2010 State of the Craft Address
2010 is your year!
This year more than any other, you have the power to transform your woodworking blog or website into whatever you want it to be!
You can become the go-to authority as this community grows. You do not need anyone’s permission or approval to sell your work, teach your methods of woodworking, or get in with the “big dogs” of woodworking. You have that power now!
You have all the tools right at your fingertips to make 2010 the Year of the Internet Woodworker!
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: robertgdaniel
February 27, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Thanks for this. You make some good points, and raise some interesting issues.
In a way, you seem to be celebrating, or at least acknowledging the inevitability of, the decline of traditional journalism. To suggest that having a blog or tweeting a lot in any way makes one an “authority” is somewhat troubling. The fact that real journalism has to compete with the instant gratification of social media — volume and speed at the expense of research and accuracy — is what has helped to make even the term “real journalism” lose favour.
That said, I’m all over new media, love it, can’t get enough… I welcome it onto the playing field, in principle, and hope that old media will learn its ways, as they mostly seem to be trying to do… but at the same time, I hope that new media will try to learn from “real journalism” and bring some professionalism to the table, rather than drag down the state of journalism as a whole.
(I speak entirely from general principles here, and more broadly than just woodworking.)
Seems spot on to me.
My only concern is that while there’s not specific right and wrong way to do most things – modern vs traditional joinery, for example – there’s a safe and unsafe way of doing it. As long as you get the safety parts spot-on, teach everything you can to anyone who wants to learn.
Hey Adam,
I love the enthusiasm of this post, but I tend to agree a little bit with Robert. Just as how online blogging has effected journalism in, I think, a negative way, I’m not sure how comfortable I am with the idea that every woodworker who blogs is somehow an authority. I know I’m not. Perhaps that’s not what you’re actually suggesting.
Print sources, including woodworking magazines are not only written by woodworking authorities, but also good writers. And good writing is an important part of the teaching/learning experience. I see this more as a challenge to those kinds of sources to modernize their delivery systems – just like newspapers are being forced to more aggressively cater to readers – in order to stay relevant. I’m certainly a fan of several woodworking blogs, and enjoy doing my own, but I look at most of them as more of a sharing and marketing vehicle than as a place to go for expert advise. Certainly that expertise is available in our web 2.0 networks, but you have to keep your filter on all the time. With magazines, there are full staffs of editors, writers, fact checkers and the like to make sure things are presented as accurately and clearly as possible, and that’s something that I think sets them apart from most blogs.
That said, I’m certainly a fan of the idea of this being the Year of the Internet Woodworker. Since I’ve been on Twitter, I’ve been amazed at how many woodworkers, craftsman, artists, etc. use Twitter and other sites to share and build a community. I agree that doing so creates tremendous opportunities for people regardless of their skill level or expertise. One thing I haven’t noticed the big trade magazines doing is reaching out to their readership more to connect in a real way (vs. selling products, subscriptions, etc.).
There are some good and controversial ideas on this post, and I look forward to seeing what others have to say. I’m also impressed with your camera work. Did you hold it the whole time, have it on some sort of rolling tripod or what?
- Peter -
I’ll agree that you’re more likely to get correct information from dead tree publications, mostly due to the reasons that Peter said but, having said that, they’re also the most likely to repeat what’s been said before – and things continue to change.
Not that I have boatloads of experience in this woodworking stuff, but I know that finishing is vastly different than it used to be. Maybe I’m not seeing the right print publications, but I’m not seeing a lot of the reflected.
The other thing I’ve seen as a difference between print and online resources is that print seems to be more shallow – ie, you get a few pictures of major parts of assembly, likely similar to other pictures of other assemblies you’ve seen before, but the detail just isn’t there that you see on people’s offerings online. I know there are valid reasons for that, but it’s still a noticeable difference.
Adam, just saw your tweet, so I’ll offer to shoot you – if I’m ever in your neck of the woods I’ll bring my camera. OK?
I think this is pretty accurate. I think publications are starting to make a shift, which is seen in newsletters that you can subscribe to, but it’s not enough. What about the publication content? I imagine not all of it is thought up by the editors- some is based on reader submissions/questions that they try to cover. So as more woodworkers turn directly to other woodworkers in the blogosphere/twitter/facebook, where does that leave the publication?
There is going to have to be a shift from the past/present scenario of submitting to a magazine and having them print their response to an actual back and forth, ongoing dialogue. Otherwise these publications could very well become nothing more than a novelty.
Of course, I’m not an authority on the subject. Just my humble opinion
Piggybacking on your last reply, Adam: this is why magazines need to have a a presence on twitter, facebook, and forums. They need to interact with us on a personal level—develop relationships. The gap is closing between us the the people who were once not very accessible and that’s what the internet has done for our community: brought all of us—pros and amateurs—closer together.
