W
HEN IT’S TIME TO CREATE THE
cover for Popular Mechanics, we
have two video calls. In the first one,
we narrow down which stories have
the highest potential for a knockout
photograph or illustration. For this
issue, we considered some excel-
lent shots of Mike Hughes’s homemade rockets and
Pop Mech reader Jim Eicher’s homemade boat. We
decided on several options, each of which could have
made a great cover. Then, before the next call, we
asked thousands of you—our readers—to weigh in.
In previous generations of Pop Mech, and still at
most publications, that second meeting was when
editors and designers just decided amongst them-
selves. What we do now is post those finalist cover
candidates on Instagram (they show for people
who have checked our Popular Mechanics account
within the last 180 days, and the posts are identi-
fied as “sponsored” content, so they don’t interrupt
our followers’ feeds). We watch which photos and
captions earn the most views, likes, and other types
of responses. Almost every time, we editors are
pretty sure which one will win. But sometimes, as
was the case this month, we are proven completely
wrong. Either way, we end up publishing something
we know readers will like, instead of something we
knew we liked, but could only guess if you would.
That said, I’m always skeptical of relying too
much on data. Years of reporting
on Silicon Valley have kept me
ready to criticize companies that
trade in user data, like Facebook
(which owns Instagram), and
Google (which runs Analytics,
the software that shows publica-
tions like Pop Mech which videos
and news people are looking at).But when these tools work,they help us make bet-
ter stuff. Stories become this kind of collaboration
between us and you.
After seeing so many people read our coverage
of math news (such as mathematicians solving the
random-walk problem, in this issue), we made it a
regular beat. Then we started writing logic puzzles,
and made a YouTube series called “Solve It.” For our
product reviews, we look at when readers research
different goods—space heaters in early fall, roof-
top tents in spring, for example. Smart readers buy
ahead of time. So we test snow shovels in late sum-
mer, with a pile of sawdust that we mix with water
until it reaches 21 pounds per cubic foot, the same
as heavy snow. If we waited until first snowfall, we
would be too late to help you know what to buy.
The next era of reader collaboration is Pop
Mech Pro—to the new members reading this,
welcome! In Pro, your voice is even louder, and we
can respond quickly. Your feedback is why we’re
publishing even more authoritative how-to plans,
definitive histories of military craft, and exclu-
sive interviews.
How do we decide what to write about? And when
to publish it? We ask ourselves those questions
every day, to make sure we don’t get complacent.
The goal is to avoid “That’s just the way it’s done”
whenever possible, and replace that with asking
how we can help you. Simply put, we work for you.In the previous print issue, a story I was responsible for contained an error. In the
guide for how to use a four-wheel-drive system, the example of how to use the 4WD
Hi mode showed the new Land Rover Defender, which is all-wheel drive and has
no 4WD Hi mode. The author (Ezra Dyer) was not involved in that decision and was
actually the one who pointed this out to me. To the readers who noticed, I apologize,
and will work to reestablish my gearhead credentials.—A.G.How You
Helped
Build This
Issue
MERCEDESBLACKEHART(ROCKET);DR.^ S
COTTBIXLER(BOAT)10 September/October 2020// ALEXANDER GEORGE //From the
(^2) Editor