The Maker Movement Manifesto Book Review
By Angelica Tobias
The Maker Movement Manifesto, by Mark Hatch, is a book that according to Mark, needed to be written. I totally agree! Until I became a MSU Urban STEM-Wipro fellow, I had never heard about the maker movement. The Maker Movement Manifesto opened my eyes to the 21st Century Revolution that is exploding all around us. It is the kind of revolution that I want to be a part of!
The definition for manifesto is a public declaration or proclamation of aims or goals. The maker manifesto is composed of nine aims or goals: Make, Share, Give, Learn, Tool Up, Play, Participate, Support and Change. Each goal plays an integral part of the Maker Movement and Mark breaks each goal down by incorporating real life stories as examples.
The book is written in a very informative and easy to read manner and takes the reader through the parts of the maker movement by providing real human stories of lives affected by this movement. The maker movement is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) revolution that has given lay people who have a desire to make, craft, hack, and tinker, access to tools, knowledge, and support to change lives. WOW! Pretty powerful stuff!
Readers will connect with this book because we are naturally born to make. For me, it was a book that I wish I had found when I was young. While reading Mark’s Maker Movement Manifesto, I kept getting flashbacks of hidden maker moments in my life. I distinctly remember around 10 years old taking apart and trying to fix a broken cassette tape that had been tangled inside. As a teenager, I asked my father who was a welder, to show me how to weld. During my college years, I toyed with the idea of apprenticing as a carpenter or an electrician or going to auto mechanics school instead of college. As a young mother, I would think of great ideas for inventions that I never acted on because I had no idea how to start. Think Wheelies (hidden wheels on shoes that one could pop out at will), or clothes that could change color or temperature depending on people’s moods or weather. I have taken quilting classes, sewing classes, soldering classes, and have used many Do It Yourself books. Mark re-ignited my spark. I was born to Make!
But making is just one part of the Maker Movement Manifesto. We must share what we have made or share how to make and give what we have made to others. This is the part of the movement that has transformed lives and made a difference in the world. In his book, Mark perfectly provides examples of makers doing just that. Makers have saved babies and have attempted to bring world peace.The Portable Infant Warmer is one creation that tugged at my heart strings. The blanket is used in developing countries to help maintain a premature baby’s body temperature. What started as a school project idea turned into a tangible invention that is projected to save 100,000 babies lives! Another maker has made indestructible soccer balls to get children to play together despite political, social, and ethnic differences. These stories were especially moving for me. Creating something that make a difference in peoples lives is powerful.
The maker revolution is creating change by allowing people access to tools that were once too expensive to buy. Maker spaces such as Tech Shop have democratized tools to allow people to take classes, use the tools, and start businesses or startups. Careers have been changed because of easy accessibility to workspace, tools, and classes.
“What are you making?” With this sentence, Mark has seen first hand the amazing ideas and innovation that makers have come up with. Cupcake toppers, bamboo iPad cases, wooden ties, origami kayaks, and jetpacks are all ideas and then products or innovations that were made possible by revolutionizing the manufacturing process. Mark talks about the free innovation concept or in other words, one can “fail for free”. Normally, the process takes many iterations, the backing of investors or companies and the turnaround time from idea to product would take months if not years. The maker movement has changed that. Mark details one example of how one dream that would have cost $80,000 only cost less than $1,000! Again, wow!
In the Maker Manifesto, Chris Anderson, the author of the Long Tail, considers the maker movement to be even bigger than the internet. I made a connection since in our MSU-Wipro class we talked about the long tail theory, which talks about the emergence of small, niche markets that are being propelled by the internet and the Maker Movement. Because of the internet and the maker movement, sellers can make small runs of unique, customizable products and buyers can request a personalized, one-of-a kind product. It’s a win-win for both parties.
Because of the accessibility of maker spaces, people are able to take a class for a small fee and then for the low cost of a monthly membership, they are able to use the amazing variety of manufacturing equipment. This blew my mind because I have long wanted to make my own chairs, tables, and customized items but for that I needed to buy lathes, scroll saws, routers, and such. The cost of buying the equipment is prohibited and not worth it for me to use it only a couple of times. Mark Hatch, is CEO Of TechShop, a membershiped based, DIY, open access fabrication workspace. WOW again! To be able to rent space to use fabrication equipment has literally changed peoples lives. Mark documents stories of common people who start off with an idea and through the makerspace, have brought their ideas to fruition! How awesome is that?!! It blows my mind!!
I highly recommend reading The Maker Manifesto. Mark does a terrific job at introducing us to the Maker Movement and inspiring us with true stories of people starting with ideas and transforming their ideas into innovative products. Mark lays out the movement and then challenges the reader to become soldiers or radicals to help change “the political, social, educational, and structural things that need to change to fully leverage the movement”. So rise up! Take up your arms and join the movement! So what are you waiting for! What are you going to make?