What would it take for you to: a) make something, and 2) share a photo/video of it with the author? A job! As a 63 year old mechanical designer I struggle as there are no jobs for me here in Minnesota (where you are not hired as you're "Over-Qualified' even for a damn Mac D job (especially if you need a cane), and money is tight.) OK so much for venting, actually, I still design things and build what I can, but cost has really dampened that more then I like. Thankfully, a lot of what one finds here on Instructables is low-cost and innovative. It is Instructables that has brought many new ideas and projects into the public venue, and opened doors for all who come here to try new things and see what they can do. If anyone wants help on material selection, help in solving a mechanical problem, or the like, I'm open to give what aid I can for free. After nearly thirty years in the Industrial trades, I have a bit of knowledge and a host of tricks and tips to pass on to any who ask. I imagine they are a lot of folks who could do this and aid a host of new builders and dreamers who are just getting their feet wet as it were. Its just an idea, but those who know ought to teach, or help others who need a bit help to make and do new things. Passing on the knowledge is what makes us all better.

 It'd be good to have a tally system on the instructable itself.  
For example, 

"published Jan 13,2010"
"Made by 13 people "

You click the 13 link and it shows the members who made it and the pictures associated. 
I think that would be a great feature so that people no longer plague only the author for tips about the project. 

~RogueLeadR 

Rephrasing your question slightly:

What would it take for you to:
a) make something, and
2) share a photo/video of it with the author?

(working from the list I made for the contest... :)
a) Of the 8 things I can think of that I've made from Instructables, I've made 4 because I wanted/needed them and thought they were cool, and the other 4 just because I thought they were cool.

All eight used material that I had on hand or could get for less than $5 on my next trip to the store.


2) Uh, I guess I didn't really know I was supposed to. (dumb shrug)

I did once because I'd already taken pictures of the finished project for some other reason, and figured I might as well. The other 87.5% of the time, it never even occured to me.


None of the 'Ibles I made were yours, but could I have some candy anyway? :)

I like the patch idea.  Especially that the author "gets" the patch, because let's face it some of the more popular instructables would get made all the time and those authors would run out of their patches (if they are pro).  Also if some who isn't pro publishes an instructable, and someone makes it, that author wouldn't be able to give the person a patch, unless they got a pro membership.  Great Ideas!

This reminds me that I should get around to becoming a pro member...

AI

Great Ideas Grathio, I'd love to have someone tell my how they liked my recipes, and what they did to make them suit their tastes.

We are actually working on building some of these features in the site. Of course I use "we" in the loose sense of the term since I am not actually building them and not exactly sure when, where or in what incarnation they will show up on the site. That said, having posted a ton of Instructables myself, I am anxiously waiting for the day that the "I made this" feature will magically show up on the testing server.

In the meantime, have you tried giving out candy? Most people like candy. I know that I like candy ;-)

I am a noob, but I built one, and I signed up so that I could show some slides and post a link to the "orig-ible." The inspiration that has come from this sight, is that I have built and organized a covered workspace, and most importantly, I think about available materials before I buy anything like a bike rack, or a shelf. 
good show!

For me:
Finding the materials for a cool Instructable is sometimes the hardest thing.

A patch for making something is still possibly the best idea, but I'd like it if you could have part an extra part of your profile page with a list of everything you've built with an associated picture, so people viewing your profile can see.

To be brief: I make things. I show them here (I've a lot not-really-finished or even started, but I've been working on something Lego tonight).
Publishing is it's own reward, esp. if you're looking at something sub-standard that was only published because a person wanted to publish something...

L

Let's see...

Hall of fame?  Not my style.

Patches? I already make my own patches (it's not hard, even if you have poor photoshop skillz).  How about being given a handful of patches (2? 5?) with every project you publish, to award to people who post photos of their take on your project?

More visible rewards?  Again, not my style.

What else?  Posting projects and videos couldn't really be much simpler (unless maybe Eric could come round and do it for us?)

Overall... I'd go with the patches.  I'd be happy to create a generic "Made It" patch, if anybody wants one to use, though there are others with far greater design skills than I have.

Sure, I'd love to give out special patches to people who made my stuff.  Actually, I should really be doing this already...

Well, a major reason for me is the fact that last summer my digital camera was run over by a big white van full of people.  So yeah.  It was a Canon Powershot SD850 IS with CHDK installed.  I loved that camera.  It took beautiful pictures, was easy to use, and had the best features of any "point and shoot" I had seen.  I loved that camera.  Sadly I've not had the money to replace it.  You know I should check ebay.  At only 8.0  MP it's probably pretty cheap now.

I have always wanted an "I made this" feature. Right under the "Favorite it" button, you could click it. Or you would have to post a pic in the comments and the author would grant you with a "I made this" badge on your profile page. There are so many 'ible's that I've made and want to share with people, but there isn't any way to share it other then posting pictures. I like randofo's candy idea. I like candy too :D

Maybe you could introduce a "testing" category where people can post test instructables. I thought it would be harder to publish an instrucable than it actually is, and I almost didn't bother signing up because of this. So maybe a test category where people can test the instructable interface and see that it's incredibly easy to use.

Anything I make that I find one ibles I post a comment saying what I thought of it. For example.... I made this. I try to encourage people to post pictures when they leave a comment enthusiastically declaring they're going to make it. Not seen any pics so far :(

When I make something, I think it is only right to share a photo with the originator.