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Gareth Branwyn

Communications Director

Gareth Branwyn is a pioneer of internet and maker culture. He served as Computer Sciences Editor of The Futurist for seven years and was a founding editor at Wired, Mondo 2000, and Boing Boing. He authored the first book about the World Wide Web and twelve other books on high technology, DIY tech, media, and nerd culture. He spent a decade at Make: magazine in roles ranging from contributing writer to Editorial Director of Maker Media. Today, Branwyn writes books on DIY/maker tech and contributes regularly to Boing Boing, Adafruit, and Cool Tools. He also publishes Gar's Tips & Tools, a popular weekly DIY/maker newsletter, in partnership with Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools.

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What Others Have Said

“An avatar of the imagination...a shining example of why weird wins.” Laika Studios (Coraline, ParaNorman)
“Brilliant writing, impressive scholarship...a literary standard for how tech books should be written.” Toronto Globe & Mail (on Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Building Robots)
“A hip Marshal McLuhan for the plugged-in age.” The Washington Post

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Say Less, Mean More

Making Space for Thinking in a Culture of Urgency

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Experience

  • Communications Director

    The Action Company

    May 2024–Present

    Gareth leads communications, content creation, and editorial direction at Action. He shapes company voice and messaging across website, social media, newsletters, video production, and other client-facing and internal company communications. He works closely with leadership, consultants, designers, and video production to translate complex ideas in data, analytics, AI, and technology into clear, compelling content for business and executive audiences. He oversees editorial standards and brand consistency, develops and manages content programs, supports growth and business development initiatives, and helps define how Action presents itself to the world.

  • Publisher and Editor

    Gar's Tips & Tools

    May 2019 - Present

    Publishes and edits Gar’s Tips & Tools, a popular newsletter covering tools, making, DIY, workshop practices, and practical technology. Drawing on decades of experience writing about tools and maker culture, Gareth curates and creates accessible, hands-on content spanning traditional shopcraft, electronics, 3D printing, design, crafts, materials, shop techniques, product recommendations, clever hacks, and useful ideas from the wider maker community. The newsletter has grown to more than 10,000 subscribers and over 25,000 followers on Substack, reaching an established audience of makers, tool enthusiasts, and the creatively minded.

  • Senior Editor

    bOING bOING

    1990 - 1998

    Gareth helped take this influential “cyberculture” publication from an amateur zine to a professional magazine. Boing Boing would eventually become one of the most popular “nerd watering holes” online, with over 12 million page views per month. Gareth is still a regular contributor to the Boing Boing site.

  • Editorial Director

    Maker Media

    2006 - 2016

    Gareth started as a contributor to Make: magazine in 2005 and worked his way up to co-editor of Make: Books and 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. As part of Make: Books, he conceived of and edited Charles Platt's perennial best-seller, Make: Electronics, which has sold over a quarter of a million copies.

  • 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 because of it, Gareth was asked to be the Internet and computer terms consultant to the Oxford American Dictionary.

  • 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.

  • Book Author

    1994 - Present

    Writer or editor of 13 books, including The Mosaic Quick Tour (the first book about the Web), The Happy Mutant Handbook (with the editors of bOING bOING), Borg Like Me (a memoir and best-of collection), and the Amazon best-selling series Tips and Tales from the Workshop, Vol. 1 & 2 (collections of DIY/maker tips).

Services

  • Writing (Technical, Editorial, Narrative)

    Gareth writes across technical, editorial, and narrative forms, translating complex ideas into clear, engaging language. Whether explaining systems, emerging technologies, or cultural shifts, his work focuses on making difficult concepts understandable without flattening their nuance. He moves fluidly between long-form articles, scripts, thought leadership, and storytelling that gives ideas shape and momentum.

  • Editing (Developmental, Line, Copy, Technical)

    He works at every level of the editorial process, from shaping early ideas to final polish. Developmentally, Gareth helps clarify structure, argument, and intent. At the line and copy level, he refines language for clarity, precision, and voice. As a technical editor, he ensures accuracy while keeping the material readable for its intended audience. His goal is always the same: say less, mean more, and bring the concepts to life.

  • AI-Assisted Content Creation and Editorial Workflows

    Gareth designs and works with AI-coauthoring systems that combine human judgment with machine speed. He uses AI to accelerate drafting, summarization, organization, and formatting, while maintaining a strong and experienced editorial hand to ensure originality, accuracy, and human voice. He also helps teams build repeatable content workflows where AI supports the process without replacing imaginative human thinking and storytelling.

  • Brand Worldbuilding and Storytelling

    Gareth approaches brand as a coherent system of ideas, language, and visuals that reinforce one another. He develops brand narratives, themes, and content frameworks that give organizations a distinct voice and point of view. This includes everything from high-level messaging to the small, consistent signals that shape how a brand is experienced day-to-day.

  • Multimedia Content Development

    He develops content across formats, including articles, video scripts, social media messaging, and interview-driven pieces. He focuses on adapting ideas to the strengths of each messenger and medium and how and when to turning one core idea into multiple formats that extend its reach across media.

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“Intelligence is not computation, it’s conversation.”

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