
“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success.” – Nikola Tesla
I attended my first Bay Area Maker Faire in 2018. I’d been to the Austin Maker Faire several times in previous years, but this was my first experience attending the flagship event. Convened first in 2006 to a crowd of 20,000, by 2018, the event had grown to over 150,000 attendees and 1,200 makers exhibiting their creations. But what caught my eye most as I wandered through the San Mateo convention center were the sprawling booths erected by the likes of Google, Microsoft, Bose, and Ford. 12 years in, the humble maker movement looked to be thriving.
It would have been hard to imagine that Maker Faire and its parent Maker Media Inc. would cease to exist just one year later.
For…