Kurious Wax

Described as a ‘do-it-yourself culture on steroids,’ the Maker Movement is all about everyday people utilizing open source technologies to create their own innovative projects. Facilitated by the Arduino microcontroller, makers have been able to come up with projects such as plants that tweet you when they need to be watered and homemade 3D printers. These open source technologies have made it easier for people to integrate the physical and digital world, and in turn democratizing the making process.

Megan Tulac, Director of Research at the National Institute for Play, speaks to a group of makers on the importance of playing. She describes an experiment where neurologists removed the frontal cortex of mice and found that the animals continued to play, demonstrating that play is associated with instinct. Applied to everyday life, play is shown to foster trust, strengthen social bonds, and spark curiosity. Consequently, applying it to the workplace to aid in problem solving can yield great benefits.

For the longest time, trees have acted as a metaphor for the way we classify things and share knowledge, justified by our need for visual order, symmetry and simplicity. In this RSA Animate, Manuel Lima, senior UX design lead at Microsoft, speaks of a paradigm shift in the way humans map information. Lima argues that this simplistic view of the world has developed into that of interconnected webs – networks. These visually complex, albeit organized webs can be found all over, from the neuro–networks of mice to the cosmic structure of the universe.

When PR, digital and social are imaginatively combined, it’s possible to produce refreshing and memorable advertising that is easily publicized. Adidas’ ClimaCool experiential campaign managed to do just that. Challenged by the fact that teens in France don’t like to run, Sid Lee, Adidas’ agency of record, produced an experience that involved kidnapping, scavenger hunting, and celebrity spotting to give teens a reason to run.

The development of open source software is allowing user generated content to push the boundaries in the worlds of art and science. Collaboration and progress were Kyle McDonald's main goals when developing FaceOSC, a face tracking software with considerable potential. In this NEXT Berlin 2012 talk, McDonals, a media artist and coder, reasons that we must nurture a community of hackers. In doing so, we allow ourselves to “imagine the future of technologies rather than accept what is given to us.”

Alia Mahmoud, NYU graduate of International Business and Economic Development, sought to understand business’ business in peacemaking. After the Tunisian revolution she relocated there to spearhead a nonprofit initiative for job creation. In her TEDtalk, she speaks of the need for an entrepreneurial revolution in Tunisia to integrate the masses of unemployed youth back into society. Mahmoud acknowledges that to inspire change there must be a reworking of the education, banking, and private sectors.

The creation of Dutch brothers Edial and Floris Dekker, Gidsy is a website that urges users to “do something different.” Described by Edial at NEXT Berlin 2012 as “a marketplace for things to do.” Members are encouraged to host and/or attend events that can range from mushroom picking to 3D printing workshops. As a peer-to-peer network, Gidsy gives its users complete pricing control, offering an alternative and affordable way to do excursions and activities.

Cyclists worried about not getting enough upper body exercise can worry no more. The Swiss-designed bicycle, RaXibo incorporates upper body action by altering the traditional handlebars. The bike has hand pedals that mimic the motion of your feet, allowing for a full body workout.

Bringing back the original meaning to the term ‘beetle racing,’ Volkswagen teamed up with DDB Stockholm to produce the VW Bug Run. The agency constructed a miniature replica of a racecourse and picked out live Swedish ground beetles to participate in the race. VW fans in Sweden and Denmark were encouraged to follow the live stream of the races online and could bet real money on their favourite beetle.

Materials which have one more properties which can be changed in a significant manner are an important component of the future of the manufacturing in the maker subculture as well as tech crafts. This talk at Maker Faire goes over some examples of smart materials, the issues makers currently face, and the next steps in making smart materials more accessible to all.

Artist Jon Rafman, he who did Google Street View 9-Eyes, nostalgically delves into the mind of gamers in a short film that was screened a Sundance Film Festival this year. Read the accompanying essay by Rafman here.

Any gamer worth their salt relies on their in-game Heads Up Display (HUD) to gage how well they are doing. The same is true of the characters of Dragon Ball-Z and one can easily imagine this kind of technology being useful for the military. Though the above video is around a year old, Keiichi Matsuda's vision of the future has arguably better animation than many feature films and points to Google's news that they will release augmented reality HUD glasses. There are some intriguing possibilities for marketers.