So the first Speak Out with your Geek Out has drawn to a close, and overall I think it was a great event.  It was certainly a nice change to speak in an unashamedly positive way about my hobby, as well as reading the posts from everyone else.  I had hopes that this might do well enough to become a regular event, and it seems the event creator, Monica Valentinelli, agrees.  To that end she has asked for feedback, and I thought it appropriate to answer her feedback questions here.  If you wish to provide your own feedback, I encourage you to post it in the comments section of her post (as well as below if the spirit moves you).

Question One:  Do you feel Speak Out was a positive experience? Why or why not?

I think the event was a much needed positive experience.  Too often, especially on the internet, geeks can get so mired in the latest arguments about the state of geekdom, they lose sight of the geeky things they love.  Face it, none of us got into our hobbies just to fight and argue all the time.  We became geeks because we found something we loved doing, something that gave us a spark.  I think this event reminded us to pay more attention to that spark and celebrate it as much as we can.

Question Two:  Would you like this to be an annual event?

Ideally, I’d love it to just be the status quo.  Failing that, yes, I think Speak Out with your Geek Out should be an annual event celebrating our collective geekdom.

Question Three:  Did you understand participation was voluntary? That there was a reason why “geek” was never defined?

I did understand that participation was voluntary; how could it be any other way?  And I’m glad there was no attempt to define “geek” for this event.  I think that any attempt to do so would have led to the sort of divisiveness the event was trying to avoid; as it was, there were still a few people that tried to steer the conversation in that direction.

For myself, I don’t think geekdom needs definition.  I know people just as excited about Lego, tropical fish or model trains as I am about role-playing games.  Their enthusiasm earns them the title of geek every bit as much as mine does.  Personally, I think the “what is geeky” question overlays a motive of determining the geek status of the questioner.  After all, you can’t determine who is geekier until you define terms, right?

Question Four: Is there anything that can be done differently for next year?

There may be one or two things to tweak, there always are.  But I can’t think of any off the top of my head.  I did want to say a big thank-you to the organizers and volunteers who took the time to support the event with their time and creations.  It is that kind of community feeling that makes geekdom so appealing to me.  I’ll also take this opportunity to volunteer for next year; if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know!

Question Five:  If your answer to (4) was yes, how would you feel about a Kickstarter to help fund those goals?

I’m not opposed to a Kickstarter, if there is a legitimate need for it to help the project grow.  All I can say at this point is, when it is proposed I’ll look at it and donate if I can.

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If you were following the blog last week, you may be wondering where my Day 4 and 5 posts went.  I’m wondering the same thing.  They gave every indication of being successfully posted, but didn’t show up in my blog listing.  Once I sort that out and hopefully recover those posts, I’ll put them up on the site to read.  For now though, onward!

Comments?  Below.