The Democracy Of Making (And Selling) Things

According to Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine’s editor-in-chief, atoms are the new bits – and because of this we are on the brink of the next industrial revolution.

It’s happening in hackerspaces across the country where inventors aren’t just building prototypes, but taking their inventions directly to market, foregoing the traditional factory.

The open-source movement is catching on with hardware hackers, who want anyone to be able to build and design their own furniture, tools, or even cars.

“Democratizing tools of creation allows individuals to be able to do extraordinary things because the tools are cheap and easy and available to all,” Anderson, expanding on a signature theme, told an audience at the 2010 Wired Business Conference. “Anybody can publish, anybody can manufacture, and that’s how you inspire an industrial revolution.”

Hackerspaces are the “seeds of the next industrial revolution,” said Anderson. For a $100/month membership, hackers get full access to the tools of the tech shop. More importantly, they get a community.

Bre Pettis, cofounder of Makerbot Industries, is a leader in the Hackerspace revolution. He sells do-it-yourself 3-D printers called Makerbots for about $1,000 each. His bold vision is that “Nobody with a Makerbot will ever have to buy a bottle opener again,” he declared, pulling out his own home-made orange opener from his pocket.

Photo by 100kgarages.com.

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