There’s a story behind every project. Each is a reflection of its creator’s life experience and imagination and mindset; understanding the “why” driving a project can be as powerful and interesting as observing the final product itself.
Maker Share exists to help makers tell those stories. This new online community, launched by Make: in partnership with Intel, is, at its heart, a story-telling platform: share your ideas, your successes, your failures, and your inspiration. Having shared something fundamental about yourself as a maker, you can connect via Maker Share with potential collaborators around the world.
The platform is built around the model of show & tell, the same model that inspired the first Maker Faire and its tagline, “The Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth.” The desire to share is a big reason people come to Maker Faire, and Maker Share is built to quench that thirst 365 days a year.
Makers love challenges and solving problems. The necessity of resolving certain issues inspire missions, opportunities to unite around a single problem set and use the talents of the maker community to improve the world we all live in.
Maker Share launched with two missions. Prompted by an appeal from a parent, The Malia Project is focusing on helping Malia, a young girl who has cerebral palsy, communicate more effectively. The Making @ School mission awards $1,000 to a school makerspace in the name of the winning middle or high school student.
While both of these missions are closing shortly, we’re excited to announce that our next mission explores projects in the home. Many makers use their homes as large-scale experiments that could improve everyone’s living spaces, as evidenced by some of the projects in Make: Volume 59. Check out the mission details and contribute what you can.
Wherever you make whatever you make, you too have a story. Come share it today on Maker Share.
Express Yourself
One of the staff’s favorite features is the Maker Motto; a “micro story” personalized by each person that packs in a lot of information. Some standouts:
» If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. — Luke Artzt
» israf etme, maker ol! – Do not waste, be a maker! (Turkish) — Kasim Gül
» Build it, Hack it, Sand it, Stream it. — Elliott Kirkpatrick
» Failing IS learning. — Freddy Deniau
» DIY doesn’t mean do it alone. — Erdem İnanç
» We don’t have time for a trip to the emergency room! — Pat Miller
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