My least read post is one of my favorite that I have written thus far.  I take full responsibility for its low readership numbers.  After all, I’m the one who gave it the off-putting title: How I Became a Hacker (and How You Can Become One Too). The term hacker has a lot of technical and negative connotations that I just failed to factor in.  Wikipedia describes the definition of the term as “contentious” because of its multiple and somewhat opposing meanings*:

• Hacker (computer security) or cracker, who accesses a computer system by circumventing its security system
• Hacker (hobbyist), who makes innovative customizations or combinations of retail electronic and computer equipment
• Hacker (programmer subculture), who shares an anti-authoritarian approach to software development now associated with the free software movement

Those who read the post know that I was using the second definition, expanding it from just electronic and computer systems to life in general.  I am what is often called a “white hat” hacker, someone who, according to Urban Dictionary, hacks for the enjoyment of exploration.
The problem remains that there is no good synonym for hacker.  I checked Visual Thesaurus and the Oxford English Dictionary and found nothing.  I find this odd because I know that the hacker inclination goes way back.  Anyone who has ever souped up a car or devised a solution to any problem is a hacker at heart.  What were those folks called?  To the best of my knowledge, they were just referred to as “handy.”  But the only synonym for handy, according to the Visual Thesaurus is “adroit,” but that doesn’t capture the meaning either.  I suppose you could use the term “innovative,” but that just sounds too much like “business-speak” for my taste.  So does the term “creative problem solver.” Do where does that leave me? With a poorly titled and unread blog post, I suppose.
 
*While discussing definitions, let me clarify that while I strongly support the open-source movement, I think software developers deserve to earn a living and I don’t believe all software should be free.  More on that in a different post.