Xindanwei | 新单位 A new way of working | 一种新的工作方式

[lang_en]January Featured People: David Li

Interview &Translation / Alice Dong

1. Welcome to Xindanwei.com, Please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?

I am originally from Taiwan and moved to Shanghai from Los Angels in 2003. I have been a free software programmer and open source advocate for more then 20 years. I founded XinCheJian the first hackerspace in China with a few friends in 2010 on the second floor of Xindanwei.

2. You’ve also been one of the driving forces behind Startup Weekend. Can you tell us a bit about the event, your experiences with it, and how it got started?

Startup weekend is a event to help people get their startup ideas off the ground by making them focus on one idea for the whole weekend. These days, people are full of ideas of making startups but never go behind chatting about it. Startup weekend is designed to make people focus on one idea for the whole weekend with likeminded partners. I have participated in Startup Weekend as a mentor since it was started in Shanghai last year and become part of the organizing team when Liu Yan asked.

3. We learned that Chris Anderson mentioned you in his lasted book Makers: the New Industrial Revolution, Could you tell us something about it and what are your future steps in Xinshanzhai?

As one of the founders of Xinchejian and Xinchejian being the first hackerspace in China, I have been asked a lot about the connection between hackerspace and innovation in China. After a lot of conversations and researches, I have discovered the similarities between the global makers and open source hardware movement and the Shanzhai industries in China. They almost look like twin separated at birth. Lynn Jeffery of the Institute of Future in Silicon Valley organize a group of hackers around the world to have a conversation on this topic and some of my words in the conversation was citied in Chris Anderson’s latest book “Makers.” I was also invited to the announcement event of the Chinese version of Makers and had a great conversation with Chris on the topic.
Shanzhai as an open innovation model have served China well in the past and I think the sharing nature of the industry would also work well to bring China to the next innovation stage coupling the global open source hardware and makers movement.

4. Of course a follow up to the previous question is, what do you think about crowd funding and how has it impacted or effected the long tail market? 

Crowdfunding brings back the old face to face tradition of consumption. I know in detail not just the goods but the people behind the goods I am getting. Knowing that I play a part in making a new project or product reality is very satisfactory experience.
Crowd funding enables niche market in long tails to happen fast and lower the risk of the producers of the products for this market.

5.We heard that you are advocating urban farming, especially the use of hydroponic, aquaponic and aquaponic to actually produce food in urban environment. Could you say something about the aquaponic workshop you hosted this September?

I have been into urban farming for years and have discovered aquaponics, a method combining aquaculture and hydroponic to grow both vegetables and fishes together in a balance ways. The method is efficient and conservative in the use of resources such as water and fertilizers. I setup my first four square meters outdoor aquaponic this year and have enough the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, basils and other vegetables from it since summer. Aquaponics vegetables grow as fast as hydroponics with the full body tastes of the best organic. I got a chance to invited Chris Sharp, one of the global pioneers in aquaponic to Shanghai and gave a two days workshop. We have found a lot of interests in this and we plan to organize more workshop in the future to promote this healthy, fun and clean way to grow food.[/lang_en]

[lang_cn]人物（一月）：李大维

采访和翻译／ Alice Dong

1.欢迎来到xindanwei.com，请您简单介绍一下自己，说说您从哪里来，现在从事什么行业？

我是台湾人，2003年的时候从洛杉矶来到上海。我是个软件工程师，这20年来一直都提倡开源。2010年的时候和我的一些朋友在新单位二楼创立了中国第一个创客空间“新车间”。

2. 您是创业周末的组织者之一，能跟我们说说创业周末，并谈谈您是怎么着手开始这个活动的？

创业周末帮助人们着手实现他们的初创点子，一群人在一整个周末里因为一个点子聚集在一起。长久以来，不少人满脑子的创业好点子，却没能有机会一起讨论实现。而创业周末正是这样的一个平台，将你和志同道合的一群人聚在一起讨论实现初创点子。去年的创业周末我是作为导师参加的，今年在刘妍的邀请之下我参与到了组织团队中去。

3.我们听说克里斯·安德森在他的新书《创客：第三次工业革命》里提到了您，可以跟我们分享更多吗？还有我们都很关心新山寨的下一步发展。

新车间是中国首个创客空间，作为创始人，我曾多次被问及有关中国创客空间与创新力之间的关联。在进行过大量的调查和对话之后，我在全球的创客和开源硬件运动，以及中国的山寨产业之间找到了一些共通点。他们就像是一对孪生子一样。来自Future in Silicon Valley的Lynn Jeffery召集了全球的创客就这个话题做了一次研讨，而我当时所阐述的一些观点被Chris Anderson收录进了他的新书《创客》里。我曾被邀请到一次主题为中国创客观的活动，也就这个问题跟Chris有过深交。
山寨，作为一种开源创新模式在过去为中国带来了很大价值，我想这种在部行业内共享的特质也会很好地将中国带入下一波足以颠覆全球开源硬件以及创客运动的创新高潮。

4.接着上面的问题，那么您能谈谈您认为的众筹以及它对长尾市场所产生的效应吗？

众筹这种方式将人们带回到旧时传统的那种面对面的消费方式当中去，我知道在这种模式里我所获得的并不仅仅是物品，更多的是和物品背后的这个人取得了联系。在知晓这层含义之后，我每每在一个新项目或是新产品的制作过程里都会变得自足。
众筹让小众市场在长尾效应之下发展更迅速，也以此降低了生产者的生产风险。

5.我们听说您提倡城市农耕，尤其是水耕种植，鱼菜共生。能跟我们分享一下之前九月份您组织的一次有关鱼菜共生的工作坊吗？

我致力于城市农耕很多年了，它是兼具了水产养殖和水耕种植这两种方式来养鱼种蔬菜的一种平衡的法则。这是一种在诸如水，肥料等资源利用上传统有效的方式。就在今年我刚开始了四平米户外的小型鱼菜共生试验田，夏天过后便收获了生菜，番茄，黄瓜，罗勒还有别的一些蔬菜。鱼菜共生法培育的植物和水耕栽培的植物一样地道有机，生长周期也几近相同。我曾有幸拜访Chris Sharp，全球鱼菜共生法先驱之一，他在上海做了两天工作坊。我们在鱼菜共生这个话题上找到很多共同点，于是就计划着合作更多的工作坊来推广这种健康有趣又环保的农耕法。[/lang_cn]