Responding to this because of the last call for lurkers to participate more :)
I became of the maker movement through education and saw it mostly as an education trend, which meant that it was a bunch of millennial and gen x people trying to read what gen z wants and needs for the imaginary future. in my experience with gen z, they’re not that interested in robotics and technological diy projects are. their parents are, because it fuels a fantasy of both nostalgic authenticity and grassroots technological crafting. I would compare it with the 8 bit aesthetic. Gen z just seems interested in technology in a different way. most of the middle schoolers didn’t get the concept of attaching a document to an email because they don’t see the internet as a place with parts. However, they’re very good at creating unique subcultures using the constantly shifting language of the web. also, they’re already better at checking out so they don’t have to fetishize pre technology. IDK, could just be talking out of my ass. But making your own robots have always seemed like the type of project parents force on their kids who would rather be playing fortnite or building their social media brands. ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ > On Jun 10, 2019, at 7:06 AM, Dr. Peter Troxler (p&s) > <peter.trox...@ps-culture.net> wrote: > > Interesting times indeed. I am not shedding tears over the demise of > PrintrBot or Radio Shack (which reappeared as a “brand”), and certainly not > of Toys “R” Us (Dutch Intertoys met the same fate) — and neither does the > demise of TechShop or Maker Media really make me cry. > > It is intriguing to see that Moore’s law [1] apparently did not hold for > either the “tool-up” welding gyms (TechShop) [2] nor for the mediatisator of > the “maker movement” (O’Reilly through Maker Media) [3]. > > So indeed, now what … > > Anything “Make(r)” is licensed by Maker Media — and I guess that > administrators will hardly be able to project enough revenue from these > licenses to sustain the brand. Is there anyone on the horizon who would want > to monetise “Make”? > > Maybe it is finally farewell to that optimistic vision of the future where > technology and craftsmanship merge, dreaming of becoming the next paradigm of > industry. Making as a consumer pastime has peaked. It never made it from > the early enthousiasts to the mass market. Probably, making is too hard, to > time consuming, to demanding on the average consumer’s attention span. > Making, too, never made it from the imagined breeding ground for even more > tech start-ups to "the revolution that can help us create new jobs and > industries for decades to come” [4] — Chris Anderson knows of "five companies > that have managed the "Maker -> Pro" path successfully, becoming good > businesses without losing their Maker cred” [5]. > > As we say in Dutch, van een kale kip kun je niet plukken (you can’t get blood > from a stone) — a business model that is partly based on licensing the brand > to an industry of makers and maker spaces who in general struggle to survive > themselves is not exactly a promising prospect. Subjecting those who — by the > gospel — are supposed to be independent thinkers to strict franchising > regulations when they want to throw their party (aka Maker Faire) is unlikely > to create a loyal base of business partners. Many Mini Maker Faires defected > Maker Media to become “independent” festivals — citing “red tape” (the > franchising agreement), license fees, insurance issues as reasons, and some > found it easier to attract local government subsidies acting independently > from a US-American company. > > Maybe this time it is the children eating their own revolution? > > Or maybe “making” as we knew it has just had its days? Black Mirror has > mainstreamed an antagonistic view of technology since its appearance on > Netflix. School strikes highlight other issues on the minds of (some) pupils > than drones and robots made from plastic and running on Lithium batteries. > > Time will tell. > > Peter Troxler > > > [1] http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1812#.XP0MltMza5M > [2] > https://www.boerneneshovedstad.dk/media/1332/maker-movement-manifesto-sample-chapter.pdf > [3] > http://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/assets/documents/research/working-paper-series/EWP40.pdf > [4] > https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/18/remarks-president-white-house-maker-faire > [5] https://twitter.com/chr1sa/status/1137453284204007425 > >> On 8 Jun 2019, at 16:21, Bruce Sterling <bru...@well.com> wrote: >> >> *Well, so much for the O’Reilly Web 2.0 version of popular mechanics. >> Fifteen years is not too bad a run by the standards of an increasingly >> jittery California Ideology. Now what? — Bruce S >> >> >> Maker Media goes broke >> https://hackaday.com/2019/06/07/maker-media-ceases-operations/ >> >> Over the years we’ve had the dubious honor of bidding farewell to numerous >> companies that held a special place in the hearts of hackers and makers. >> We’ve borne witness to the demise of Radio Shack, TechShop, and PrintrBot, >> and even shed a tear or two when Toys “R” Us shut their doors. But as much >> as it hurt to see those companies go, nothing quite compares to this. Today >> we’ve learned that Maker Media has ceased operations. >> >> Between the first issue of Make magazine in 2005 and the inaugural Maker >> Faire a year later, Maker Media deftly cultured the public face of the >> “maker movement” for over a decade. They didn’t create maker culture, but >> there’s no question that they put a spotlight on this part of the larger >> tech world. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the shuttering of >> Maker Media could have far reaching consequences that we won’t fully >> understand for years. >> >> While this news will surely come as a crushing blow to many in the >> community, Maker Media founder and CEO Dale Dougherty says they’re still >> trying to put the pieces together. “I started the magazine and I’m committed >> to keeping that going because it means something to a lot of people and >> means something to me.” At this point, Dale tells us that Maker Media is >> officially in a state of insolvency. This is an important distinction, and >> means that the company still has a chance to right the ship before being >> forced to declare outright bankruptcy. >> >> In layman’s terms, the fate of Make magazine and Maker Faire is currently >> uncertain… >> >> *** >> >> https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/07/make-magazine-maker-media-layoffs/ >> >> Financial troubles have forced Maker Media, the company behind crafting >> publication MAKE: magazine as well as the science and art festival Maker >> Faire, to lay off its entire staff of 22 and pause all operations. >> TechCrunch was tipped off to Maker Media’s unfortunate situation which was >> then confirmed by the company’s founder and CEO Dale Dougherty. >> >> For 15 years, MAKE: guided adults and children through step-by-step >> do-it-yourself crafting and science projects, and it was central to the >> maker movement. Since 2006, Maker Faire’s 200 owned and licensed events per >> year in over 40 countries let attendees wander amidst giant, inspiring art >> and engineering installations…. >> >> “Maker Media Inc ceased operations this week and let go of all of its >> employees — about 22 employees” Dougherty tells TechCrunch. “I started this >> 15 years ago and it’s always been a struggle as a business to make this >> work. Print publishing is not a great business for anybody, but it >> works…barely. Events are hard … there was a drop off in corporate >> sponsorship.” Microsoft and Autodesk failed to sponsor this year’s flagship >> Bay Area Maker Faire…. >> >> # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission >> # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, >> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets >> # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l >> # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org >> # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject: > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org > # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
