A geography doctoral student in Tennessee is mapping the indiecraft movement that, by some miracle, is springing up all around the country. Wow, people are starting to make things themselves. That’s amazing. This must be all thanks to the Obama presidency!
Whatever. Despite my early morning snickering, this is an neat, earnest project by Ben Shultz. He’s interested in the use of the Internet by D.I.Y. folks. My immediate thought is that the Internet has redefined innovation and creativity due to the dissolution of traditional distance issues faced by information diffusion. (That’s a lot of d-words in that last sentence.) Basically, innovation, even on an organic, do-it-yourself scale, is super-duper fast. Make magazine having a TV program is a perfect example of this. D.I.Y. used to be the subject of photocopied zines and word of mouth. Now, you’re just a google search away from rigging up a steampunk ray gun made of recycled beercans.
Seriously, if you consider yourself a crafter, maker or do-it-yourselfer, do Ben a favor and take his survey at the website below.
http://diydissertation.blogspot.com/
