geek interaction

over the past year (actually.. pretty much since northern voice last year) i've gone to increasingly many "geek" conferences and events. most being in vancouver. you'll see the same faces at many of these events. you get to know who does what, blogger, photographer, developer... maybe you even read some of their blogs or follow them on twitter, jaiku, or flickr. through these ad hoc interactions you get to know the person a little bit. however, you've never really talked to them.

a quote i saw recently i think really fits

i'm not antisocial i'm just shy. you can talk to me!

maybe you've met them, exchanged a few words, but your online interaction as acquaintances far exceeds your real life interaction. so even though people "know" you and you "know" them (through the online world) you're still a bit afraid that... well... maybe they /are/ antisocial. of course, they aren't. so far i haven't met one person in this community that isn't really nice. even when they seem "too cool" or just plain snobby at first, odds are they're just a bit shy and might even /want/ you to talk to them and say hey.

this brings me to another thing i've noticed... ultra-micro celebrities. people who's blogs i read but who i've *never* actually talked to before. they write well, maybe personal blogs, and generally on topics i'm interested in. i see them at these events and feel almost a bit like a stalker. like i know this person, but they don't know me. and then when i do meet them, do i pretend like i don't know who they are? or be like "hey, you've got a great blog... i totally stalk you in my google reader."