Lockergnome Chris Pirillo tells why

Last week we ran an post about Gnomedex, along with a Poll that asked why Chris Pirillo’s site was called “Lockergnome” and his conference, “Gnomedex.” Most of you got it right: “Gnome” was Chris’s high school nickname. But why? Revenge of the nerds!

“My college prep writing teacher called me ’shorty’ names,” admits Chris. “Midget, munchkin, knee-high, dwarf, elf… gnome. That one stuck. I wouldn’t let him call me anything but gnome. And, for some strange reason, one afternoon, as I was cleaning out my locker, I turned to my friend and announced: “Hi, I’m the Locker Gnome. It’s my job to stand by lockers and say: ‘Hi, I’m the Locker Gnome.’”

Continues Chris: “When I started to mess around online, I needed some type of handle (truckers have them, why can’t geeks?). ‘Locker Gnome’ was the closest thing I had… ‘Lockergnome’ is a word that, in and of itself, makes no sense. But it has quickly become a Web brand. It was a great marketing tactic… sorta.” Feel better about your Web career, now?

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