With seasoned journalist Alan Duggan at the editorial helm (he later took on the additional role of publisher), the magazine steadily grew its circulation until it became one of the top performers in the expanding RamsayMedia stable. Along the way, the brand grew its audience across multiple platforms, including a vigorous Web site, special events, a weekly newsletter called 'The Cutting Edge' (with a formidable 50 000 opt-in subscribers), social media, videos and other initiatives. In January this year, the magazine achieved 50 000-plus sales (ABC-certified paid circulation).
In a recent South African lifestyle survey by the Bateleur research group, Popular Mechanics emerged as a front-runner in terms of income and education, with 37% of its audience reporting a household income in excess of R40 000 - of whom 7% earn R100 000-plus. Titled C.R.E.A.M. (Crucial Research Engaging Affluent Markets), the online survey produced an astonishing 8 500 responses, with 2 200-plus in the tech sector alone (against a Popular Mechanics sample of 217 in the latest AMPS report).
Available on the newsstand from today, the November issue of Popular Mechanics showcases the work of extreme artist Jason deCaires Taylor, whose strangely moving sculptures are arranged in an underwater 'gallery' in the Caribbean. The same issue tells the complete story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, raises fascinating questions around the existence of an adventure gene, and in a story about the dark art of transhumanism, asks the perfectly reasonable question: 'Why aren't we seeing people with wings?' A 32-page DIY Handbook - based on hints provided by the magazine's readers over the past six years - is bagged with the magazine.
Last week, inventors from across the country gathered in Cape Town for the second PM Inventors Conference, an annual event aimed at equipping the country's most innovative thinkers with the tools they need to take their concept from the stage of cigarette-box sketch to commercialisation - and possibly a fortune.
Said Duggan: 'It was an amazing experience... some of South Africa's sharpest minds gathered in one place with the single purpose of sharing and acquiring knowledge in the field of invention. Our presenters included one of the world's foremost wingsuit designers, people who had made and lost several fortunes, leading entrepreneurs, patent attorneys, very clever engineers, great designers and other interesting people.
'It was a salutary lesson for anyone whose faith in the future of our country was showing cracks. We have a huge repository of talent right on our doorstep, and these people will change our world.'
