{"id":38132,"date":"2019-06-08T06:57:02","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T10:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=38132"},"modified":"2019-06-08T06:57:02","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T10:57:02","slug":"tech-crunch-maker-faire-halts-operations-and-lays-off-all-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/tech-crunch-maker-faire-halts-operations-and-lays-off-all-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Crunch: “Maker Faire halts operations and lays off all staff”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is sad news for those like me who enjoy Maker Faires. This year, our own community started a Mini Maker Faire that was held on a university campus–it was a massive<\/em> success. My daughters and I taught a number of children and adults how to solder simple circuits. I also met quite a few radio enthusiasts and hams at the Faire.<\/p>\n

Here’s the news via\u00a0Tech Crunch:<\/a><\/p>\n

Financial troubles have forced\u00a0Maker Media<\/a>, the company behind crafting publication MAKE:<\/a>\u00a0magazine as well as the science and art festival\u00a0Maker Faire<\/a>, to lay off its entire staff of 22 and pause all operations. TechCrunch was tipped off to\u00a0Maker\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Media\u2019s unfortunate situation which was then confirmed by the company\u2019s founder and CEO Dale Dougherty.<\/p>\n

For 15 years, MAKE: guided adults and children through step-by-step do-it-yourself crafting and science projects, and it was central to the maker movement. Since 2006, Maker Faire\u2019s 200 owned and licensed events per year in over 40 countries let attendees wander amidst giant, inspiring art and engineering installations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaker Media Inc ceased operations this week and let go of all of its employees \u2014 about 22 employees\u201d Dougherty tells TechCrunch. \u201cI started this 15 years ago and it\u2019s always been a struggle as a business to make this work. Print publishing is not a great business for anybody, but it works\u2026barely. Events are hard . . . there was a drop off in corporate sponsorship.\u201d Microsoft and Autodesk failed to sponsor this year\u2019s flagship Bay Area Maker Faire.<\/p>\n

[…]\u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep the servers running\u201d Dougherty tells me. \u201cI hope to be able to get control of the assets of the company and restart it. We\u2019re not necessarily going to do everything we did in the past but I\u2019m committed to keeping the print magazine going and the Maker Faire licensing program.\u201d The fate of those hopes will depend on negotiations with banks and financiers over the next few weeks. For now the sites remain online.[…]<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full story at Tech Crunch.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I should think this would be a golden opportunity for organizations like the ARRL<\/a> to step in and, perhaps, work with other like-minded organizations to keep Maker Faires alive. These gatherings are so large, and the organizers are so motivated, I know this won’t actually be an end to Maker Faire events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is sad news for those like me who enjoy Maker Faires. This year, our own community started a Mini Maker Faire that was held on a university campus–it was a massive success. My daughters and I taught a number of children and adults how to solder simple circuits. I also met quite a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[4209,7817,7816,385],"class_list":["post-38132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-make","tag-make-magazine","tag-maker-faires","tag-maker-mag"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-9V2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1100,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/radio-shack-promises-to-go-back-to-its-roots\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":0},"title":"Radio Shack promises to go back to its roots","author":"Thomas","date":"April 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow. Thank you to Make Magazine for pointing out the fact that, in an ad, RadioShack has recently re-committed to serve electronics hobbyists. I remember, as a child, when I used to travel with my family on vacation--we would pass through a town and I would declare that it was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/RadioShack-300x101.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35640,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/the-knitted-radio-an-fm-radio-transmitter-sweater\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":1},"title":"The Knitted Radio: An FM radio transmitter sweater","author":"Thomas","date":"January 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul, who shares a link to this fascinating maker\/art piece from designer Irene Posch: The Knitted Radio is an installation piece that manifests how to knit a sweater that is also a FM radio transmitter. The tactile centerpiece is a functional electronic object knitted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/knitted-radio-detail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/knitted-radio-detail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/knitted-radio-detail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/knitted-radio-detail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21939,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/drmna-interview-with-mike-of-pantronx-maker-of-the-titus-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":2},"title":"DRMNA: Interview with Mike of PantronX, maker of the Titus II","author":"Thomas","date":"October 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Those of you following the upcoming Titus II receiver will enjoy reading this interview with Mike of Pantronix. Here's a short excerpt taken from DRMNA.info: [DRMNA] Can you tell us a little about the process taken to develop the new receiver? [Mike] We became aware of the need for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DRM"","block_context":{"text":"DRM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/drm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"titus 2 big","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/titus-2-big.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5094,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/radio-documentary-on-history-of-the-australian-broadcasting-corporation\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":3},"title":"Radio documentary on history of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation","author":"Thomas","date":"December 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: John Figliozzi via InternetRadio Digest) ABC Radio National will broadcast a weeklong series highlighting the history, development, key moments and future of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on the occasion of its 80th Anniversary, from December 24-28. \u00a0Details from: http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/specialbroadcasts\/abc-80th-anniversary\/4373618 There is a 16 hour difference between New York and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ABC reporter, and later RN documentary maker, Tim Bowden on patrol with a US Marine squad near Da Nang in Vietnam. (1966) [Photo: ABC ]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/RadioAustraliaReporter-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17771,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/stuart-sizer-heathkit-designer-dad-and-bon-vivant\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":4},"title":"Stuart Sizer: Heathkit designer, dad, and “bon vivant”","author":"Thomas","date":"March 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Two weeks ago,\u00a0through a radio preservation group,\u00a0I met the son of Heathkit product designer of the 1950s-70s, Stu Sizer\u2013\u2013\"stylist, artist, maker of models, bon vivant.\"\u00a0His son\u00a0described the\u00a0discovery of\u00a0a few vintage Heathkit brochures, photos, and illustrations his father kept in his family's basement shop, many of which had been scanned at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Heathkit-Drawings-2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Heathkit-Drawings-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Heathkit-Drawings-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Heathkit-Drawings-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14986,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/adafruit-industries-an-amazing-resource-for-electronics-experimenters\/","url_meta":{"origin":38132,"position":5},"title":"Adafruit Industries: an amazing resource for electronics experimenters","author":"Thomas","date":"October 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, writes: In a recent blog posting, you mentioned the use of Arduinos in the radio hobby. Those of us who have experimented with Arduinos (and Raspberry Pis, etc.) likely have come across Adafruit Industries when looking for hardware bits and pieces to use in our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adafruit_logo (3)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Adafruit_logo-3.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Adafruit_logo-3.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Adafruit_logo-3.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Adafruit_logo-3.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}