David Li is the co-founder of several maker related organizations in China including XinCheJian, first makerspace in China, Hacked Matter, a research hub focusing on the global maker movement and its relationship to China, then Maker Collider, a makerspace accelerator sponsored by Intel and Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab, a hub to Shenzhen supported by Shenzhen government. These experiences give him a unique perspective on the maker movement, especially in terms of connections to China.
Much of my works in the past few years has been about Shanzhai, the open collaborative ecosystem rooted in Shenzhen, with a particular interest in how Shanzhai provides a window into the possibilities for the future of maker movements.
The “maker movement” had become an all inclusive term referring to the re-ignited interests in making things from DIY electronics and digital fabrication to traditional craft, which had existed way before the term “Makers” came along in the past decade. One unique characteristic brought by the makers are the inclusion of programmable circuits in open source forms, including the iconic Arduino, in many of the projects. Makers have transformed the usage of these embedded information technologies from a handful of experts and engineers to the masses. In other words, the mass amateurization of embedded information technologies is at the core of the maker movement.
Maker movements are expected to bring economic growth and benefit. The latest catchall term for such embedded information technologies is the Internet of Things (IoT). According to the Gartner report, there will be a growth of 200 billion new IoT devices and half of them will be coming from newly founded start-ups. The maker movement will be responsible for bringing out many of these start-ups.
The exploration of the commercial potential of multiple maker movements seems to be at odds with its open source, sharing, and collaborative nature of the Maker Movement. The perception of commercialization places great emphasis on the ownership of intellectual property as competitive business advantages. Several high profile cases such as Makerbot and Arduino / Genuino have not only stirred up heated debates but also divided communities. This philosophical divide is the growing pain of the movement, creating the perception that going commercial meaning abandoning the core principles of openness and sharing that attracted people to the movement in the first place.
Shanzhai, on the other hand, is an open and sharing business ecosystem born from the surviving instincts of the participants. Collaboration and open source are good for business and Shanzhai built that into multi-billion dollars industries shipping hundreds of millions of units of mobile phones, tablets, and other smart devices in the mean time providing more distributed opportunities to anyone willing to participate.
The “China’s Creative Communities: Making Value and The Value(s) of Making” and “Living Research” projects have brought UK makers to China, especially to Shenzhen, and Chinese Makers to the UK, to facilitate the dialog. It has been my pleasure to be part of the projects and the exchanges have been valuable to kick off the dialog of between Shanzhai and the world about a potential future of a global open, sharing, and collaborative business ecosystem.
References
Shanzhai: China’s Collaborative Electronics-Design Ecosystem
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/chinas-mass-production-system/370898/
SILICON MARKETS: SMART HARDWARE FROM THE STREETS
http://www.hackedmatter.com/news/2016/6/21/silicon-markets-smart-hardware-from-the-streets
The Hidden Benefits of China’s Counterfeiting Habit: China’s shanzhai culture has created a unique breeding ground for innovation and competition.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/the-hidden-benefits-of-chinas-counterfeiting-habit/
Mass Amateurization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_amateurization
Gartner Says By 2017, 50 Percent of Internet of Things Solutions Will Originate in Startups That Are Less Than Three Years Old
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2869521
