Maybe it was all the chatter about Grammer's closing this week, but I feel suddenly deluged by the term "hipster." Don't know where it came from or how it became such a popular, deragatory term, but I'm tired of it. Don't believe the hype. We've all got a little hipster inside us (even Disney!)... at least I know I do. I don't know when it suddenly became popular to hate and label "hipsters", or why the subject draws so much contempt.
I've embraced my hipster-ness, for the most part. I listen to obscure bands, I live in a tiny apartment downtown and ride my bike everywhere, I love design and have a unique style... yeah. I'm pretty freakin' hipster, and okay with it.
However, there is something divisive about being a true hipster, and it's something that often grinds my gears. I think the thing that people really, truly hate about this stereotype is the arrogant attitude, the presumptiousness and sense of indifference and irony that seems to go along with the label.
I'm cooler than you because my interests are SO obscure, SO unique. It's nothing more than another way to separate and divide, to stand out, and to be kind of an asshole about it.
However, at my core, I like to think of myself as more of a geek than a hipster. The biggest difference?
Geeks get excited.
Isn't that where the term "geeking out" came from? I love learning more about the world around me and sharing it with everyone I know. My Google Reader and sites like Fast Company and BoingBoing keep me up to date on everything from the hottest new tech concepts to the next hilarious viral video sweeping across the internet.
My enthusiasm travels off-line as well. If there is a chance for me to capture the joy of a small detail or moment as I'm going through life, I'm going to take notice and share it with the world, or at least my immediate circle of friends.
So, here's my proposal. This is 2011. The reign of the hipster is over. Let's get over ourselves, our obscure bands, our "cooler-than-thou" attitudes, and embrace our inner geeks. Let's get super excited about the little things, and open up to the people around us, instead of limiting and staying in our silly cliques of ironic hipness. Let's evolve...
Be an early adopter... you can say you did it before it went mainstream.
I've embraced my hipster-ness, for the most part. I listen to obscure bands, I live in a tiny apartment downtown and ride my bike everywhere, I love design and have a unique style... yeah. I'm pretty freakin' hipster, and okay with it.
okay, okay, not my usual hairstyle... but look at that freakin' hipster!(from 2007)
However, there is something divisive about being a true hipster, and it's something that often grinds my gears. I think the thing that people really, truly hate about this stereotype is the arrogant attitude, the presumptiousness and sense of indifference and irony that seems to go along with the label.
I'm cooler than you because my interests are SO obscure, SO unique. It's nothing more than another way to separate and divide, to stand out, and to be kind of an asshole about it.
However, at my core, I like to think of myself as more of a geek than a hipster. The biggest difference?
Geeks get excited.
Isn't that where the term "geeking out" came from? I love learning more about the world around me and sharing it with everyone I know. My Google Reader and sites like Fast Company and BoingBoing keep me up to date on everything from the hottest new tech concepts to the next hilarious viral video sweeping across the internet.
My enthusiasm travels off-line as well. If there is a chance for me to capture the joy of a small detail or moment as I'm going through life, I'm going to take notice and share it with the world, or at least my immediate circle of friends.
So, here's my proposal. This is 2011. The reign of the hipster is over. Let's get over ourselves, our obscure bands, our "cooler-than-thou" attitudes, and embrace our inner geeks. Let's get super excited about the little things, and open up to the people around us, instead of limiting and staying in our silly cliques of ironic hipness. Let's evolve...
Be an early adopter... you can say you did it before it went mainstream.