Making is Connecting: The Social Meaning of Creativity, from DIY and Knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0 by David Gauntlett (read Henry Jenkins’ interviews with him: Part 1, Part 2): In Making is Connecting, David Gauntlett argues that, through making things, people engage with the world and create connections with each other. Both online and offline, we see that people want to make their mark on the world, and to make connections.
During the previous century, the production of culture became dominated by professional elite producers. But today, a vast array of people are making and sharing their own ideas, videos and other creative material online, as well as engaging in real–world crafts, art projects and hands–on experiences.
Gauntlett argues that we are seeing a shift from a ‘sit–back–and–be–told culture′ to a ‘making–and–doing culture′. Continue reading