Forum - View topicINTEREST: How Nerdy Is Your State? New Report Ranks America's Geekiest States
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Crext
 Posts: 211 |
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Hahaha, pretty much what I was thinking when I read that. If anything it shows that it is pretty random, which shouldn't be strange considering you got everything from Anime to Cosplay to Star Trek to Magic the Gathering to Game of Thrones on the list of "references". Those are 5 widely different demographics. If I could add my personal opinion about the test itself, I kinda feel it is more a "funny test", which doesn't hold any scientific value, cause the multiple variable analysis seems off in regards to data accepted, and overall measures. For instance it is hard to measure "geek interest" when the core definition is more a personal "I feel these topics are geeky" by the author and that google is the main reference. Why Isn't Star Wars on the list? What about video games? What is a geek anyway, should computer nerd topics and gadget interests be added? Wouldn't cosplay overlap with some other elements? Isn't Game of Thrones too mainstream to be considered geeky, when it is THE most popular series running on TV? What about things like Wrestling or UFC? Those are pretty niche and their fan base seems to be pretty geeky. Wouldn't more geeks also use other search engines than google because they want to remain anonymous? I'd assume some anime fan wouldn't want the search tag for "loli this'n that" to be linked to their IP, especially in a more Christian household, while Pokemon (Go) has basically become the new travel channel affiliate. It doesn't mean the more shut-in-ish aspects don't got interests, just are less inclined to share it with "everyone" (google) based on other metrics not measured. It would be funny to have some control metric of "bravery", haha. Access to merchandise is a nice metric, though not without weaknesses either. In our day and age, pretty much all of the world is one big market. Why go to a local show for most of your figurines if you can import it straight from Japan/the source for a lower price? Also, events are more accessible from other places as airlines are getting more and more affordable plane tickets. Suddenly proximity to an airport is more important than the state you live in? And how would you define an "Otaku" zone? Are Marvel and DC comics events included or are those too mainstream these days? Overall I'd still put more weight on this than google search tbh. especially since it overall would still be easier to measure it. Also, one of the better measurements would actually be "which cinemas show X (say Sword Art Ordinal Scale) and how many viewers", as people are more honest in regards to where they put their money and their interests, than what they say is their interest. High speed internet is funnily enough, even if the least weighted metric, the hardest one to use on this particular topic. There can be very high local differences from a state to state basis, just like accessibility doesn't necessarily correlate with the state in which those events are, so might high speed internet be accessible in areas with tons of youth (schools, public places), while still being very poor at the household level. You also have places like California which has the poorest and richest places in the country in the same state, which also transfers to local internet usage being "ok" on average, while being perhaps having high extremes. Most of these geek cultures however doesn't even need high speed internet. Warhammer 40 000 and MTG is a board game, Cosplaying is also a local activity on a stage. Game of Thrones is an episode a week, while anime is probably the only metric that has heavily usage of internet accessibility as streaming quality and intensity would be higher than the other hobbies. Since video games (with VR) aren't part of this geek test, then it's less important. Overall a funny data set though, which gives food for thought. |
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Heishi
 Posts: 1328 |
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As an Okie, I'm rather disappointed that my home state(Oklahoma) isn't ranked anywhere on the list.
Guess its that southern mentality, but who knows? |
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Random Name
Posts: 645 |
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Hmm I've never met these other anime fans...I guess I'm not very open about it either. Though it sure would be nice to talk about the anime airing last night rather than the baseball game...
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Gemnist
Posts: 1758 |
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This is all really surprising. I'd have expected my home state (Texas) to be a pretty big anime hot spot, and California and New York not being very geeky in general completely baffles me.
