Make:

I guess I don't understand the point of this. Why not just post these items in the Make blog? Do I have to sign up for the newsletter or are the items also posted on the TNT page? In which case why would I sign up for the newsletter? I already get the Make newsletter, which tells me nothing that isn't already posted on the site, etc, unless it does since I don't read it anyway, because I check the make blog and forums a couple of times a day. It just seems like a separate thing I have to bookmark and click on, rather than just reading the blog and the forum.

Must be one of those web 2.0 things, or the long tail or something. darn internets and bizarre content providing...
Man that was a cranky rant. But tools should be the priority, not a sideline to the rest of the content.

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I have to agree with Mr. Carter. Our email accounts are overflowing as it is. It seems MAKE is trying to break down what makes it cool into smaller "not so cool" things. I too check the blog at least once a day. While we're on it... I am sad to see the Craft items disappear from the MAKE blog/zine. I liked the variety in MAKE. I suppose I'll have to subscribe to the new CRAFT zine (which I've heard nothing about lately).
Just my two cents.
That being said, I will go sign up for the newsletter because I don't want to miss anything.

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Hiya -
TNT is more than a newsletter; it's in fact a whole new section of the site. One thing that's different from the blog is that readers can submit their own favorite tools or tips, and you can browse or search through all of them on the site, or subscribe to an RSS feed to see new ones as they come in.

The newsletter is for folks who like to hear about items that are hand-picked by our TNT editor, Arwen, as the most interesting or noteworthy. There might be some other tidbits as well. You might want to subscribe to the newsletter if you don't want to see every single item that comes through in the feed but would rather have a checkin every couple weeks to hear what's new. It's another option, and if it's not one that interests you, that's cool. The RSS feed or web site might be better choices for some.

We like to try new things and see where they lead us, and we like to have lots happening on the site, while realizing that not everyone will be into all of it. We're also curious about where the whole newsletter space is leading, so what we're doing today might not be what we're doing six months from now.

I know there will be lots of cross-posting between the MAKE and CRAFT blogs once they're both rolling, so I think you'll still see some of that variety. But I hope you let us know if it seems too much or too little -- we love the feedback (and we use it as we make decisions about what to change or add).

Phil, Natalee or Bre might have more comments, but I thought I'd chime in. Thanks for all the comments!

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nick - you can always get all the tips-n-tools on the make blog and/or the rss feed. we're just adding another way for folks to get content, and the newsletter has tools makers out there send in...

cyenobite - craft items aren't going anyhere - there will always be craft posts on the make site, in fact, there will be more each week and more once CRAFT launches.

general newsletter opinion, i like rss and web (personally) but a lot of folks don't have time or can't read the 25 or so posts on MAKE each day, so a newsletter is another way to get MAKE...

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