Life Lesson: Do cool shit & maybe it’ll pay the bills.
I missed a conference last week. A shame really. I like conferences.
When speaking to friends that also attended (Talk Web Design 2016 for those interested), they all agreed their highlight was a talk from Brendan Dawes (He did a TED talk once on Data needing poetry that’s pretty cool).
ANYWAY. Upon research, Brendan is an interesting character. He describes his work as the intersection of design and technology. He has a background in art and design, and great skills in development and coding. Also a wickedly creative mind. He is also the maker of cool shit. And some of that cool shit he’s done pays his bills. Let me explain.
The Happiness Machine
Brendan had the idea of creating a happiness machine with the simple goal of printing out happy thoughts from people connected from across the globe. No business plan or VC funding, just a silly idea and the drive to make it work.
He set about creating this small 3D printed box with a button that every time it is pressed, will print a receipt with a happy thought or message from someone random on Twitter. Brendan said that “For me the Internet is not a network of machines but a network of people. Yet it’s all too easy to forget that behind that screen name or that Twitter handle is a real human being”.
Here’s what Brendan made:
Cool right?
Almost as cool as what happened next. You see, with no business plan or strategy, Brendan made something awesome because he wanted too and it felt right. I think often we, me included, worry too much about what will make us money, not what will make us happy.
Sometimes doing something rewarding for ourselves is enough. And sometimes one of the fastest growing companies contacts you to commission an Installation for them. Airbnb meet Brendan, Brendan meet Airbnb.
At last years Sundance Film Festival, Brendan and Airbnb put on an exhibition at the Airbnb Hous. It consisted of 12 mini printers connected to a network where users from the festival could text a number their thoughts, feelings or snippets of advice and wisdom, and they’d be printed out and hung on string in a room.
I love this project because it symbolises not only the positives of the internet which is often forgotten and shaded by the media, but also highlights that you shouldn’t always do things with a clear vision or aim. Sometimes you need to do cool shit. Sometimes it pays off financially, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s life.
Tom.
