Make (magazine)

Make (magazine) is an American periodical that covered do-it-yourself projects, hobbyist electronics, fabrication, and makerspace culture, blending hands-on tutorials with profiles of innovators. The magazine connected readers to Steve Jobs, Ada Lovelace, Nikola Tesla, Tim Berners-Lee, Hedy Lamarr-adjacent histories, and institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, and Stanford University through project context and interviews. Over its run it intersected with movements and organizations like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Fab Lab, Etsy, and Instructables while engaging figures associated with Maker Faire, IEEE, and the Consumer Electronics Show.

History

Make launched in 2005 amid growth in desktop fabrication and open-source electronics, coinciding with the popularity of Arduino, Raspberry Pi, RepRap, Open Source Ecology, and academic programs at MIT Media Lab, Harvard University, Princeton University, Caltech, and University of Cambridge. Early issues showcased work by contributors connected to Adafruit Industries, SparkFun Electronics, Makezine-era makers, Limor Fried, Bre Pettis, Massimo Banzi, and inventors with ties to Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, SRI International, and NASA Ames Research Center. As desktop 3D printing matured with entrants like MakerBot, Ultimaker, Formlabs, Stratasys, and 3D Systems, the magazine expanded coverage to include CNC mills, laser cutters, and open hardware aligned with Open Hardware Summit, Creative Commons, and Arduino Day. The publication's corporate evolution paralleled relationships with O'Reilly Media, Wired, and technology events such as South by Southwest and TechCrunch Disrupt; later financial and organizational challenges involved entities like Maker Media and affected participation in Maker Faire events linked to cities including San Mateo, New York City, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Shenzhen.

Content and Features

Make combined step-by-step tutorials, gear reviews, and profiles featuring individuals and organizations such as Limor Fried, Massimo Banzi, Bre Pettis, Adafruit Industries, SparkFun Electronics, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and RepRap. Regular departments highlighted tools from manufacturers like SolidWorks, Autodesk, Intel, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, and ARM Holdings, while showcasing projects that referenced techniques and histories tied to Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Grace Hopper, Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, Linus Torvalds, and institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, MIT Media Lab, Stanford University, Caltech, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Feature articles often profiled startup founders and innovators with connections to Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and marketplaces like Etsy; these pieces integrated product teardowns referencing components from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and NXP Semiconductors. The magazine ran columns on electronics, woodworking, metalworking, textiles, and robotics while referencing standards and communities such as IEEE, IETF, Linux Foundation, Creative Commons, and Open Source Initiative.

Publication and Distribution

Initially published on a monthly cadence and later bimonthly, the magazine distributed physical issues through channels including specialty retailers in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, as well as subscriptions served by logistics partners used by publishers like O'Reilly Media and mainstream outlets such as Barnes & Noble and WHSmith. Digital presence paralleled platforms and services run by Apple Inc. (for iOS), Google (for Android), Adobe Systems, and content networks associated with YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, Twitter, and Facebook (Meta Platforms). Special editions and compilations tied into crowdfunding launches on Kickstarter and distribution through retailers connected to Amazon (company), Micro Center, and community spaces like TechShop and local makerspaces often affiliated with universities such as MIT, UC Berkeley, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Changes in publishing were influenced by the economics facing niche periodicals alongside trends driven by Bloomberg LP, The New York Times Company, and digital advertising platforms such as Google AdSense.

Community and Events

Make cultivated a maker community through events such as Maker Faire (flagship and satellite editions), hackathons linked to HackMIT, ETH Zurich-affiliated challenges, and workshops run with partners like Fab Foundation, Fab Lab Network, Adafruit, and SparkFun. The publication’s community initiatives connected hobbyists and professionals from institutions and companies including MIT Media Lab, Carnegie Mellon University, NASA, Google X, Microsoft Research, and Apple Inc. and engaged entrepreneurs from Y Combinator cohorts and hardware startups showcased at CES. Conferences, hands-on workshops, and competitions often featured judges and speakers drawn from Make community, industry veterans from Intel, NVIDIA, ARM, and academics from Stanford University, Harvard University, and Princeton University.

Reception and Influence

Critical reception recognized the magazine’s role in mainstreaming maker culture, with commentators in outlets like Wired, The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg remarking on its influence on hobbyist electronics, desktop fabrication, and grassroots innovation. Scholars and policy analysts referencing reports from National Science Foundation, European Commission, UNESCO, and think tanks noted the magazine’s part in popularizing STEM-related tinkering connected to programs at MIT Media Lab, Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, UC Berkeley, and Caltech. Its influence extended to entrepreneurship and manufacturing policy discussions involving stakeholders such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Etsy, Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, and municipal makerspace initiatives in cities like Detroit, Austin, Texas, Portland, Oregon, Shenzhen, and Berlin.

Category:Technology magazines Category:DIY culture