Planet of fixers? Mapping the middle grounds of independent and do-it-yourself information and communication technology maintenance and repair

Abstract

This paper explores the geographical distribution of independent and do-it-yourself information and communication technology maintenance and repair (INDIY ICT M&R) activity around the world. It examines a large set of Google Analytics data pertaining to users of free, open-source online repair manuals provided by iFixit, a US-based organisation that develops the free manuals, sells tools and components, and also engages in technical education and policy advocacy. The paper draws on three years of available user data (2016–2018). Over this time period the total user base of iFixit's manuals grew from over 1.3 million users to more than 4.1 million users across the planet. However, counter to what might be expected, the global distribution of iFixit users does not systematically co-vary with internet access rates or with the population size of locations. The results reported here, while partial, are valuable in that they demonstrate both a globally distributed phenomenon and high-resolution location patterns of INDIY ICT M&R activity. Mapping the extent and spatial patterning of such activity is a jumping off point for the kinds of qualitative analyses needed to elucidate the how's, the why's, and the meanings of the observed uneven distribution patterns. More broadly, the results suggest fruitful directions for deeper analyses and research into both pragmatic questions about ICT maintenance and repair (such as their social, economic, and environmental significance), as well as more speculative questions about how and why the fates of ICT within and between production, use, and discard stand in for dreams of technological futurity and nightmares of social and environmental breakdown.