the DIY revolution

Something that I've been thinking about lately is what seems to be a trend of a growing d.i.y./hacker/maker/backyard mechanic/handman culture.

Maybe it started with Home Depot and Lowes, but I think there's something else happening. If you watch the Discovery Channel you probably have noticed that almost every show is about making stuff. Mythbusters, Prototype This!, How It's Made, even shows like Time Warp have an element of backyard fabrication. Although I'm not a homeowner, I've noticed this trend with home improvement shows too. I mean, there's a whole network now for this stuff - the DIY Network. In general it seems a lot of people are interested in learning to do things themselves.

I attended an Ignite Boston talk this past fall and Tim O'Reilly talked about this resurgence of self-sufficiency. He noted that these trends have come and gone throughout history, so it's really nothing new. The one thing that seems interesting to me is that in this day and age the technology is so much more accessible. People are building their own 3-D printers and CNC machines at home. I'm sure there are hobbyists out there with better facilities than some prototyping labs. This makes me start to wonder what will come of all of this. It seems that the most exciting innovation could come not from a large corporation but from a person working quietly in a basement shop. It also makes me think that we might break free from the historic model of these trends. This might not be a fad, we might be at the verge of an industrial and economic revolution.

...or maybe not. Still I'm excited to see what comes of this all.