s a simple defense mechanism. I’ve been in the tech business for over twenty years and I know lots of folks who work in the field. We tend to socialize not because we are the only ones who understand what each other is saying, but also to avoid the inevitable help desk type situations we find ourselves in almost every time we associate with “lay persons”. It seems the very profession we love type casts us into a caricature of someone that can’t do anything else.
Imagine yourself at a neighborhood barbecue or some other casual social gathering. Now imagine you are an advertising account manager. How many questions do you think your neighbors would ask you about the new billboards you’re designing? Any? Now put yourself in an IT professional’s shoes at the same gathering. Can you guess what happens? We geeks can’t get the first sip of beer to our lips without someone hitting us up about some problem they’re having with their e-mail or why their PC runs so slowly. Personally, I know I’m in trouble when the host asks me, “Have you got a minute?” The next thing I know, I’m in front of their screwed-up computer trying to figure out how their teenager managed to delete his user account. I don’t want to tell him that his kid was trying to cover his porn surfing tracks, so I just tell him he got a virus. The point is, it didn’t take “a minute”, I’ve been at it for an hour while everyone else is enjoying the party! I want to be neighborly, but working on somebody’s messed up BestBuy bargain isn’t my idea of a good time.
Why do people think there is nothing on earth we’d rather do than sit in front of their POS PC? Does this happen to all professionals? Somehow I can’t imagine my gynecologist neighbor performing a pelvic exam on the host’s wife in the back bedroom or the general contractor up on the roof replacing shingles. Is there something about us geeks that promotes this attitude among civilians? I often wear a t-shirt that says, “No, I will not fix your computer” and it’s surprising how many people it pisses off. When you take computer repair off the table as a conversation topic some people have nothing at all to say to me. That’s probably for the best.
Since moving to the Mac a couple of years ago, I now have an out. When someone relays their PC woes I have a three word answer, “Get a Mac.” That usually doesn’t work, but it feels good. If all my social acquaintances did own Macs, I’d hardly ever be bothered at parties, but that’s a double-edged sword. If Macs took over the world, there would be a lot less work for guys in my line of business.