Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy
December 23, 2008
A Guest Post by the Amazing Wendy Piersall
When I asked Lucretia to do a guest post here, I had to think to myself – what do people interested in Geekdom want to hear about? Which got me thinking about geekdom in general, which brings us to this question:
How the heck did being a ‘Geek’ suddenly become cool? Seriously – when I was in high school, there was not a shred of coolness in being geeky. There wasn’t even much coolness in getting good grades. And there was certainly NO coolness in being tech savvy (think the A/V club. Yeeks.)!
But in the last few years, suddenly smart became sexy. Tech became tantalizing. And A/V might as well stand for “Always Vogue“. And here’s some geeky proof: keyword research reveals that some of the top-searched terms relating to geek include: “geek girl” “geek chic” “hot geek” and even “sexy geek”.
So, imagine my surprise as I expand my Sparkplugging blog network into all sorts of “geeky cool” topics like web marketing, eBay selling and business coaching. But I find that the two blogs I consider to be the least geeky – kids activities and mom contests – are the ones getting freaky amounts of traffic. And it’s not just my network – I’m also doing some consulting with Escalate Media as they brand and expand their womens network of sites, including TotallyHer.com. The most popular topics there are “home and food” and “beauty and fashion“.
So what’s a true geek to do?
I mean, I’m at a loss here – my ‘home‘ is a perpetual mess, and my husband cooks more ‘food‘ than I do. I may be able to put together a great outfit, but the reality of the matter is that there is a 90% chance my ‘fashion‘ look came from Target. Embracing this anti-geekdom isn’t easy for someone who knows more about PPC than the PTA. 
But I have to say, sometimes I just want to give up all this business stuff and go be a crafting blogger. I want to take a month to do craft projects with my kids every day. When I read Posie Gets Cozy and I want to sew dolls. And when I read The Pioneer Woman and I just want to take pictures all day.
So, I ask of you, GeekMommy community – how do you balance geekiness with mommyness? Trying to be both feels a little like multiple personality disorder to me.
For more on Wendy and the amazing Sparkplugging community ~GM
Comments
5 Responses to “Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy”
Got something to say?
or Subscribe by Email!!
Well, it’s like this-I txt my kids and my hubby. We techy’s stick together holding each other up when all else fails. While “normal” moms meet with their friends for tea or call them on the phone, we txt them or twitter them or read their blogs! As your kids get older, they will enjoy having a mom who’s more geeky than your average mom. When I go to PTA meetings, I ask, can I help create the website? I did the same with Boyscouts last year.
The house gets the geek treatment too-perhaps a task list of daily scheduled house cleaning chores-just 5 minutes a day away from the computer to do these daily chores helps keep that overwhelmed feeling away.
Well according to Melissa Ruth’s comment, I really have arrived as a geek mommy. Texting , emailing, and social networking are my families regular form of communication. However, we try to make it a point to eat dinner together so that we can remember what each other looks like. As far as house stuff, I have a 45 minute gap between when the first kids leave and then the second kids leave. I use that time to pick dinner, and tidy up. I’ll throw on a load of laundry while the computer boots up . . .
My family stays connected via text. My youngest will email me that she’s hungry for lunch while I’m in my office. And whenever anyone does anything cute, they ask, “Are you gonna tweet that?” We are geeky!
But I was thinking about the most popular topics you mentioned. It’s so great to have others shine in those areas. I’m still wondering if I’ll ever find my niche…
Well, I guess I’m not as geeky as you ladies, because my kids aren’t emailing or texting me. YET.
I have been trying to get my oldest daughter onto Twitter though!
I’ll admit to a minor mid-life-identity-crisis as I try to find a way to balance my love of crafty/homey stuff with my work. In the past, every time I did that, it ended up burning me out on things that used to be my hobbies – I still haven’t painted a painting now in over 10 years!
I guess this is the best time of year to set out new goals… thinking I need to get some new years resolutions into place.
[...] Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy Weigh in on my guest post at Lucretia’s GeekMommy blog on how you balance being a geek and a mom. [...]