I Could Do It Myself

Make Magazine, fresh off of Issue #3, are clearly on to something. Sort of a Martha Stewart's Living for technology geeks, Make releases four "mook" issues per year (combine magazine with book and you get the idea). Highly visual and explanatory, Make claims status as "the first magazine devoted to digital projects, hardware hacks, and D.I.Y. inspiration." Readers will probably find themselves in the rubber-necking reader category. I doubt most will rewire a VOIP phone or decypher the magnetic strip off a credit card, but dang it's cool to check out how someone's done it.

Which brings me to my point: Someone figured it out, and if someone figured it out and can explain it to me it's almost like I figured it out - or at least I could have. What I'm suggesting is that there's magic in the possibility. When we witness someone wield a technology that is familar to us (PVC, digital cameras, TiVO, Google) but in a unique and inventive way, we become open to new possibilities. We see potential. We are inspired for a moment thinking "I could do it myself!"