China Ready?

China ready? Are we having a fancy dinner or what? Not quite.

When Nathan Seidle asks the question - Is it China ready? - it pertains to a new product. Can he produce 10,000 units for this giant in the world market? There is even a website dedicated to this: areyouchinaready

Nathan shared lessons at the 2009 EntConnect conference of SparkFun’s recent China tour. His group learned such lessons as how their manufacturing works and the scale of it. They discovered new products and how they were done.

Often hardware and software are protected by patents and copyrights. But many, like SparkFun, take the OSH - Open Source Hardware - approach. OSH, for example, openly shares documents that illustrate how to make their electronic systems. In additon to OSH, creating modular electronic building blocks helps the hobbyists and designers to more easily develop their own gadgets.

This OSH strategy of putting their hardware designs in the public domain encourages the world to use and improve their products thus spurring ingenuity and innovation.

Nathan’s company, SparkFun, has benefited from the China - USA OSH cycle. USA design-> improved by China -> China design -> improved by USA -> …. And the improved products, which originated from OSH, are not the property of one particular entity. They are open to all to use, improve and enjoy.

One fun example of applying OSH is the first annual Autonomous Vehicle Competition - a higher tech version of match box car races. Check out the YouTube video: SparkFun - Autonomous Vehicle Competition - Course Preview

Both SparkFun employees and their customers participated in this race which put the “Spark” and “Fun” into SparkFun.

What does this have to do with writing? Writers often check out websites and blogs of those who offer their wisdom to improve the craft. This is our OSH - Open Source Help. And the bloggers also benefit by gathering a following and getting their name out there.

Two examples of such "open source help" sites that I follow for help are:

The Denver Writing Examiner: examiner.com/x-5787-Denver-Writing-Examiner
Prose from the Pros: prosefromthepros.blogspot.com

What are your OSHs? Are you one?

Related links:

EntConnect website: entconnect.org

SparkFun: sparkfun.com
SparkFun - Autonomous Vehicle Competition - Course Preview


The Denver Writing Examiner: examiner.com/x-5787-Denver-Writing-Examiner
Prose from the Pros: prosefromthepros.blogspot.com


Photos from everystockphoto.com:
China ready: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=105956

LilyPad - Electronics you can wear!

In the beginning, Nathan Seidle, CEO of SparkFun, had

No Knowledge
No Plan
No Tools.

No Plan? As he explained to the 2009 EntConnect conference, Nathan had no plan but to relate to his current customers.

There is a parallel to writers. One type makes a detailed outline of his/her story and fills it in. This MO is much like the entrepreneur that has a detailed business plan, which is required for business loans requests or doing business with the government.

Then there is the intuitive - write by the seat of the pants - writer who has no plan but to fill the need to write. This is much like Nathan who maxed out his credit cards and launched a business from his room.


What worked for Nathan was that he fit into what Chris Anderson coined in "Wired" magazine - the "Long Tail of Economics." Nathan found a market for a large number of unique items in small quantities - the long tail. Also, his plan to relate to his current customers drove innovation and synergy with other entrepreneurs.

One great example was LilyPad, the next generation of e-textile modules for the Wearable Electronics Do-it-Yourself enthusiasts. E-textiles are hardware and software modules that interact with the environment, sown into clothes with conductive threads .

Check out some of the lastest in e-textiles at:

Talk to my T-shirt
SparkFun LilyPad accelerometer

Likewise, the intuitive writers comes up with ideas as they writes and their story take them places that they would have missed if they stuck to their rigid, detailed plan. Serendipity!

Hmmm. What "Long Tail" market is out there for writers?

Related links:

EntConnect website: entconnect.org

SparkFun: sparkfun.com
SparkFun LilyPad accelerometer: www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8462
Talk to my T-shirt: www.talk2myshirt.com/blog/archives/315

Photos from everystockphoto.com:
Lily Pad: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=750910
Long Tail: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=1068554

American Ingenuity

At the turn of the century (2000),Tulsa native Nathan Seidle started work on his electrical engineering degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder. His junior year, a programmer for Nathan's microprocessor project burned out, and he searched for a suitable replacement for it. In his quest, Nathan discovered a dearth of resources to purchase electronic parts in small quantities. For students like him, who design and develop prototypes, small quantities are a good thing.

The Plato quote - necessity, who is the mother of invention - came into play to fill this void in the marketplace. During his junior year in college, Nathan maxed out his credit cards and built a website to cater to customers - the designers, the developers, the hobbyists - like him. Thus, SparkFun began in January 2003, run out of his room.

By the time this electrical engineer graduated in 2004, SparkFun had grown to support Nathan full-time and another employee. As Nathan told his story to the 2009 EntConnect conference, he now has 27 employees and does business in 100 countries.

There are so many lessons here for writers. Finding a need, building a platform, and going for it like Nathan did, maxing out his credit cards and just doing it. And in the mean time growing your business and having fun!


Related links:

EntConnect website: entconnect.org

SparkFun: sparkfun.com

Photos from everystockphoto.com:

Electronic Board: www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=3977509