A useful app or small website can be finished and still go almost unnoticed. Its maker may have a link to share, but not much context for why it exists or how it came together. I Made This is a weekly newsletter aimed at that gap: it gathers digital projects and publishes stories from the people who made them.
More than a list of links
The idea is not limited to software launches. The developer says a submission can be an app, website, tool, game, artwork, writing, or other digital work. The common thread is that someone made it and can explain the choices behind it. That puts the maker's account alongside the project, rather than treating the link as the whole story.
For readers, that changes the discovery problem. A stream of project links can show what exists without explaining what prompted it, how it was built, or which tools were involved. I Made This asks makers to supply those details, then selects projects for future editions. The result is positioned as a collection of maker stories, not a database intended to catalogue every new release.
The product's scope is broad in medium but narrow in purpose. It is for finding things people have made online and hearing the stories behind them. It is not presented as a place to build, host, or promote a project through a suite of software tools.
What a maker submits
The submission process gives the project some context before it reaches the newsletter. According to the developer, makers provide the basics, answer three short questions about what they made, why they made it, and how, list the tools they used, and add a few pictures. The submission is described as taking about ten minutes.
That structure should suit someone with a finished or presentable project and a story they can put into words. It also sets a small but real bar: a link alone is not the submission. The maker needs to explain their decisions and provide images. People who would rather post a URL with no background, or who do not have pictures ready, may find the process less useful.
The developer says every submission is read. They also say selection is not determined by votes or a leaderboard, and that paying cannot buy a place. Those are meaningful rules for a submission-led newsletter, though they do not mean every project appears. If a project is picked, its maker gets an email and it goes into a future edition.
The trade-off in the format
A newsletter is a useful shape for readers who want a regular selection instead of searching through scattered launches. Its weekly cadence gives the project a clear rhythm, and the accompanying explanations can make unfamiliar work easier to understand. The service is free, which removes a direct purchase decision for both makers considering a submission and readers interested in the stories.
But the same format has limits. A submission is not an immediate showcase, and there is no promise that it will be selected. The developer describes picked projects entering a future edition, without giving a guaranteed publication date. Makers looking for guaranteed reach, a permanent public listing, or a way to rank their launch should not assume this newsletter provides those things. Its stated process is editorial selection, not a self-serve promotional slot.
It runs on the web. The product is therefore best understood as a web-based newsletter and submission route, rather than a dedicated tool for managing a project launch. The available description does not establish how readers subscribe or what happens to submissions that are not picked, so those details are not a basis for choosing it.
Who it is for
I Made This makes the most sense for people who enjoy discovering indie makers through both their work and the decisions behind it, and for makers willing to write a short account of a digital project without expecting guaranteed placement. Its emphasis on context is the point: the project matters, but so does the person explaining it.
It is a poor fit if you need a guaranteed feature, instant promotion, or a comprehensive directory of every submission. For makers who want to tell the story of a side project and readers who prefer that context to a bare link, the weekly newsletter has a clear job. Just treat selection as a possibility, not the reason to build or submit.
A weekly newsletter of what people make online