I just got the official word from work – I get to go to the World Maker Faire in New York, NY, later this fall! It’s my third Maker Faire, and it’s honestly one of the top events that I look forward to every year, for a few reasons. If you haven’t been to a Maker Faire before, I’d highly recommend it, especially if you’ve got kids. They’re simply awesome.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jc2UdIqDMA
1. Makers Love RadioShack – The ‘make’ community has a similar relationship with RadioShack as I have with Nokia. They love RadioShack, but they’ve been spurned before, a few times, over the years. At RadioShack, we have a huge focus on the DIY community – it’s not just lip service, we talk ALOT about them internally, and how we can better serve them. When I went to the World Maker Faire in NY last year, we were just beginning to show the DIY community this focus, and they were cautiously optimistic. At the Maker Faire Bay Area earlier this year, they’d seen it in action for 6 months, and they were EXCITED.
2. Makers Are Nerds – Makers are the original nerds, too, not ‘hipster nerds’. They think of cool stuff all the time, and then they actually go BUILD it. Themselves. From nothing. Makers nerd out over things that stump them, until they figure it out. The phrase ‘it can’t be done’ doesn’t really mean anything to them. I love that.
3. Makers Do Cool Stuff – 3D printing came out of the maker community. It’s a printer where you upload a 3D blueprint for something, and the machine uses plastic (like what LEGOs are made from) to literally print it. It’s astounding, and these printers are less than $2k. I’ve seen 10 year olds at Maker Faire using 3D printers. Let that sink in.
4. Makers Understand Lighting – they fully understand that no matter how cool something might be, it’s about three times cooler if you put lights all over it. Love that.
5. Makers Are Friendly – EVERYONE I’ve ever spoken to at a Maker Faire was out-of-this-world friendly. Who doesn’t love that?
This year, I’m blessed to be able to bring my wife along to Maker Faire NY, too. Sure, we’ll do the whole ‘New York City’ thing (she’s never been to the Big Apple), but I’m going to bring her along to Maker Faire at least one day while I’m working. It’s such a cool experience. Can’t wait.
Ricky Cadden 