I think its a little dangerous to just automatically assume that just because something is printed, that automatically makes it more of an authority. Just look at the mis-information that has been perpetuated about finishes in the top woodworking magazines in the past! I think Ken hit the nail on the head, the publications are “most likely to repeat what’s been said before.”
Ideally, the publications and our online community should be able to coexist, actually helping each other. We should have the same goals in mind: to further knowledge, passion, and understanding in our craft. I don’t think Adam is calling for the demise of print publications at all, but he is right, if they don’t recognize the potential in the online community, they will fail.
Obviously, not every person who writes a woodworking blog is an authority. But I think thats where we all play a role in this. We are becoming a fairly tight nit community. Its up to us to help direct people to the right information. The cream will rise, if we all do our jobs and promote those who know what they are doing.
The internet is still young. We haven’t even begun to tap its potential for our craft. Where do you think we would be without it right now? Its obviously already had an effect on us. Would you even be a part of this conversation without the Twitter community?
When the news broke a couple months ago that The New Yankee Workshop was done, so many of us pointed to it as a huge factor behind us being woodworkers today. I was surprised how many Galoots even said that! There is a progression from Norm Abrams to us now. And we have a MUCH larger audience than Norm ever dreamed of. The growth in our craft is going to explode due to the internet, and we need to be here at the forefront. If you are concerned about the quality of the information being perpetuated, then help correct it. If you find someone sharing great information, promote them, help them gain a bigger following.
Its up to us.
Twitter: woodwhisperer
March 2, 2010 at 9:56 am
Just a few random thoughts. I won’t even pretend to know where things how going or how they will end up. But I do enjoy watching it all happen and being part of it.
So we’re just talking about information here right? Whether its tech, cooking, bird-watching, or woodworking, its basically a finite amount of information that was previously controlled by the major publications as well as being inside the heads of woodworkers around the world who had no way to share it on a large scale. Well now, no one can deny the fact that information is, for the most part, expected to be free. I remember growing up thinking that the end all be all source of information was Encyclopedia Britannica. Anyone still have an encyclopedia??? Although you have to be careful about some of the details, Wikipedia has become one of the most relevant sources for information on just about anything these days, including woodworking. And its 100% free and literally just a keyword away.
In woodworking, of course there are are countless variations of concepts, but the basic principles that are useful to the average person are quite finite. Even the magazines have been recycling the same information every 3 years or so, and just slapping a different author on it. So once this basic finite information is out there, its out there. And there is no taking it back. So the challenge, for everyone who makes money by selling information (in every industry), is to figure out how to adapt. Should they try to compete with blogs and social networks? Should they just continue to add more polish to their productions and publications so that they further the gap between professional and amateur? Who knows what the answer is…..
Unfortunately, I just don’t believe they can compete simply by saying, “We are the real authority, so our information is more valuable.” The truth is, once you have a basic understanding of woodworking, you are now looking for those niche areas and those specific experiences. You want to tap into those random people who have a unique woodworking story or perspective. And THAT’S where I think blogs have their real value and appeal. I don’t go to Kari’s, Adams, Matt’s, Shannon’s (and all the rest) websites because I am receiving a teacher to student lesson. I go there because I enjoy learning through their experiences. Its not a “here’s how its done” its a “here’s how I do it” thing. And lets be honest here, there are many shades of gray in woodworking. Something doesn’t have to be the best solution for it to work. I find conflicting “factual” statements in magazines and books all the time. So its not always a black and white, right and wrong issue blogs will have just as much conflict of opinion as the pro publications do.
And I don’t think we should be too hard on blogs in terms of delivering quality information. Keep in mind that blogs and podcasts, by nature, allow the viewers to publicly comment and express their opinions. So although information on a blog is not vetted prior to publication, it sure is AFTER publication. And anyone dishing out BS is likely to be called out very quickly. Putting information on the web, unlike publishing an article in a magazine, means you are not only scrutinized, but your audience can immediately give you their feedback and opinions. That’s powerful stuff. And as a result, the best stuff rises to the top. The folks dishing out poo will generally sink to the bottom.
So ultimately, we can’t covet this pool of information as if any one publication/person is going to be able to control it. We need to realize that the information is out there. Game over. Now the industry needs to make adjustments to the new market, and figure out how they can make money despite the information being accessible to anyone motivated enough to do a couple Google searches.
Social Media is really nothing more than “conversational marketing”. That is how my colleagues and I refer to it daily. (By day I work with an Internet Marketing Agency) The paradigm shift lies in who is controlling the flow of information. Now instead of us waiting and hoping that a topic is covered, Joe Woodworker can start the conversation. The beauty and the danger here, like everyone has stated above, is how qualified is Joe Woodworker to broach his desired subject. If unqualified, then no problem, maybe he posts an article as a catalyst to answer a question or solicit information from a qualified resource. Like Dean said way above, there are so many ways to accomplish what we do and no right or wrong ways so a variety of viewpoints seems to be a necessity. This is something that publishers have trouble encapsulating that the blogosphere excels at.
