DIY ethic

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DIY stands for "do it yourself", as opposed to paying a professional to do it for you. DIY once just referred to hardware stores in Britain that supplied amateur repair people with tools. Today the term can indicate "doing" anything from healthcare to interior design, from publication to electronics. The DIY ethic is loosely tied to punk and various anticonsumerist movements, in as much as it amounts to a rejection of the idea that one must always purchase the things that one wants or needs from others. DIY questions the uniqueness of the expert's expertise, and promotes the ability of the ordinary person to learn to do more than he or she thought was possible.

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DIY on the Internet

Technological advances in the last ten years have made it more possible for artists to circumvent the establishment and create high-quality works themselves. Tools like Apple's iLife and the proliferation of high-speed Internet have given artists of all ages and abilities from across the globe the opportunity to make their own films, records, or other content and distribute it over the web. Such works were usually displayed on a private homepage, and gained popularity through word-of-mouth recommendations or being attached to chain letters (known as viral distribution). Sites like newgrounds and deviantART allow users to post their art and receive community critique. Next generation sites like Slip A Buck fuse together community art sites like deviantART and the DIY punk ethic to provide a venue for do-it-yourselfers to exhibit their works and be compensated in the form of tips. The internet has also been used by the DIY community as a tool for event promotions, such as on the DIY Convention DIYConvention.com or SeattleDIY.com.

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Broader ethic

The DIY punk ethic can also extend to how any group or individual applies DIY political stances to daily life—especially how they avoid contributing to institutions they see as exploitive. These efforts include converting cars to run on biodiesel or vegetable oil, learning bicycle repair, sewing/repairing/modifying clothing, starting gardens, dumpster diving, etc. To a certain extent, DIY is simply a way of finding ad hoc solutions to problems that are otherwise usually solved with wealth or corporate support.

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See also

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External links

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