The maker movement's potential for education, jobs and innovation is growing. Dale Dougherty (@dalepd), one of the co-founders of O’Reilly Media, was honored at the White House yesterday as a “Champion of Change.”
This White House initiative profiles Americans who are helping their fellow citizens “meet the challenges of the 21st century.” The recognition came as part of what the White House is calling “Make it in America,” which convenes people from around the country to discuss American manufacturing and jobs. “This is so completely deserved,” wrote Tim O’Reilly on Google+. “When you see kids at Maker Faire suddenly turned on to science and math because they want to make things, when you see them dragging their parents around with eyes shining, you realize just how dull our education system has made some of the most exciting and interesting stuff in the world. Dale has taken a huge step towards changing that. The event was streamed online at WhiteHouse.gov/live. “I started this magazine called ‘MAKE‘,” Dougherty said. What does this recognition mean to you? The Maker Movement: Young Makers and Why They Matter.
Moving the Economy: The Future of the Maker Movement. Youngmakersprogram. Moving the Economy: The Future of the Maker Movement. The Maker Movement Creates Jobs. As the unemployment crisis continues month after month, I'm tempted to climb to the roof of my house and yell at the top of my lungs, “The maker movement creates jobs.”
This so obvious a fact seems lost on national decision-makers. The entire personal computer industry was born when a small group of hobbyists, The Homebrew Computer Club, met at Stanford University in 1975. Other industries are on the verge of being born if only our nation did more to support hobbyists. What more could be done? Provide makers--hobbyists--spaces to gather and tinker. The hobbyists shouldn't have to put up the full cost of renting such a space. Here is what happens at hackerspaces: realizations and discoveries. Not far from Washington, D.C., where I live, 13 Catholic high schools in Baltimore, Maryland, are vacant. Who could pay for those 13 high schools to be used as hackerspaces? The maker movement has given so much to this country, it's high time the country put some wind beneath its wings. Maker Faire and the Growth of Do-It-Yourself.
Mark Frauenfelder, founder of BoingBoing.net, is a strong proponent of the DIY movement.
Mark Frauenfelder noticed them everywhere he went: bleary-eyed souls peering up over their laptops and monitors, craving something more tactile than a keyboard, plus a measure of control over their surroundings. And then it began: They started making things, things that didn't necessarily have anything to do with 1s or 0s. From handcrafted furniture to bespoke clothing to homemade robots, the Maker Movement took hold in California's geek-heavy communities in the early 2000s and has since grown into an international phenomenon. We asked Frauenfelder, founder of BoingBoing.net and editor-in-chief of Make magazine, to weigh in on the impact and reach of DIY. Maker Faire--Mecca for makers--is a bellwether of the movement's growth. Mark Frauenfelder The movement that caught on in the garages and basements of California's Bay Area is showing signs of true financial power. Like this article?