Want to meet new people and make new things?
At MAKE, our engineering interns (and occasionally others) test-build almost all of the projects that we publish in the magazine. This adds a lot to the articles– we verify that they work (or don’t), learn how to explain them better, nail down good sources and specs for the materials, and shoot more photos and video. It also gives us ready-built projects for demonstration, experimentation, and random fun.
So far, so good. But by reading this post, you are witnessing the launch of the next phase in our unceasing efforts to increase the proportion of Quality in the universe: the MAKE Beta Team.
Beta Team members are makers at-large who do pre-publication test-builds of our projects at the same time that we do them internally at the world-renowned Make: Labs. The idea is, we can make our projects even better by listening to and working with test-builders both inside and outside of MAKE.
We also hook up Beta Team members with new kits, tools, and other stuff that companies want us to test and review (sometimes before these things come on the market). If you’re interested in something, you get it free and just have to write a short, hands-on review– 1-2 paragraphs, or more if you feel inspired.
As a Beta Team member, your mission (should you choose to accept it) will be to:
- Build a project, from instructions that already look complete, using materials that we will send to you — we will send you everything, except for tools that you already have
- Let us know if anything doesn’t work or isn’t explained clearly
- Share any other ideas you have related the project
- Show off to friends, family, neighbors, and strangers, and see what they think (extra credit)
During the process, you’ll correspond with a great group of people including (but not limited to) MAKE authors, engineering interns, editors, and designers. Meanwhile, the projects you build will be yours to have, hold, and hack forever. Also, we’ll throw in:
- A year’s subscription to MAKE magazine
- Weekend-pass tickets to the Maker Faire of your choice
- The coveted MAKE Beta Team t-shirt
What a deal!
If this sounds like something you might enjoy, please fill out an application here.
38 thoughts on “Make: Beta Team — Join Us!”
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sounds awesome!
Submitted my app the moment I saw this. Any idea when you’ll be notifying successful applicants?
USA only
Where did you read “USA only”? If that’s true, that seriously bites.
Sweet!
This is open to people anywhere– it does make shipping easier and less expensive when test builders are in the USA, and it’s also important for any projects that use region specific standards for wall current, cellular networks, etc. But we often work with makers who live outside the USA– our regular contributor Andrew Lewis in the UK comes to mind and there are many others– so it’s not an issue, modulo points above.
So if you’re interested but live outside the US, I hope you will apply– even though for some projects we’ll want to stay in-country.
Sounds AWESOME. It provides larger exposure for the concept of Make, and Makers.
Schools, businesses, and others should be able to organize and support maker groups.
Space, tools, and parts support can be provided as tax deductible support.
[…] you’re interested in becoming part of this team head over to Make: Beta Team — Join Us for more information and to fill out an […]
[…] you’re interested in becoming part of this team head over to Make: Beta Team — Join Us for more information and to fill out an […]
MAKE Beta Team – Application Window Closed
The response to our call for MAKE Beta Team applications has been overwhelming, which we are thrilled about. But we have now received over 1100 applications, all good, and we feel that we have more than enough to review and allocate for now.
So, while we work through our current pool of applicants, we are suspending the entry form. We apologize if we missed you, but if you would like to stay in touch about the MAKE Beta Program, please enter your name and email address below, and we will keep you posted.
Thank you for your interest!
Any word on the how the application process is going?
See below!
UPDATE (sort of) – Given our 1100+ applications, we’re getting all of the data into a for-realz database and tagging some of it up by hand, and meanwhile also moving the records into a mailing list management system – there’s some concern that my personal email account might get shut down if I try sending out another mass-email from it. This should (don’t you love the word “should”?) happen early next week, at which point we’ll send out a status update and tangible next steps. I’m sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience!
Any news about how’s it going with the process? I’m anxious that a mail got eaten by my spam filter ;-)
I’m curious also. It’s been almost a month. What’s the news???
I know, it’s taking a long time — we’ll send out next steps next week, by April 20– thank you for your patience!
The 20th of April cometh.
Lol. Yes, please, Paul. I’ve been so excited to discover if I’m one of the lucky few, I’ve been looking to this thread near daily. *#TooExcitedMaybe*
didnt make the final cut. :(