David Gauntlett

One of the beauties of David Gauntlett's Making is Connecting is the way it develops a fundamentally simple idea with successive layers of richness and power. The cover captures the kernel of the book: the core thesis that making (with hands and brain, resourcefully) is connecting (in terms of relationships, meaning, learning); the context that extends from scissors and thread to YouTube; and the ethos of the personal, handmade artefact captured in the stylish smudge that subverts the sleek show more sans-serif typeface.

One of the perils of writing anything related to Web 2.0 over the last four years is being painted into a corner opposite Andrew Keen and his Cult of the Amateurbroadside against the threats to the hieratic hierarchy of professional power. In this case I think the comparison is justified, because Making is Connecting is everything that The Cult of the Amateur was not. Where Keen reductively polarises and thins out the issues he addresses, Gauntlett's treatment is embodied, his points rounded out with substance and complexity. Where Keen uses "amateur" as term of haughty derision, Gauntlett gives us back a fleshed out sense of the word, capturing the care and dedication that come when people make things for love, not money.

Full review at http://alchemi.co.uk/archives/rev/the_whys_and_wherefores_o.html show less

I only read chapters 3 and 9 of this book, concerning the creation of a gender identity and of women magazines ( while working on a research concerning women magazines and the creation of a feminine identity vs roleplay). I find Gauntlett's approach very interesting, and really appreciate the emphasis he puts on audience response : you can't judge a cultural product only from the text itself, you have to understand audience response (the same mistake that makes some people think that violent show more video games = violent people, necessarily).

Here, Gauntlett compares major themes of major US magazines aimed at women readers (mainly summer 2001 magazines) and tries to emphasize the fact that many 'non traditional' themes are represented in women magazines, such as 'men objectification'.

Gauntlett produces a serious study while adding a bit of humour, which is refreshing when you've been reading tons of very alarmist feminist studies about this subject. show less

https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=creativity-seven-keys-to-unlock....