Chris Anderson: The Makers Revolution - A Seminar Flashback

This is the debut of a new feature on our blog. A couple times a month we’ll highlight a past Long Now Seminar About Long-term Thinking (SALT). We’ll start with a talk from a year ago. Author and technologist Chris Anderson spoke about The Makers Revolution in February 02013.

Audio of our SALT series is always available free for everyone on our Seminar pages and via podcast. We host full video of the 12 most recent Seminars free for everyone, too. Long Now members can see all our Seminar videos in HD.

The Makers Revolution is a recent SALT talk. It will be free for public viewing until late March 02014.

Chris Anderson has been a journalist, author, and entrepeneur. He was the Editor in Chief of Wired Magazine, wrote for The Economist for seven years, and his books include The Long Tail, Free, and Makers: The New Industrial Revolution. He is the CEO of 3D Robotics and founder of DIY Drones.

In his Long Now talk The Makers Revolution Anderson takes us step-by-step from the 19th century Industrial Revolution to present day. Desktop publishing, PostScript, factory automation, supply chain innovation, globalization, 3D Printing, Cloud Manufacturing, and the failings of the doll house furniture industry all feature along the way. He relates his own generational maker journey: as a child learning invention & making from his father and grandfather to now manufacturing at home with his kids.

From Stewart Brand’s summary of this Seminar (in full here):

Since 02006, Maker Faires, Hackerspaces, and TechShops (equipped with laser cutters, 3D printers, and CAD design software) have proliferated in the US and around the world. Anderson said he got chills when, with the free CAD program Autodesk 123D, he finished designing an object and moused up to click the button that used to say “Print.” This one said “Make.” A 3D printer commenced building his design.

Here’s a short video clip from the Seminar:

The Seminars About Long-term Thinking series began in 02003 and is presented each month live in San Francisco. The series is curated and hosted by Long Now’s President Stewart Brand. Seminar audio is available to all via podcast.

Watch full video of this SALT talk until late March 02014. See full video of the 12 most recent Seminars on our website. Only Long Now members can access ten years of Seminars in HD. Membership starts at $8/month and includes lots of benefits. Join Long Now today.

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