Don't Knock the Hustle
Young Creatives, Tech Ingenuity, and the Making of a New Innovation Economy
S. Craig Watkins
- Offers
- a
- timely
- analysis
- of
- the
- sheer
- ingenuity
- and
- persistence
- of
- young
- people
- who
- cobble
- together
- the
- resources
- they
- need
- to
- pursue
- the
- lives
- and
- careers
- they
- want.Young
- adults
- are
- coming
- of
- age
- at
- a
- time
- when
- work
- is
- temporary,
- underpaid,
- incommensurate
- with
- their
- education,
- or
- downright
- unsatisfying.
- Despite
- these
- challenges,
- media
- scholar
- S.
- Craig
- Watkins
- argues
- that
- this
- moment
- of
- precarity
- is
- rife
- with
- opportunities
- for
- innovation,
- and
- that
- young
- adults
- are
- leading
- the
- charge
- in
- turning
- that
- into
- an
- inventive
- and
- surprisingly
- sustainable
- future.
- As
- a
- result,
- society
- is
- expanding
- its
- understanding
- of
- who
- we
- think
- of
- as
- innovators
- and
- what
- qualifies
- as
- innovation,
- while
- wealth
- is
- spreading
- beyond
- traditional
- corridors
- of
- powerful
- tech
- companies,
- venture
- capitalism,
- and
- well-endowed
- universities.Drawing
- on
- over
- ten
- years
- of
- interviews
- and
- data,
- Watkins
- reveals
- the
- radical
- ways
- in
- which
- this
- community
- of
- ambitious
- young
- creatives
- is
- transforming
- businesses
- from
- the
- outside
- in.
- Diverse
- perspectives
- that
- are
- often
- ignored
- or
- silenced
- by
- major
- corporations
- are
- garnering
- public
- attention
- as
- women
- and
- people
- of
- color
- are
- redefining
- industries
- across
- the
- globe—all
- from
- their
- computer
- screens.We
- meet
- people
- like
- Prince
- Harvey,
- a
- New
- York–based
- hip-hop
- artist
- who
- recorded
- his
- album
- entirely
- on
- an
- Apple
- showroom
- laptop;
- screenwriter,
- producer,
- and
- actor
- Issa
- Rae,
- who
- first
- used
- YouTube
- and
- Kickstarter
- to
- develop
- the
- web
- series
- that
- became
- her
- hit
- HBO
- show
- Insecure;
- the
- Empowerment
- Plan,
- a
- nonprofit
- organization
- created
- by
- product
- design
- student
- Veronika
- Scott
- in
- Detroit;
- and
- start-up
- companies
- like
- Qeyno
- Group
- in
- San
- Francisco
- and
- Juegos
- Rancheros
- in
- Austin
- that
- help
- make
- tech
- more
- accessible
- to
- people
- of
- color.Forward-thinking
- and
- dynamic,
- Don’t
- Knock
- the
- Hustle
- shows
- the
- diversity
- and
- complexity
- of
- a
- generation
- on
- the
- rise.UNIQUE
- APPROACH
- TO
- UNDERSTANDING
- MILLENNIALS
- that
- looks
- beyond
- stereotypes
- about
- their
- relationships
- with
- tech
- and
- labor,
- based
- on
- two
- years
- of
- MacArthur
- Grant–funded
- research.DIVERSE
- AUDIENCE
- APPEAL
- that
- will
- reach
- millennials,
- educators,
- people
- seeking
- to
- hire
- millennials,
- and
- scholars
- of
- technology,
- media,
- and labor.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
