All out of bubble gum: D.I.Y. Culture (52/90)

DIY culture has always been around, it's not anything new. But recently, I feel like this is a topic worth talking about.

I'm sure you've seen or heard of this ever expanding self taught ethic that has now been incorporated into modern culture. And maybe you've been part of this culture. Maybe you know about this more than me.

In the old days, before the common person was able to publish content on the web, this Do-It-Yourself ethic was almost unheard of. DIY only really existed among poor communities who could not afford new items or amongst individuals who did not want to partake in consumerism. The punk subculture was one of the most influential groups to promote and incorporate DIY into everyday lives aspiring to think for themselves and to self produce content. They had a saying that goes, "Don't hate the media, become the media."

Then web 2.0 came along and changed everything we knew about DIY culture. Web 2.0 (an upgrade to our internet experience) allowed user generated content to be published and became the cornerstone for the new DIY culture we see today.

This upgrade to the internet planted seeds to some websites like Youtube, Facebook, and Blogger that let the common people broadcast themselves through spoken text, innovative pictures, and self published videos. This has led a rise to this Do-It-Yourself ethic through these interconnected communities born from the web.

You now have these communities on the web that devote themselves to publishing their own news zines, videos, and stories; promoting their own bands, products, and ideas. So basically, the web is creating this incentive to go out and do something yourself. To try and do something new. To be an amateur.

And one day (just maybe), everyone will be able to participate in this culture...

Here's a list of a few topics I found interesting to go along with the do-it-yourself ethic.