There are eight tasks to complete between now and 31 November 2012. You can do one a day for seven days or spread them out over the duration of the Diary, though before you begin please complete the Survey.

In the craft spirit of creatively challenging ourselves and sharing knowledge with others, each of the days will pose a thoughtful writing topic for you to muse on in our website blog; much in the spirit of the revolutionary book Writing Down the Bones. Each task should take no more than 20-30 minutes of your day. That’s half an hour you can take for yourself to have a playful reflection on your making practice.

Remember, this is play! There is no need to structure your answers… just write as thoughts come to you. You can chose to write in privacy by downloading the diary questions and emailing your answers to us. Or, you can share your name, embed links to your website/Facebook, upload photos of your work… or anything in between.

The entries you make will be used by the research team to think about the way makers use new technologies and the sort of impacts that is has on our lives.

How friendly can a survey really be? Take ours to find out!

Please use this space to write your thoughts on the survey, what you liked or didn’t like about it. What could be improved?

Describe a project you are working on or have recently completed. When telling the story of this project, please tell us three things:

a.     How did you get the idea for the project?

b.     How did your interactions with other people, groups, or organizations influence the direction of the project?

c.      What technology did you use whilst completing the project (like email, digital software, etc.)?

Think about two skills related to your practice: the most recent skill you learned, and the one you most recently taught.

a.     Tell the story of those two experiences, what was it like to learn the new skill? Who taught you, where, when, how and why did you learn it?

b.     Now, what about the skill you most recently taught another person in the context of your, or their, craft practice? Who did you teach? Where, when, how and why?

What do you think are the most important aspects of learning/teaching craft skills? What do you think of teaching/learning skills through the Internet and sites like YouTube?

Thinking about the changes in technology, and especially social media, in the last 5 years; please, share your thoughts on the following:

a.     Do you feel that these days you can be a successful maker without using digital technologies in either your practice or business/marketing?

b.     Tell the story of your favourite or most frustrating use of technology in your practice: was it to do with Facebook, iPads, websites, etc?

c.      Who do you normally try to connect with using digital technologies?

How to do you keep in contact with the craft organisations, institutions, clubs or groups that inspire your work?

a.     Explain why you keep in contact with those groups… what do they contribute to your making practice, why are they important to you?

b.     Have you ever found that there is too much (or not enough?!) use of social media in the way craft organisations (etc.) and makers keep in contact these days?

c.      If there AREN’T any organizations or groups that inspire you or your work, let’s hear why.

Thinking about the individual people you connect with as a maker, tell the story of what your craft “community” looks like?

a.     When it comes to your craft practice, who do you network and connect with, how and why?

b.     What do you like the most of being part of such a “community”? Anything you dislike?

c.      How has being part of a craft “community” influenced your making practices? 

Are there any circumstances where you would “ban” the presence of digital technology or social media from your craft practice or your professional networking activities?

a.     Would you ban digital technology from other’s practices (i.e. in workshops or outreach events)?

b.     Why, or why not? 

What would a social media platform for makers look like to you? What features would it have/not have in comparison with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.?