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-SP-
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Wondering how this is directly related with Anime
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crazieanimefan1
 Posts: 410 Location: Auburn, AL |
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I feel your pain...Alabama always gets the low end at times. lol That Southern mentality is something else! |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3018 |
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Face front, true believer! YOU TOO have the « P O W E R » to read the SECOND PARAGRAPH of the article! Then, join us several paragraphs down for PARAGRAPH FIVE... if you dare!!! 'Nuff said! |
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Dessa
 Posts: 4438 |
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I'm a bit confused...
So are we third or thirty-eighth in retailers? (Also, wondering if anything in their metrics took into account Microsoft, Nintendo, Amazon, and Funko all being local to the greater Seattle area?) |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1753 |
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Really am surprised that California was ranked as low as it is on this list. California is home to several very large conventions, like San Diego Comic Con and Anime Expo. Yes, people from other states and countries attend these conventions, but predominantly attendees are from California as it is closer for them and similar conventions exist in other states that are easier for its residents to attend.
I don't really think that factoring in comic book stores is a good way of measuring geekiness. If anything, it measures its residents reliance on brick and mortar stores instead of buying things online. I buy lots of things from Yahoo Japan and Amazon. I can't tell you the last time I physically stepped inside a comic book store, even though there are a couple in my town. |
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otakunomike
Posts: 39 |
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Im thinking these rankings dont take all the intangibles into account- Minnesota has a full blown Geek Community Center, the only one in the US, which should be worth a few points all on its own.
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Yeah I totally agree about their flawed method. I can't remember the last time I actually googled "anime" I also want to mention that big online retailers have mostly replaced brick and mortar retail stores. I would think the relation is inverted: usually smaller communities will retain the mom & pop comic book shops or independent retailers carrying comics and/or anime/manga, that are extinct in the metro and high population areas. |
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1116 Location: Puget Sound |
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nods Plus, most of what they consider "geeky" - I'd consider to be mainstream. Sure, Star Trek may have been "geeky" back in the '70's... But that era started to wane when the movies started coming out and was dead and buried when TNG hit it big. And that goes triple for Star Wars, which has been a pop culture phenomena ever since it hit the theatres. There simply aren't enough geeks in the world to generate the dollars those things have generated over the decades. And it's certainly not comic geeks that drove Avengers: Infinity War to it's billion dollar opening weekend. Which is not to say that Star Trek and Star Wars geeks don't exist... The authors of the study seem to have forgotten than geekdom isn't defined by simply interest in a thing - it's defined by depth [obsession/fanaticism] of knowledge and interest in a thing. If all you've done is go through best selling SF like you do through popcorn at a theatre - you're not a geek, you're a fan. (And there's certainly nothing wrong with that!) If you can sit down and intelligently discuss the contents... Then you're headed into geek territory. If you're interested in and can discuss the economic consequences of the Asymptotic Drive (Clarke, Imperial Earth, 1976) or any other SF McGuffin or concept... You're about as deep in geek territory as you can go. And though "traditional" geeks are loathe to admit it, you can be geeky about all many of things beyond the "traditional" geek interests... |
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AnimeLordLuis
 Posts: 1626 Location: The Borderlands of Pandora |
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I’m surprised that Ohio is ranked at #13 because there’s nothing here but farmland and good clean county air which as you can guess does not make for very good internet connection hell the most nerdiest place around is the local GameStop for crying out loud next nerdiest is the flea market if you can believe that.
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kevruth
Subscriber Posts: 27 |
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What I'm trying to figure out is when did the Upper Peninsula of Michigan become it's own state? It's geeky and the lower peninsula isn't.
As for Ohio being geeky, it has a lot of geek conventions for anime, comic books, gaming, etc. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7364 Location: Maine |
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Maine number 3, that's a little surprising, but I guess I can sort of see it. We have a bunch of anime/comic/game conventions throughout the year, we have a chain of geek stores in Bull Moose throughout the state (plus Game Stops scattered around and a Newbury Comics), what feels like a disproportionately large number of college campuses to our rather small population (only 1.3M), and our internet isn't terrible, though it could be better. I guess it all adds up.
Emerje |
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