“I make therefore I am.”

At NEXT Berlin 2012, Jeremy Abbett introduced the maker movement and his view on where our society should be heading. Makers are a subculture that developed out of the Do-it-yourself culture and refers to the creation of anything from electronics or robotics to 3D prints. “The whole idea behind it is giving back to the community”, he explains.

In Abbett’s opinion, everybody has the opportunity to be a maker and to do things, “You just have to want it.” He organises workshops giving different groups (e.g. designers, kids) an understanding of the topic and instructing them on how to create physical objects themselves.

“We have to involve ourselves and get our hands dirty in order to really understand what ‘the internet of things’ or physical computing mean”, he explains.

In the future, the line between the digital and physical worlds will blur, according to Abbett. We won’t be able to tell them apart because of their strong interconnection.