I didn't read it as lamenting the demise of the tinkerer. But it can of course be read that way too.

I guess many people find themselves in the article. I, for one, spent way too many nights building "under construction" web sites on Geocities. However, I definitely don't think "passion" has anything to do with what we do (Searls also makes fun of being passionate about passion). I don't find that to be a sustainable approach. I don't care if a candidate I'm interviewing has personal projects in Github or a Raspberry Pi at home. Those are interesting, sure, but no more than playing the guitar or swimming.

Again, maybe the article was not well balanced. And maybe the fact that I find myself in the article prevents me from seeing it.