Chris Anderson (writer)
<p>Mar 3, 2010 12:54 PM  I met Torben Gronning there, Danish, seated to my left
(lecture was on Mar 1)  see my email to Torben.
 
Editor in Chief of WIRED  since 2001.  top prize for genl excellence 3 times.
Also see website  BOOKTOUR.com  connecting audiences to authors.
prev. at the Economist as biz editor and as tech editor and as Asia biz editor.
Also an editor at Nature and Science before that.
Studied QM and Sci journalism at Cal.
 
Age 39 ... incredible energy...  5 kids;  lives in Berkeley;
bkgrd physics degree;  worked for Nature and the scientist;
wrote FREE;  his  Gr GrF  founded American Anarachist party.
his GR F  was an inventor  (invented the automatic lawn sprinkler).
 
DIY  Drones and DIY robotics.
Long Tail is sort of similar to Malcolm Gladwell's book.
 
he is NOT doctrinaire;
give away most to build audience, then sell a premium service to a few.
Chris wants to give it all away.
His boss (at Conde Naste) wants to charge fore everything.
 
Robots that solve Rubik cube using Lego problem solver.
Hole in Lego mkt is that the company does not do guns/ weapons etc.
So he wanted to fill the void ... make Lego autopilot.
 
past decade was abt social innovation
next decade will be abt BITS  (guys in a garage making stuff in quantity to 1 to 1000 or so
niche products, too small in volume run for HP or the big guys... won't bother with anything
with volume that small.
 
Democratize the tools of production.
Never  fight a publicity war with somebody who buys INK by the barrel.
 
extrude  ABS plastic.  buy an  automatic ABS fabricator for $750.
 
Current...  guy at home can replace the former music studio/ industry distrib.
do  recording/ mix/ publicity/ distrib sales from home.
Chris wants to do that for fabrication.
 
CNC router  see Alibaba.com   (to  contract out manuf of stuff)  TradeManager  (like Amazon for
manufact.)
u have 1... they will make many.
He was in Guandong for ? 3 years.
 
More and more custom work.
 
He talks abt movie  "Flash of Genius"  intermittent windshield wiper... inventor sunk
entire savings in it and eventually gets wiped out cuz Ford  rips him off.  ? FRed Hom?
 
this techno opens it up for small inventors.
like Zinio for niche products.
 
He might be involved with MAKE magazine... Makerfaire.
He plugs TEch Shop...  guy making lunar lander there.
guy making a  CVP  chemovapor deposition chamber.
 
OPEN SOURCE CAR  J  Rogers  (Grandson of Indian motorcycle guy)  is a rally car
( he says kit car industry has always been around, but always getting sued, cuz
externals looks like Ford Mustang or whatever always infringing)
Open source infringes NO intel property... open source from ground up;
all commodity parts;  chassis is welded steel;
Can get exemtpions from  DOT... no crash testing required;
(just like FAA gives exemption for  kit planes...  )
Car is 50 state legal.
 
BRICK ARMS  Lego weaponry ... Will Chapman is his CEO..
20 yr boy from Tijuana genius.
Open source dromes.
 
Robotic aircraft... guys design controller and send it out to be fabed.
Shapeways..
 
Bill JOY says  "the smartest people in the world don't work for you whoever your are"
True meritocracy.
 
Atoms are the new bits.
 
Q from audience:  Potlach...  NW INdians... whoever gives away the most has the most status.
Can't we get away from money as a metric of success.
A:  yes.  CA says... people underestimate how important other motivations (status, involvement) are.
social rewards are hugely impt.
 
Q:  How abt DIY skyscrapers
A:  NO ...  not for risky, expensive projects ... always a role for professionals.
 
He prob lived in China when he was Asia biz editor for the Economist.  in  1997 to 2000.
 
May  Apple Tablet.  will have a Wired edition for it.
Now 1 M copies of Wired are printed.
 
Free as in speech; not as in beer.
 
 
 
 
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