Gareth Branwyn
Communications Director
Gareth Branwyn is a well-known pioneer of both internet and DIY/maker culture. He was the Computer Sciences Editor of the Futurist magazine for seven years, and a founding editor at Wired, Mondo 2000, and Boing Boing magazines. He authored the first book about the Web (Mosaic Quick Tour: Accessing and Navigating the World Wide Web) and twelve other books on high technology, DIY tech, media, and nerd culture.
More recently, Branwyn worked for Make: magazine for 10 years, as everything from a contributing writer to its book publisher to Maker Media’s Editorial Director. Currently, he writes books about DIY/maker tech and regularly contributes to Boing Boing, Adafruit, Cool Tools, and Better Humans. Branwyn also publishes a popular weekly DIY/maker tips newsletter, garstipsandtools.com, in partnership with Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools.
Experience
Editorial Director
Maker Media
2006 - 2016
Gareth started as a contributor to Make: magazine in 2005 and worked his way up to Editor-in-Chief of the website, and then Editorial Director of Maker Media in 2012. After leaving in 2013, he became a content creator under contract until 2016.
Founding Columnist
Wired
1992 - 2005
Co-creator of the “Jargon Watch” column with Kevin Kelly. “Jargon Watch” was one of the most popular sections of the magazine, was collected into a book, and as a result, Gareth was asked to be the Internet and computer terms consultant to the Oxford American Dictionary.
Senior Editor
bOING bOING
1990 - 1998
Helped take this influential “cyberculture” publication from an amateur zine to a professional magazine. BB would eventually become one of the most popular “nerd watering holes” online, with over 9 million page views per month. Branwyn is still a regular contributor there today.
Computer Sciences Editor
The Futurist
1984 - 1991
Started the first computer column and regular computer coverage in The Futurist, published by The World Future Society.
Services
Original, Insightful Writing on Science, Tech, and the Future
Gareth has made a name for himself by taking complex topics in science, technology, and cultural change and making them human readable.
Technical Writing
Gareth has written a number of popular, well-regarded software and hardware guides including The Mosaic Quick Tour and The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Building Robots.
Technical and Non-Technical Book Editing
Gareth has edited numerous tech books for QUE/Pearson, including The Internet of Things. He also developed and tech edited Charles Platt’s perennial O’Reilly best-seller, Make: Electronics which has sold nearly a quarter million copies.
