Honestly, just about every other “mainstream” magazine I read (across many genres) has been reduced to an ad billboard with enough content thrown in to string the reader base along for another subscription renewal. All the “renew now” notices that I get from all of them, sometimes multiple times per month even though my subscription isn’t due to expire for a year or more, make it clear that most magazines are just in business to collect maximum advertisement dollars based on their number of subscribers (their ridiculously low subscription cost makes it abundantly clear that the readers are just paying for shipping any more and the ad dollars are doing everything else).

But that’s what makes MAKE stand out… you don’t do any of that stupid stuff. You load in the ridiculously useful content, you provide information that’s desperately needed in today’s world of disposable consumerism, you show dedication to *editorial excellence*, and you ask a fair price in exchange for not having to suffer through tens of tens of pages of incipidly banal advertisments for “new and improved” and “now even crappier” crap. What few ads you do have are valuable and relevant. I’m guessing the response rate your advertisers get is one of the best in the business. If I had a business that wanted to offer a good relevant maker-oriented product and reach qualified people, you can bet that MAKE would be the first place I’d go to advertise.

But MAKE isn’t just a magazine, it’s a banner that stands above the crowd and says “I’m mad as hell (about the crap that’s sold), and I’m not gonna not make it anymore!” (or something like that). MAKE is reminding folks, both young and old, that they can do stuff themselves… I can’t think of another magazine so widely circulated that says “YOU can create/make/fix/improve your world” in the way that MAKE does.

So yeah, what you’re doing and what everyone else there is doing absolutely MATTERS. It’s worth it. The long hours, stressful deadlines, empassioned discussions about what “needs to be included no matter what”, frustrations, etc… those are all worth it. We the readers take notice of the passion that goes into such a production (I sure do). We respect the fact that everyone who works for MAKE is a MAKER by default… you’re making an exemplary magazine every single day that you’re there.

So kudos, to you and to everyone else there. Many, many, many kudos. MAKE is an example that the rest of the magazine publishing industry ought to be paying attention to. It might not seem like it from your perspective, but MAKE has re-written the book on what it means to BE a magazine publishing company. Keep up the passion, keep up the commitment, keep up the spirit of progress… what you’re doing is most worthy!