Jack Wallington, senior programmes manager at the IAB, wonders if the excitement surrounding the launch of the iPad is proof that the UK is becoming a nation of geeks.
My fascination for digital devices has always felt like an underground obsession while most people simply didn’t get it. In other words, the only people who admired all of these things were geeks. Barriers have been breaking down between the world of geeks and ‘the normals’ for quite some time, but in the last 12 months, I’d say that the mainstream world has tipped and suddenly everyone gets it.
Here are some recent indicators of this societal shift:
- This weekend I went to Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the V&A. It is a small exhibition that showcases digital art and design in a beautiful way. For someone who’s been saying “computer games are beautiful works of art” for two decades, I was dumbfounded to see the normals flocking in and being amazed by an interactive dandelion in the adjacent corridor to Medieval Renaissance.
- The Digital Revolution, a BBC documentary about the internet, is actually an excellent piece of reporting. As a geek who knows a bit about technology, I groan at presenters of these programmes for missing details. This, however, is the first mainstream show I’ve seen that accurately documents, and even analyses accurately the rise of this magnificent, digital world.
- Rude Tube, the YouTube highlights programme, now on series three, has become a regular staple of Channel 4’s mainstream schedule. Previously broadcasting made a one way trip to online, now roles are reversing.
- Internet properties are regularly being name checked in pop songs! The decidedly awful, but popular N-Dubz have done it with Facebook, and Mariah Carey started it with a song about being filmed and uploaded onto YouTube.
Apple's launch of the iPad is, quite frankly the straw that broke the geek’s back. The whooping and squealing at electronic device launches has always exclusively been the outburst of an overly excitable geek. Yet, the iPad was an unmistakably mainstream product launch. Not even the iPhone built such mainstream anticipation.
An article by Fraser Speirs explains how the iPad is actually the dawn of a new breed of computers the mainstream can understand – it’s a brilliant read. I agree, ultimately it is the level playing field of ‘digital for the masses’ that is driving this mainstream trend.
Anyone can use Facebook, YouTube, Google, the Nintendo Wii, the iPhone and they’ll sure as hell be able to use every feature of the iPad more than they can a laptop. Now everyone's part of the geek club, they can finally talk about digital and admire it.
