How long will it be before Swaylocks Surfboard Design Forum is viewed as an anachronism… an artifact, person, idea that belongs to another time… or are we already there?
Already past! Only a matter of time before 95% of handmade custom surfboards go the way of typewriters. I expect to see most boards eventually marketed and sold like baseball bats and camping tents.
cant even imagine what swaylocks could replace the interent message board at the moment. i think that the internet as a concept will be around for a very long time, for something to replace the internet and message boards it would need to be pretty huge. the current generation of say 20-50year olds will probably be using the net for their entire lives. it will be the kids being born today that will bring in something new.
…that keeps me coming back for more, …just like surfing,some leave after a few, never to return …for people like us, it’s in the blood …it’s the stoke,man! …this site like surfing is ageless,timeless …we are the ones that change.Herb
I don’t think we’re there yet, but in the future custom board shapers / builders may be looked upon like the “crazy ol’ guy who whittles wooden fiqurines” and sells them at the fair. I hope the mass produced machined shaped surfboard companies capture less than 40% of the surfing market in the future!
Hey Adrien, To hell with creativity lets all just eat canned beans. I guess we’ll wont need the ocean for waves pretty soon either. Obviously you’re looking for a job working with your hands, or could it be that you’re on the wrong web site or did you think this was where you buy stock in surftech? I wonder why we are still using typewriter keyboards as the most effective way to record our text? There must be a better way! Let us know what it is here at swaylocks. We like the idea the sharing ideas and our notions about progressive surf-craft. Now I’ll put all ten of my thumbs back to work in the fin shop and along with nature continue to evolve. The rubber stamp is not to be confused with evolution even tough production work has its place in progress. Surfboards will continue to change inspite of the nay sayers, that I’m sure of. Good Surfin’, Rich
This kind of place is still early in its own evolution. People can drop in and find a sense of community - good and bad- and it’s a unifying thing despite professed diversity. While net popularity will probably ebb and flow, it will take a new communication technology to knock this into the museum. As more people enter the sport, the more valuable places like this become. It defeats time and space and distance; instant communication on demand - far cry from once every-two-months surf magazines which used to do the trick. Maybe that’s the true measure of the increased pace of life.
Sorry! No offense intended, Rich. Were all on the same side here. But realistically the mass-produced pop-out scenario I referred to is already playing itself out before our very eyes. Look around. Their worldwide market share is large and voracious for more. As for my/your typewriter comments-- "why are we still using typewriter keyboards as the most effective way to record our text? There must be a better way! Let us know what it is here at swaylocks." Its called voice/speech recognition technology. Talking at your computer. Most of my friends use their keyboards less and less. They joke that I`m a cultural throwback for my typing. With or without us, the times they are a’changing. like the idea the sharing ideas and our notions about progressive surf-craft. Now I’ll put all ten of my thumbs back to work in the fin shop and along with nature continue to evolve. The rubber stamp is not to be confused with evolution even tough production work has its place in progress. Surfboards will continue to change inspite of the nay sayers, that I’m sure of. Good Surfin’, Rich
Hey Adrien, No offense taken. Here’ my perspective on what we’re addressing: Certain current fads and the media drive much of the consumer market. It doesn’t make the layman well informed it just appeals to common appetites. We don’t need a microscope to dissect what’s going on. Im sure you can see through it as well as anyone. All we’re seeing is Henry Ford’s ideas being reapplied. It’s nothing new. But can a stock mustang will never keep up with a one of John Force’s Funny cars? Why would they want to build one anyway? When it comes to dictation i.e. voice/speech computer technology it can’t be denied that it’s a time saver, but when it comes to literary composition the keyboard is here to stay. Tied to the computer it facilitates the process enormously it seems to me. Change is the only constant we have and hands on research and development will always lead it along. You just have to get it wrong ten thousand times before you get it right like Edison did. We mustn’t let the strength of mass production disguise the value of innovative constructive technique and design. One drives the other. We can’t hide from either; there’s no place to go it seems they’re their a little like Siamese twins that are joined at the hip. In the meantime we’ll keep surfin, cause that’s what it’s all about, Rich