It was interesting to hear about the Maker Faire at Barnes & Nobles from Alyssa and everybody else's opinion about it. It sounds like it was something very quickly put together and not very centered on making but rather on sales at the bookstore. I wasn't there so I can't say for sure, but in an attempt to be balanced in thought, I think it is expected that the B&N staff would default to selling stuff because that's all they were trained to do. It's like this Maker Faire was just thrown onto them and they're just doing the job they were hired to do. So in all fairness, I don't think it was their fault for trying to sell things at the Faire. Also, the Maker Movement contains a type of open culture that not everybody is familiar with. People in general are used to fending for themselves and trying their best to please everybody in whatever they do. But the Maker Movement doesn't care about that. We care about sharing thoughts and ideas and skills and teaching others what we know. We care about just making cool, fun, useful (and sometimes not that useful) stuff but it is definitely something we find interesting and have passion for. This culture is something that will take time and needs to be gradually exposed to the community at these bookstores and even into the staff there to ingrain it in them. In any case, I am not surprised that the Faire did not turn out to resemble a real Faire as much. I had hoped it would have been exactly like a real Faire but I didn't expect it to be one. But at least it's a start. Get the event going, work on perfecting it.
READING SUMMARY
Browsing through sewelectric.org and the T-Shirt Fashion Pinterest search, there is some really cool stuff out there that could be done. I like how Sew Electric brings together these 3 areas of craft, electronics, and programming (sounds like "Maker" to me!). I am curious to see what "the monster who sings when you hold its hands" looks like.
It was very interesting to see the technological approach and advancement in the fashion industry in The Next Black. I like to see how technology can be incorporated in a useful and practical way into clothing items and even make them still look good. Particularly of interest to me was the use of bacteria on sports attire to open and close the gill- or scale-like patterns based on the body functions. It was also cool to see the use of simple wiring to measure heart rates and other stats. I'm kind of skeptical about the use of bacteria to grow clothing material though. Not that I don't think they can do it because they can and have been working on it. But the thought of putting on a suit of bacteria on my body is kind of strange... and a little gross. Maybe I'm just prejudiced and maybe this would be the norm in the near future and there would be no issues on the matter. Well, we'll see how it plays out. I was also impressed with how actual engineering was incorporated into Lady Gaga's bubble dress. I knew they did it but I just never paid attention and did not think about the details of how the dress was made. It is very cool to know that it was 3D printed too. Additionally, Patagonia's approach to Black Friday sales ad was also interesting. I think it's great that they are advocating that it's not just the production company's responsibility to take care of the environment and prevent material waste but it's also the responsibility of the buyer or customer to not buy things they don't need. Even they should learn to take proper care of items they already own and learn to fix them and repair them and reuse them. I think Patagonia, though painted in a protagonistic light, actually has a twofold intention. The first, they probably do have a real and genuine care or concern for the environment and preventing waste but on the other hand, I think they are also doing this for their own profit by appearing to be the "good guys" with the "out-of-the-box" thinking to discourage purchases on Black Friday. In actuality, they are making the customers trust them more and like them more even if they don't love the designs and therefore increasing customer retention. It's almost like reverse psychology. Take Nike for instance, sales went down when word got out about their China factory child labor. People still loved their designs and products but because they knew children were used to make them, they didn't feel good and even no longer wanted to purchase Nike products. Anyway, this doesn't really have anything to do with making or makers but it's just my thoughts on marketing for customer retention. Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of interviews from iFixit. I myself have been using iFixit for 4-5 years now to fix iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Macbooks. I first stumbled upon it when I damaged my iPhone 4 screen and refused to pay $300 to get it fixed at the Apple store. So I did a little research and found iFixit with clear instructions and photos to replace your own screen. It seemed very doable and I decided to try it. 2-3 hours later I successfully repaired my cracked screen with a $30 OEM part I got from Amazon. It was a great sense of accomplishment (check out my before and after photos of my iPhone 4 below)! Since then I have helped friends and family fix their broken Apple products (including broken speakers, microphones, cameras, earphone jacks, home buttons, power buttons, etc.) and I've gotten really good at it. I can now replace an iPhone 5 screen in 45 minutes if I take my time and I don't charge them any service fees. They only pay for the parts used. Anyway, iFixit is such a great available open resource with quality and accurate information. I haven't used iFixit for fixing things other than Apple products and the occasional Android phone but I'm pretty sure they are excellent across the board. It's great to see the faces behind iFixit in the documentary.
Photos of my damaged and first repair of my iPhone 4 using iFixit back in 2011:
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XTRA TO SHARE
In line with our short side conversation in class today about linguistics, here is another interesting THNKR video:
This young man speaks over 20 languages: https://youtu.be/Km9-DiFaxpU
Lastly, not a maker thing but if you were curious about the video I shared professor Kristin about Malaysians and how we speak, here it is: https://youtu.be/ieZwYjMcP20
Wow, a long post again, I feel little shamed now~~alright, I totally agree with your point of what we care about. Yes, tools are not most important, techniques either. We care about whether we could build a robust community, which allows everyone communicate, learn, grow, educate and contribute. We care about whether we could transform knowledge into real application. We care about whether these "products" could enhance people's life qualities. We care about if our children could have anything different because of us. If any of these questions been answered by B&N, I believe there will be a successful maker fair.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for sharing iFixit with us. I tried to fix my iphone5 two years ago after I smashed it to pieces. I bought supplies on Taobao, which is a magical website where you could almost get everything on your mind at an extremely low price(even illegal guns!). After repatriation, my screen turned out to be flawless but unfortunately been refused by apply's service anymore. I mean, who needs apple's repair? We are makers...
ReplyDeletelol~~~I think that's not quite distinguishable of Malaysian's english maybe because of his tone and accent. But you could guess the meaning by his body language and facial expression. It turns out we rely slightly on verbal signals than our expectations. BTW, you are so talented in imitating other's tone!
ReplyDelete"I think they are also doing this for their own profit by appearing to be the "good guys" with the "out-of-the-box" thinking to discourage purchases on Black Friday. In actuality, they are making the customers trust them more and like them more even if they don't love the designs and therefore increasing customer retention."
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about Patagonia! If they wanted customers to purchase less, perhaps they could consider reducing their advertising budget, not engaging in conspicuous non-consumption. It really seems like a way to announce Patagonia's moral superiority to everyone. Then again, I tend to be cynical about those sorts of stunts, whatever their intentions might ultimately be.
Also, I think it's really impressive that you were able to fix your iPhone's screen using iFixIt's tips! I had a similar problem with my Droid 4 a few years ago, but I didn't have any luck finding guidance at that point and had to seek the assistance of professional repairmen. Hopefully, I won't be in need of future repairs (though my phone almost did take a swim in Lake Superior this summer), but it's great to hear from someone who had personal experience with iFixIt that their tutorials are worthwhile!
ReplyDelete