Makers and Shakers Inspire at Hardware Innovation Workshop

The first MAKE Hardware Innovation Workshop wrapped up this evening. Featuring over 30 of the most well-known innovators in the MAKE space, the event found a perfect home in the storied garden-roofed research facilities at PARC Xerox. As one of the speakers commented, this was probably the first time that all of these path-breaking makers had shared the same stage. Some takeaway notes and tweets from the event:

• “Create more value than you capture.” – Tim O’Reilly
• “The challenge going forward is: How do we retain the sense of community that we’ve built together while grown as companies?” – Limor Fried
• “If you can’t meet the boss on your first visit to the factory, the factory is too big for you.” – Bunnie Huang’s advice to maker pros.
• “Arduino is the Linux of the maker movement” – Dale Dougherty
• “Inexperience is a great Innovator” -Liam Casey, PCH International
• “If your Arduino smells really bad, it’s a Chinese knockoff!” – Massimo Banzi, Arduino
• “We need to make the people here heroes outside this room” – Tim O’Reilly
• “It doesn’t happen that often when you see a wave starting to break” – comment from the audience (the sense of riding that wave, and feeling like you’re standing in the middle of something important, was palpable)
• “Want to invest in driving education? Start with screwdrivers and work your way up.” – Dale Dougherty
• “I think today will be recognized as a day when we all realized this is an entrepreneurial movement. And a revolution.” – Tim O’Reilly
• “Be able to say no in 60 seconds by knowing if it is true to your theme.” -Brad Feld, The Foundry Group
• “When you stop learning how to make things, you stop learning how to advance as a country” -Jay Rogers, Local Motors
• “To quote Capote… A good time was had by all [incl. us! we are working on the future of manufacturing, mass customization, etc.] -PARC Xerox

[Photos by Gregory Hayes]