Who wants to be a hacker?

<rant>
One of the internet's greatest achievements and failures is the democratisation of skills.
The internet has lowered the barriers for everything:
Want to be a journalist? Open a blog.
Want to be a film maker? Get your cell out and upload your 15 second masterpiece to Instagram.
Want to be a programmer? Take an online course.

Want to be a hacker? No, it's too dangerous, now with the NSA and stuff. The original hacking was considered the cool and 'living on the edge' side of geekness, and can now put you in jail. But hacking has gone a serious downgrade, from pioneers and brilliant yet morally challenged techies, to just plain people inventing and integrating stuff.

So why is hacking all the rage now? Unfortunately, geek is out of fashion. It's not a strong enough word for the tech savvy. Ninja isn't anymore as well. So hack is the next 'sexy' term for what we use to call 'automation expert'.

Check out this headline: "The free tools that let you hack your whole life".
What is actually means is "tools to automate and integrate different facets of your physical and online life."
Don't get me wrong - I think that the fact that cheap hardware running linux and cheap controller boards help you implement great ideas and lower the barrier for innovators is great. I think that it's quite similar to the 3d print revolution. But this isn't hacking.

So it's all about marketing. If I see someone who calls himself a 'hacker' in his bio or profile, I would stay away - He might be a former 'ninja' or a 'wizard' or, god forbid, a self proclaimed 'geek'.
</rant>

Yours truly during a "hack" session