Outside-In: Geek Charity

So....hey.

Yes, I'm a contributor here. Haven't seen me around yet, but that's because I've been fully absorbed in Batman: Arkham Asylum (something on the evolution of licensed video games is forthcoming, I promise). But right out of the gate, I figured I'd speak to something that's an odd part of geek culture - the charitable impulse.

Face it, charity isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think geek. We're best known for our extravagant spending on ourselves, after all - $600 video game machines, $1000 first issues, hordes of baseball cards or a credit card maxed out on "Special Edition" Blu-Ray discs. In fact, one could even go so far as to say that greed is what defines a geek, a certain kind of hording impulse that causes us to squander our personal time and resources on our own obsessions.

And yet...look at the bizarrely social nature of the geek. If you cut out the internet (which isn't socialization - it's group play with no consequences), you get groups of disparate people that come together to enjoy a hobby. We're oddly merit-based most of the time - except on the internet, race, gender, disability, appearance are usually (if grudgingly, in some cases) trumped by skill and knowledge. I can't tell you the number of times I've been flat out GIVEN things by my fellow geeks who just want me to enjoy what they enjoy.

So is it any wonder that a bunch of so-called "Geek Charities" have been springing up? Look at the recent Mario Marathon for charity. Or Extra Life (support it! It's for a good cause). Or the grand-daddy of them all, Child's Play. It taps our geeky impulse to do what we want, when we want...but also to share that feeling of accomplishment and turn it in to something that makes others feel good.

Ignore the internet. Don't listen to your X-Box Live headset. Being a geek is about giving through what you love.