Thoughts on Desktop Manufacturing
Following on from my ramble about Cory Doctorow‘s upcoming novel, Makers, and having caught a rather excellent BBC abridged reading of William Gibson‘s Pattern Recognition - a book that’s had a totally disproportionate impact on my way of viewing the world … well, I’ve been thinking …
Dangerous territory, I know!
From mid-September, I’m down to study this, here, for the sheer love of it. And, reading this, I’m increasingly excited…
Further out? I know I want to write slightly outré sci-fi / spec fic (in whatever medium), and live in a house made from shipping containers. Problem: I don’t think I’ve got quite enough life experience to write convincingly (particularly with characters & dialogue) for the longer form, and my self-discipline is terrible.
Now, I’ve tried my hand at something approaching journalism, and quite enjoyed it. Problem:
“[G]ood journalism is dependent on a total stranger’s cooperation and participation.”
I’m quite good at networking, but not (currently) that great at getting information out of people. And although there are plenty of inspiring journalists doing exciting things (exhibits A, B, and C), the current state of the industry is a strong deterrent for those contemplating a conventional journalistic career.
A PhD is pretty enticing in the near-to-medium term, though (as you may have gathered) my brain doesn’t really do focusing on one thing for long periods of time. And this is where the RepRap video and dangerous thinking come in …
Today, last night, this afternoon … I’ve been thinking on the feasibility of pitching a doctoral thesis on something to do with “Maker” culture – as seen in Maker Faire, Make magazine, Doctorow‘s Makers (once published), and recent developments in desktop manufacturing.
Some recent work with Hide&Seek on Playmakers (among other things) bought the concept of “ungeeking” to my attention. There’s definitely some stuff here about Etsy, Spoonflower, Shapeways, print-on-demand – as evidence of the increasingly tactile, physical nature of new media (cf. Russell M Davies)? Materiality versus virtuality? The intersection of intellectual property, political economy and productive capital … as mediated by new technologies & new media.
And this tackled from a hybrid anthropology/political economy standpoint. Fieldwork & participant observation as an excuse to develop practical, “transferable” skills & make useful contacts while remaining in the institutional safety net of the pre-implosion academy. Subcultural rules, norms, ethonomics, and visions of the future. Some peculiar mish-mash of gift economies, peer production, adhocracies, and pirate utopias.
Equally dependent on the participation & cooperation of total strangers, yes, but – as such – solid preparation for the kind of work in which interpersonal skills are likely to be most useful. As a plan, it’s all a bit tentative, ad-hoc … but might be something worth returning to. Suppose I should have a bit of a look over the existing literature; make sure nobody’s got here before me. Of coure, I might abandon the whole thing next week for the vague promises of a life in urban regeneration. Or something. Who knows?