‘Your Excel Skills Suck’: The Power Users Turning Spreadsheets Into a Spectator Sport
A growing community of Excel power users is turning spreadsheet mastery into a form of entertainment, sharing productivity hacks and competing in speedrun challenges on social media. These creators are building large followings by demonstrating advanced techniques that go far beyond standard business utility.
Why it matters
It highlights how niche professional skills are being gamified and popularized through social media, changing how software proficiency is perceived and taught.
Maybe you lied about being “proficient” with the spreadsheet program to pad out your résumé and have lived in fear of being found out ever since. Or it could be that you do have a grasp on a few basic formulas but find the interface too labyrinthine to truly master.
Still, like it or not, Excel remains an integral part of businesses, with Microsoft claiming “hundreds of millions” of users worldwide. But for a thriving community of content creators, Excel’s uses go far beyond practicality. They live for the thrills of ninja-like Excel efficiency, and they’re happy to impart their esoteric knowledge to those brave enough to seek it out. They amass huge fandoms by demonstrating their flair for unexpected productivity hacks and posting record times on “obstacle runs,” with some even competing in official Excel championships for prize money (and bragging rights).
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