New interaction with Instructables.com - Education and Promotion of Arch Reactor

[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

After our participation in the Instructables.com Dremel Tool Night in July the director of this program at Instructables.com, Carley Jacobson hosted a Google Hangout to brainstorm about the event. A guest was one of the engineers at Dremel. Part of the brainstorming that came from that Hangout was a project for Hackerspaces and Makerspaces to use Instructables.com to create sets of instructions on how to use the various tools and equipment at their spaces.  

This has a variety of benefits: 

1. It would be an excellent way to introduce new members (and old members) to the tools that Hackerspaces have on hand.
2. It would be a good way to for a Hackerspace to promote and expose their space to prospective members by showing off the tools they have available.
3. It wold become a wiki for various tools and equipment at hackerspaces around the globe, tying them together. 
4. The discussion / questions area for each Instructable could provide feedback on how to improve their processes. 
5. Other hackerspaces and makerspaces could learn and be inspired by what they see being used currently.
6.  Instructables are easy to update if anything changes with the process for a tool as well.
   
7. The website of a hackerspace could be updated to include at tab to all of the Instructables for the tools at their space.
8. A hard copy could be stored at each space along with a URL and QR code to the Instructable located on each tool.

These benefits would help Arch Reactor even more, since Carley from Instructables.com has requested that we head this up and create a few Instructables for some of our tools.  Once those are completed, she will present them to her supervisors along with the Instructables for our space. We would be pioneering the project through Instructables.com.  This would grant us even more publicity and exposure to the world of Instructables.

Action: if you know how a tool works at Arch Reactor, feel free to write up an Instructable for it. If you need help, please reach out to me through this thread or through a private message. If you do not feel comfortable writing the Instructable yourself, I will write it with you after meeting with you to learn how that particular tool works, take photos and videos, etc. I've already received an interest from members in showing me how the 3D printer and the laser cutter along with tools in the shop. I'd like to write one for the new CNC machine, too.

If you would like to learn how to use one of the tools located here, also reach out through this thread. I'd like to invite you to join and learn the tools along with me.

I would also like to request feedback from the members on all of the Instructables for tools at our space. Once you see any promotion online for Arch Reactor and Instructables.com, please share and promote it through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, or other social media sites.  We need to get our name out there.

Gene

[Chris Weiss]

One of the things I find difficult with Arch Reactor's use of
Instructables is that there's no way to tag or categorize something as
being Arch Reactor official. only thing I can think of is to make an
official AR account and pass around the password as needed. or to
have people just write up stuff to the list and have one person turn
it into an instructable. both are clumsy.

[Gene Jordan]

I am currently working with Carley from Instructables on a solution to that problem. One of them might be the formation of an official Arch Reactor Group on Instructables.com under Workshops or Partners. Once this project kicks off, we would most likely be Featured.

http://www.instructables.com/groups/

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[Chris Weiss]

at one point I saw they were discontinuing the groups feature, but
this looks like they've expanded it. this will be really helpful for
us i think.

for tool usage, would multiple instructables per tool be appropriate,
or would a really large one with many sections be expected? I could
see some basic usage and safety, like expanding on the owners manual,
as one, and advanced and creative tasks, like making a perfect circle
using a table saw, as separate ones.

[nfolken]

I'll put one together for the solder station

[Ryan Williams]

With the manner that their 'table of contents' or steps are organized in an individual instructable, a lot of really mundane, but useful, basic operations can be easily organized for a single tool in a single instructable - preferably under the official Arch Reactor account, which may sound clumsy, but I think it would work for the BS&U. Discrete operations such as cutting a perfect circle, making a tenon/mortise joint, or cutting thin veneer slices would be their own instructables, able to be created by the members themselves and posted to our group under their names so they can receive due credit and field specific questions. 

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[Andrew Ricke]

Catching up....

Oh I like like this a lot. Been wanting to do this kind of thing for the website for awhile. Maybe I'll start easy and show some things will the drill press. I took a few photos of drilling golf balls for the ladder golf game. I'll post it here and then someone can tell me how to post on instructables and via what account. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/arch-reactor/CAD9OFDUV74o0_eunw15PfrbNDus0m%2B9kFsQzK0BDPQsqfuobKg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Chris Weiss]

and a contest to go with it http://www.instructables.com/contest/teachit/

[ROB K]

I though they had something similar to it with the "co-author" not sure that if it still available?

[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

Once you have started creating an Instructable, you can choose the Edit button to open a drop down menu. One of the choices is "Collaborate". Once you choose Collaboration a dialogue box will open that states: "Collaboration will enable other members you choose to edit your Instructable". It also tells you whether Collaboration is enabled or disabled for that Instructable.

Gene

[Chris Weiss]

that sounds awesome.

[ROB K]

I could get a Instructable video up for the quickly assembled filter I did for my aquaponics.

Not complicated to build, but I have progress pics of it working from when I put it in.

[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

Carley at Instructables.com has put the group together on their website. Check it out here: http://www.instructables.com/group/archreactor/

She has also asked for our group to be added to the groups -> workshop page. This may take a couple weeks.

Please join the group and let me know what your Instructables.com user name is here. Then I will add you to the group.

If you haven't yet joined Instructables.com, now would be a good time to do so.  This group will be for us to post instructables about our tools and equipment and eventually our individual projects. 

Gene

[Chris Weiss]

the menu says my name is "you". I'm pretty sure it's chrwei.

[Keith Rogers]

I just requested to join under user name phoglite.  Looks good!

On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 4:44 PM, Chris Weiss <cwe...@gmail.com> wrote:

the menu says my name is "you".  I'm pretty sure it's chrwei.

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[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

Both of you have now been added to the group.

[Michael Kuba]

requested to join under memmek2k

On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 9:56 PM, Gene J. (GeekTinker) <gene....@gmail.com> wrote:

Both of you have now been added to the group.

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[Ryan Williams]

join request sent

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[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

That's me plus the four of you. Anyone else have an account on Instructables.com?

[George Fetters]

Join request sent

On Sun, Aug 31, 2014 at 5:17 PM, Gene J. (GeekTinker) <gene....@gmail.com> wrote:

That's me plus the four of you. Anyone else have an account on Instructables.com?

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[annbo...@gmail.com]

I just registered as annb2007.

Ann

[Chris Weiss]

some edits on the BIO/Summary.

"Arch Reactor was founded in 2009 in a mall food court by a group of
friends who liked technology, programming, making, and pizza."

should be "Arch Reactor was founded in 2009 at a local pizza joint by
a group of friends who liked technology, programming, making, and
pizza."

also, first paragraph should probably mention that we're in St Louis.

[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

I will update it today. However, I nabbed that word for word from the about section of our website.

[Chris Weiss]

alright, we'll get that changed too

[Gene J. (GeekTinker)]

I have received several requests to join the Instructables Arch Reactor Community Workshop on Instructables, but I have not received a private message or a post here by a member for the following user names:

techageacademy

sricci714

itclassF

Ninturnder

arjunbboi

If your user name on Instructables is one of these, please let me know.  The Arch Reactor Community Workshop on Instructables.com is a closed group and reserved for members (of any status) of Arch Reactor. Since it has our name on it, I feel that we are responsible for the content that is posted within it. 

Also, if you have any questions or suggestions on making this virtual location for us better, please let me know.

Gene