The MAKE Magazine Industry Maker Awards

MAKE magazine is excited to have completed the first annual MAKE Magazine Industry Maker Awards, AKA �The Makeys.� Over the course of the 12 weeks leading up to the award ceremony on September 16 at Maker Faire New York 2011, MAKE nominated (and published online profiles of) 12 companies that have shown outstanding support for independent maker/hacker culture. Three companies/products were nominated in four categories, and a public poll determined one winner in each category.

In 2011, the physical trophies were produced in collaboration with Thingiverse.com (the 3D object sharing site), and manufactured by MakerBot Industries (3D printer manufactures).

As part of the program launch, the "Mitch Altman Maker Hero" award was also announced, to be presented to individuals in the �do it yourself� (DIY) and �do it with others� (DIWO) community who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of maker-related education and/or open access to technology. The first award was presented to Mitch Altman himself for his tireless work in building collaborative �hackerspaces� around the world and in teaching people the joys of hobby electronics and collaborative technologies.

The Makeys was announced on the Maker Faire Bay Area episode of Make: Live, webcasting from the pre-show kick-off party on Friday, May 20th. Maker Faire, celebrating its tenth event this year, is the world's largest DIY festival. As the DIY/DIWO movement grows, mainstream companies are starting to take makers more seriously as a market segment. MAKE hopes that profiling and celebrating companies that are �getting it,� and giving four of them awards of appreciation, will help fuel their adoption of more open, accessible, user-friendly, and modifiable technology products.