[Noisebridge-discuss] Hackerspaces and Companies: Where they differ and where they overlap

[Mitch Altman]

Warning -- ramble ahead...

 

 

 

Hey Nuno!

 

I also always want to be in a hackerspace.  Well, at least a hackerspace mentality.  Which is why I do what I do -- teaching people how to make things, traveling around, helping people with their hackerspaces, giving talks to encourage others to do what they think is cool. . .  And it's why I was a co-founder of Noisebridge.  I wanted a place I could hang out with people I enjoy hanging out.  All this has worked out amazingly well for me.

 

My company is not a hackerspace, though I do run it with much of the philosophy we all discussed when starting Noisebridge.  Unlike a hackerspace, my company, Cornfield Electronics, has a product.  One of its intents is to generate enough of an income for me to live the life I want to live (and this barely works -- which is great for me, since I make enough money to live a life I love!).  I also have the final word on what decisions are made.  What I've just written above could, conceivably describe a group that calls itself a hackerspace (though it isn't one I would want to be a part of).  Most hackerspaces primary intent is to encourage people to explore the things they like to do that they love doing.  And if they make money from it as a result, then that's great.  This last sentence actually does describe my project, TV-B-Gone -- since it was (and is) a project that I did primarily because I wanted one, and I thought it would be way cool to make it available for others so that they could have fun turning TVs off (and have time to actually have a life, rather than just drool in front of a piece of furniture for hours every day).  Maybe I could have created a group of people who collectively ran the TV-B-Gone business when it became an overnight hit, but the way it actually happened was that me and the friends who worked on TV-B-Gone continued the way we had started -- I came up with the main ideas, others pitched in with lots of great ideas, making my ideas better, and I had the final say on how to proceed, based on what everyone else contributed (and with every decision I made, I tried to make sure that every one was happy with it).  But running a company is way more stressful than being part of a hackerspace.  One of the main reasons is that a lot of peoples' means of subsistence (i.e., their income) is riding on all the decisions.  This is why one of the hackerspace design patterns is about hackerspaces being not-for-profit -- it takes a lot of pressure off of peoples' decision-making, and allows for most of the energy to go into creating a space that encourages people to explore things they love to do (and share it and teach it and learn from others).

 

In my travels, I have met a lot of people who have found creative ways of making a living as a result of exploring projects they love at hackerspaces.  I think that is one great thing about hackerspaces!

 

I encourage people, everywhere I go, to make time to explore what they love doing.  I think that there are lots of creative ways (which are different for each person) to find creative ways to make enough money to live a life you really want to live, and that can be based on project(s) that you love to work/play with.  And hackerspaces are great for this (as I've said).  (I also encourage people to quit their jobs if they don't like them, and want to create time to explore more opportunities for making a living doing what you really love -- but I only do this if an individual wants me to -- so, if you want encouragement to quit a job you don't love, please ask me to poke you to quit your job!)

 

So, hang out at hackerspaces.  Start your own if one isn't close (enough) to you!  It can only make your life cooler, and the lives of those around you cooler.  And maybe you'll even find a way to make a living from it!

 

Mitch.

 

 


--------------------------- 
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 18:06:54 +0100
> From: nuno.morgadinho at gmail.com
> To: noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Hackerspaces and Companies: Where they differ and where they overlap
> 
> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm doing a research work titled "Hackerspaces and Companies: Where
> they differ and where they overlap". It's about what aspects of a
> Hackerspace could one borrow and apply to a company. Does anyone have
> anything to say about this?
> 
> Is it possible to operate a company under the same principles as a
> Hackerspace? What would be the main obstacles?
> 
> I know some of you will probably go sky rocket with such absurd
> questions but please bare with me. The real reason behind my work is
> that I would like to be all the time at a Hackerspace :) but I still
> have to pay bills at the end of the month :(
> 
> Thanks for any inputs,
> 
> p.s. I'm not a member of Noisebridge but I started subscribing and
> following the mailing list after seeing a talk by Mitch Altman.
> 
> -- 
> Nuno Morgadinho
> http://www.morgadinho.org
> http://twitter.com/morgadin
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
 		 	   		  
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