The Nerd Bubble and its Inevitable Collapse

It seems as if every contemporary identity conforms tightly to passively consuming the dismal excretions of this benighted age. Wherever you look, there are people insisting that what they are consuming is correct and necessary to a happy life. There is always the insistence that 'my kind need X too' (as if it were a surprising epiphany) and other ridiculous rhetoric such as inherent uniqueness. These beliefs have always been enthusiastically embraced, ruthlessly mocked, or completely ignored depending on the relative wisdom and maturity of the observer. There is one sort of contemporary identity that excels at absorbing all others and is generally 'on the make' as they say.

In 2007 there began an incredible shift in the behavior of Ur Hipsters, and/or they were found to possess certain interests and traits that, innocently enough, bordered the long dormant cultural powerhouse sometimes referred to as 'nerd culture'. Suddenly the coolest individual at the bar who liked the right music, played on the most epic amateur sports team, fucked the most attractive people, and partied the hardest was busy painting W40K miniatures as a hobby, played D&D on Sundays, and knew how to code. By 2013 there is a weird sense in the air that 'nerdy' pursuits and habits are necessary just to communicate.

It is as a certain bad 80's movie had prophesied. Like any decent historical inevitability, the rise of nerd culture was complex and in many ways self-fulfilling. The smart, awkward kid getting bullied in the 70's and 80's grew up into a normalized yuppie or yupster or suave po-mo individualist making good money doing engineering work or intense research or crucial computer work. Good or bad, they acted as the lifeblood of modernity. Their progeny, the current generation of 'young nerds' and/or the current 'nerd wave' movement, is an entirely different animal. Arguably, despite the surprising population of well-adjusted and balanced nerds, there is evidence to suggest that the much of the modern wave is quixotic, dysfunctional, and generally disinterested in aging measures of success such as social popularity, physical fitness, conformity, and party intensity.

I always get the idea that the mainstream nerd movement left the rails completely in the early 2000s. I get this idea because of the link posted above, wherein (and you might have missed this) a reality TV show tailored to nerds actually existed. The comicbook-style text boxes were so tasteful, so apt. There never was a nerd movement as such (as it was anecdotal to many other factors), but the word itself has gained such traction with increasing numbers of people, that one might rightly be said to exist at this point. And to be perfectly blunt, from the perspective of the modern identity fetish, it was probably a long time coming. Also completely inevitable. Mind you: I am no expert on nerd history, nor would I ever claim to be one.

RIP BTJUNKIE

The biggest news of the day, perhaps even the week, in the context of the internet is that BT Junkie shut down. Sure, it was a torrent site, but it was one of the few non-private torrent sites that was reliable and somewhat trustworthy. Now there are even less options, and even higher odds of some kind of meta-torrent site that will infect all users with some unimaginable bot-net-rootkit abortion and destroy the free internet anyway, before infecting all unprotected (AKA disconnected) government/corporate computers.

These are just the wild observations and speculations of a heartbroken supporter. Doubtless, BTJunkie made the right decision and defended themselves against future legal action/apocalyptic lawyering. They had a great thing, and no doubt were in the crosshairs of the repressive new copyright monster, and I will miss using their handy, responsive, and resourceful site. Now the internet is a colder place, and the individual's freedom to steal things is impacted, possibly severely. Probably not, as this is the internet, and no amount of hyperbole will change the truth about it.

Meanwhile TPB is still in existence as, well what exactly? A zombie platform, mildly trustworthy and the final remaining high-profile, semi-legit torrent site. For those of us with entertainment appetites bigger than our wallets, we may have to go hungry for a while or pray that private solutions find and accept us.

Ultimately, for a daily surprise this is a pretty bad one. RIP BTJunkie – thanks for the good times, and for being one of the good guys while you could.