Adam Savage from Mythbusters.
I might as well get the interesting stuff out first, because this post is going to go dramatically downhill fast.
There is a point where something goes so mainstream - it becomes completely ruined. This is where Maker Faire finds itself today.
Sure, it is great for Maker. They managed to pull in more people than they probably ever could have imagined. A great revenue stream to be sure. For everyone else it becomes the most un-enjoyable event on the planet. You couldn't even walk 2 or 3 feet before having to dodge someone or adjust where you were walking. You couldn't get close to anything. There is a Telsa Roadster somewhere in this shot.
Everything to see was this way.
I wasn't even in the gates 10 minutes before I was completely feeling hostile. Who the eff are these people I ask Mr S. I don't even get the demo. There aren't that many nerds. There aren't even that many hippies. Who are these people?!
Mr S. replies - they look to be just about anyone bored enough to come down. A perfect snapshot of what you'd see in a mall. And he was right. It even had just about as much enjoyment as shopping at a mall the week before Christmas. People didn't even seem to be enjoying themselves. They were just milling about.
Gone was that electric creative energy of the previous years. Only to be completely hijacked by the green movement. It was less "Maker" and more just Trash Faire. Tinged with complete guilt bullshit. Tinkering to make things and recycling to make things aren't really the same. One is an interesting project. The other is just stuff from the dump.
How disturbing is this shot?
It was today that I realized how the greenies get away with all their crap. They capitalize on how most people don't feel good about themselves. And, they are oh so successful.
Once I did find an area where people were selling stuff, it was the most ridiculously overpriced stuff you can imagine. I finally had to leave early. It was the most self absorbed annoying group of people on the planet.
When we got to the parking structure I asked Mr S. "do you think those people will be gone next year". He said "probably not - it's too mainstream now". So, unless something becomes really interesting, I doubt I'm going next year. It was that unpleasant.
That sucks. I know you really liked that event in the past. Not even Adam Savage could perk you up??
ReplyDeleteDo you think it was a no sleep too many people combo? Or is it a total no go for next year??
It was by chance I even noticed him. There were so many people you honestly couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of you. That's being generous. I just happened to spy him through a gap of people.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the sleep thing never helps, but Mr S. actually was done before I was. He's really tolerant. And tall. So he can see over people. So I can't just blame it on sleep.
I guess I can never say never. It just isn't my personality. But right now, it is way up there on the "it sucks" list.
The crowds were horrible, but what really disturbed me this year was the change in tone from previous years.
ReplyDeleteThe previous 2 years, the unspoken theme was "Making stuff is fun -- come see what we made!".
This year, there was sense of preening moral superiority. The theme felt more like:
"Making stuff allows you to look down your nose at other people who don't make stuff."
It was no longer about making stuff for it's own sake, it was about making stuff to serve some other 'higher' social/political purpose.
"Make your own stuff, and stick it to big corporations"
"Make your own oil, and stick it to big oil"
etc.