1) The general theme that Chris Anderson tackles in Makers is the idea that there are numerous different technological and economic innovations taking hold today that can bring manufacturing, which has largely been outsourced from the developed, service-based economies of the world to those less developed countries that can provide much cheaper labor, though often at the expense of the laborers themselves. These developments include things such as 3-D printing, the rise of coding as a major source of complexity in the manufacturing of different products, and the use of the internet to bring people with similar entrepreneurial interests together.
2) This book had numerous different connections to ENT, and overall it really added to the experience of the class. The main connection between Makers and ENT is that all of the industries and technologies that Anderson points out as being ones that can bring back manufacturing are all rapidly rising industries, not ones that have titanic corporations already dominating the playing field. All of these areas are ones in which savvy entrepreneurs could make inroads and form startups. The skills we have learned so far in this class are ones that would make us more than capable of doing so in these or any other industry.
3) If I were to design an exercise based on this book, it would focus on existing technologies, industries, and business practices and comparing them with rising industries that could in theory take their place and create a better product or better working conditions for workers. For instance, a student might choose the current practice of outsourcing tech jobs abroad to countries such as India. There are a number of different avenues through which a student could approach this scenario, but here they might look at the rise of the internet and self-instruction in coding which could bring these jobs back to the United States and right into people's homes. Other possible practices they could possibly examine include the use of sweatshop labor, slave labor really, in the assembly of many of the products that we use in our day-to-day lives.
4) My biggest "aha" moment with this book was when Anderson discussed the "democratization of entrepreneurship", where he pointed out that the large number of small, independent factories around the world make it much more feasible for entrepreneurs to retain a hold of their IPs and still create prototypes and the like because these factories will make these products in smaller batches than a corporate factory would, without the steep price. This was an "aha" moment for me because I realized that this is a growing practice in an industry that is very dear to me, tabletop gaming! The rise of Kickstarter and these independent factories makes it very easy for board game and role playing game creators to raise funds independently of a large company such as Hasbro, and then get their products created in small batches overseas. Although this can often result in limited runs of some products, the extent to which these entrepreneurs and creators retain control of their ideas, especially in an industry that is notorious for not being the most profitable, makes it well worth it.
Hi, there! This book’s content sounds jam-packed with information, like a text book. Did it read like one too? The connection you pulled from the book to this course makes it seem like the book provided you with valuable examples of applying the concepts we’ve covered so far this semester in real world situations. The exercise you created sounds quite challenging, but would be hugely beneficial to students because it would allow them a hands-on approach to the topics we talk.
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