Last year I met a young lad on a first date. After talking a while at dinner, he asked me, “Why do you call yourself a nerd? You don’t look like one. Prove it.” So I listed all the captains of Star Trek and various characters of Star Wars; described my love of computer programming, string theory, time travel and all things space related; and relayed my love of the fluidity of language (not just the English language, either! I listed at least four that I have studied.). He said that he needed more proof. My lists weren’t enough.

Well, I should have used a time-travel machine to fast forward to my time at SXSWi and had someone take a picture of my face during the different lectures I attended. I would have then traveled back in time and shown him those very pictures. The picture of my eyes wildly trying to suck all information they possibly could would been proof enough. I learned about QR codes, eye tracking vs. remote usability, high-fidelity prototypes vs. rapid iterative testing, the proper use of a serial semicolon and so much more!

Maybe next time I should lead with, “Oh, I’m a nerd. But what do you think about QR codes versus Near Field Communication for marketing reasons?”