Geek and Hacker Stories: Code, Culture and Storytelling from the Technosphere

Description

Geeks, hackers and gamers share a common ‘geek culture’, whose members are defined and define themselves mainly in terms of technology and rationality. The members of geek culture produce and circulate stories to express who they are and to explain and justify what they do. Geek storytelling draws on plots and themes from the wider social and cultural context in which geeks live. The author surveys many stories of heated exchanges and techno-tribal conflicts that date back to the earliest days of personal computing, which construct the “self” and the “enemy”, and express and debate a range of political positions. Geek and Hacker Stories will be of interest to students of digital social science and media studies. Both geeky and non-technical readers will find something of value in this account. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Initialise (Key Ideas) (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 1-20 Representing Geeks (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 21-46 Platform War Stories (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 47-73 Geek Political Narrative (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 75-93 Notes from a Geek Autobiography (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 95-107 Afterword: Coda (Brian Alleyne)....Pages 109-110 Back Matter ....Pages 111-112