Never Send a Nerd to Do a Geek’s Job
What’s the difference between a nerd and a geek? These days, about $350 an hour! Seriously – well somewhat seriously – there’s a big difference between nerds and geeks.
Nerds are intellectuals and engineers who devote large amounts of time to studying math, science, and other things you might find on a test. Arguably coined by Dr. Seuss in a line that read “a nerkle, a nerd, and a seersucker, too!” nerds at a young age may lack confidence and interpersonal skills. Later in life, however, nerds often find success designing rockets, performing brain surgery, or building multi-billion dollar social networking platforms. If you know any nerds, you should be nice to them because they might one day be your boss’s boss.
Geeks are different. From the 18th century term for circus freaks, “geeks” are obsessed with broad and often trivial pursuits, like fandom, video games, and blogging. Much more extroverted than nerds, younger geeks often find themselves in marching bands, glee clubs, or societies dedicated to the use of audio-visual equipment. A geek knows the difference between an X-Wing Fighter and a Y-Wing Fighter (versatility), how many homeruns Hank Aaron hit in his career (755), and Billboard’s number one song in 1983 (Every Breath You Take).
I think it’s safe to say that Metaverse is a company of geeks that relies heavily on a bunch of nerds. Nerds are hugely successful and build these incredible tools that allow us talk, post, tweet, and pin about the games, movies, and other stuff we’re so enthusiastic about with others all around the world. We geeks have no idea how to write the code for the social networks and interactive tools we use on a daily basis. Thanks nerds! We don’t know what we’d do without you.
Then again, you can’t send a nerd to do a geek’s job. As geeks, we’re the engagement specialists. We get our kicks using the nerd’s tools to moderate web content, chat with customers, manage communities, and buzz in social media. We do what we love and we love what we do. And we’re very good at it.
Now that you know the difference between geeks and nerds, be wary if a technology provider tells you they can also handle the customer engagement side of your business. For one thing, you’ll never be able to switch to another tech option without acquiring a new engagement team. Moreover, you’ll be dealing with a company that is primarily focused on designing and testing additional features for its solution and acquiring a high volume of customers.
In contrast, service companies are constantly recruiting people with specific knowledge and skills and are geared to tailor their service to the needs of its customer (or here, the needs of its customer’s customers). As a bonus, a good services company partners with several tech companies in its field, and it can present you with a range of options when you’re looking for a solution.
So while that tech company is grinding away designing, coding and testing its admittedly awesome tool, the Metaverse geeks are greeting young NFL fans with virtual high fives, rescuing a startup from a potential customer doghouse, and buzzing in social media for a world-class science festival.
In short, when you need to buy toolsets, go with the nerds. But when you want to give your digital customers and communities an engaging high-touch experience? Hire the geeks.
Don’t feel bad about the nerd. He’ll be fine after the IPO. :p
–Mike Pinkerton | COO | Metaverse Mod Squad | @mikepink