It's a good day to be a geek.

According to journalist Jon Katz, we are living in the era of the "Geek Ascension." Katz even wrote a tribute to geeks with his non-fiction book, Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho.

For those of you who may have an antiquated understanding of the word "geek," Katz defines them as "a member of the new cultural elite . . . who rose above a suffocatingly unimaginative educational system . . . now running the systems that run the world (the Internet and World Wide Web)."

Doesn't that sound like a title to be proud of?

Surely it has a better connotation than geek definitions of years past. It used to be strictly a derogatory term for describing an individual on the margins of society. But with the rise of the Internet, its meaning changed to describe those technological pioneers who are changing culture on a daily basis.

Katz's book is about two 19-year-old guys, Jesse and Eric, who are undeniably geeks. Providing a testimony for geeks everywhere, the book chronicles their isolation and eventual realization of their marketability in today's society.

The book is suitable for non-geeks too — I (a mere geek wannabe) understood it without any outside references.

Jesse and Eric met Katz through e-mail. The boys are from a tiny town in Idaho with dead-end jobs, and Katz mentions that they could utilize their computer skills to get out of Caldwell — an idea that had never occurred to the two small-town boys. Katz's book follows them from Caldwell, Idaho to Chicago, leaving nothing out along the way. The book is really a classic American story of two boys striking out on their own, the only outside assistance being the friendly support and advice from a stranger (Katz).

Geeks is a journalist's attempt to tell a story — it doesn't romanticize Jesse and Eric's saga. They are symbols for geeks everywhere trying to fit in. The story gives an in-depth look at the boys' pasts and character. Reading their story brings to mind the "odd kid" in high school that was just, well, different and the Internet becomes their outlet. Their hours of tinkering and playing on the Web equip them for those high-tech, high-paying jobs that most of us only dream about.

Jesse and Eric discover their potential through the suggestions of Katz, and then they undertake the adventure of their life with his paternal-like interest. The story is heartwarming and realistic. It can also be a little painful at times. Reading brought to mind some of the geeks I knew in high school, and, yes, I felt guilty remembering them. Geeks focuses on their pain of rejection, and how it can hinder people from recognizing their true potential.

But according to Katz those negative views are changing. The geeks of the world are starting to be recognized and acknowledged. Some, like Bill Gates and Napster's Shawn Fanning, are even becoming mainstream.

So, a parting word of advice to all those geeks out there — here's your bargaining chip. We need you.