To further echo some statements above, I think professional journalists can truly shine in this environment because they are artisans of a different craft: wordsmithing. Even what I view as my most eloquent posts often pale in comparison to the writing style of the professionals. That niche will always be there. I also think that the written word, whether printed or digital, will always have a place and I worry about the explosion of video and audio. These formats lend themselves to verbosity and rambling unless carefully planned.
So ring it in from every street corner that 2010 is the year of the Internet woodworker. The variety of opinions and styles of work cannot be matched by an army of publishers because we outnumber them. Let us the masses remember to get off our computers and into our shops however so that we don’t all become armchair woodworkers. With so much information at our fingertips it would be a shame to not use it and make some shavings and dust!
Twitter: Jay_Kreger
March 2, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I think the key point here is that the big boys (and girls!) of the woodworking community need to start interacting more with their consumers. No longer can the magazine editors play the roll of publish and forget.
For me, I wouldn’t give up my Fine Woodworking subscription for anything. I find it to be one of my best sources of inspiration. The problem is, no matter how well written an article is, there will always be follow up questions and the days of writing a letter to the editor of the magazine to find the answer are over. We all demand instant answers. If those folks can’t make themselves more accessible to the layman, we’ll find other sources. Personally, if I run into a problem midway through a project, my first source for help is a Twitter message or an email to Adam or Marc or someone that I’ve come to trust. I’d love to have that same kind of access to the editors or writers of the articles I read. However, just adding their Twitter name to an article won’t cut the mustard. The magazine experts need to be actively involved. They need to be interacting daily with the online community so that we know who they are and learn that they too are a trustworthy source of help and information. Because, let’s face it, a well written article is only half of the information and training that woodworkers have come to expect.
The obvious problem here is that we need to run the internet “experts” through our own vetting process and then share what we find. Woodworkers are not typically gullible bunch, we don’t run out to buy everything we see in every add of our favorite magazines, we wait for those magazines to do a review of those products before we make a choice to buy. Why would anyone assume that we’d take everything we find on the internet as gospel? We’ve learned to rule out the “Snake-oil” salesmen in the real world, why would anyone assume that we wouldn’t do the same in the digital world?
Like Shannon, I agree with a lot of what has been posted above. My only slightly different thought is that it can help if you think about the internet as just another means for individuals to publish material that they create. Some of the intermediation that older forms of publication imposed (editors and publishers) imposed some quality control, but also made publication more difficult for authors/creators. The internet removes that control/filter/barrier.
One area of concern that I have is when we start to look at more dangerous aspects of our craft – the use of finishes and the safety required to use some of them properly is one example. Another is whenever we interface with mains electricity or something else that is inherently dangerous and subject to regulation. Frankly, this is an area where I start to get very scared about ‘advice’ from the internet. Take for instance the confusion on what the new requirements for testing of finishes on toys in the US require. Yes Tom Iovino clarified it, but there are how many posts on this issue that give differing interpretations of what the true position is? I know from my own experience as a writer of legal texts that commercial publishers take great care in this sort of area to ensure that the advice they give in regulated areas is complete and accurate at the time of publication. Frankly, the advice I see on this on the net is at best of curate’s egg qualtity (ie some of it is good); sometimes it is plain wrong and dangerous and most frequently it is misleading (usually by omission of information rather than by outright falsehood).
That variability in quality in areas that are dangerous or likely to lead to liability of internet ‘advice’ is a consequence of the low barrier to entry to the internet. But it tends also to indicate why the ‘authoritative’ advice in many areas will remain with the commercially published product – someone who makes money out of providing the information has a real incentive to get it right (if only to protect his assets) and the resources to ensure that it is right. That commercial publication may be on the internet or in hard copy, but it is unlikely to be from the free forum and blog sites (let alone the social netwrking sites).
Don’t get me wrong – social networking and the blogoshpere are fun and give me interesting thoughts to pursue and I really enjoy sharing experiences with woodworkers from all over the world. This is valuable and enriching. It complements the authoritative sources of information. Sometimes blogosphere information can be authoritative because of who writes it – eg if it concerns saws and is written by Mike Wenzloff, but most of it is only as authoritative as a diary entry.
Great to hear Adam, Scream it from the top of the nearest building!
Being from New Zealand we have small local networks, but no forums of our own as yet. So were else can like mined people from all around the world share ideas and thoughts, but on the internet. What an awesome tool!!!
I travel a lot and get to work with wood all over the world but hearing what is being said in the online forums from WiFi spots and were ever I connect always gives me ideas for my next project.
All I can say is I agree and keep going.