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Notes: Promotions, Evolutions and Unlikely Alliances
Posted by Brian Lam at 3:03 AM on September 5, 2008
Over two years at Gizmodo as editor, we've racked up a great deal of fast, smart work I'm proud of being a part of. But we're going to be making some changes shortly.
See, when you're dialed into news watching, you just can't leave your computer without having double digit brain cycles running on and on, nagging you, "something's going to break something's going to break some news is going to break and you won't be there to write it no one's going to write it and we're going to be late late late late!" These thoughts are often accompanied by a generous amount of eye twitching, which make it impossible to work on anything too far out in scope. So I'm moving on to a role as editorial director.
The title editorial director of Gizmodo sounds vague but it just means something simple: I'm going to work full time on things that I think are important to the long term evolution of this blog; that means more deep features, more service pieces to help newbies, more things like Jesús's amazing lego trip and less trade show humping. More reader meetups where we can fondle gadgets together and just improving things all around in terms of what's expected of a gadget blog today and things that tech publications have never tried. All projects I didn't have the bandwidth to process before. I'll also be helping the other Gawker sites with their field reporting as assistant managing editor of Gawker Media. (All those liveblogs helped a lot and it's only right to share that info with the other editors.) I'm looking forward to the new challenges, but I've got one more thing up my sleeve I'm excited for: I'll also be joining Ryan Block and Peter Rojas's new venture, gdgt, as an advisor. While the competition I've had with the Engadget guys has been well chronicled, I think on a certain level, it makes perfect sense for us to achieve some sort of Voltron status.
Of course, Gizmodo hasn't been about a guy and a blog for years. To make all that news handling go smoothly, I'm getting help managing our platoon's worth of writers from someone who has been at Gizmodo longer than anyone, including me. He'll be introducing himself shortly and I thank him in advance for allowing me to not only work on the site in a new way, but for allowing me the new spare time to regain some sanity and shave some pounds off the old keyboard rest I call my gut.
Thank you for listening, and good morning.
AU: Congrats to Brian - there won't be too many changes from the Oz side of things - we'll just keep bringing you the best of the US and locally relevant stuff as well.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
mildretard
Posted 3:36 AM 5/9/08
Does this mean you'll be dumping Lisa?
Seriously Lisa, call me.
mildretard
Phenostar
Posted 3:36 AM 5/9/08
@GeekyNerdGuy: seconded.
Phenostar
MrBabyMan
Posted 3:35 AM 5/9/08
Brian Lam + Ryan Block on a joint venture?! Satan better be ordering that overcoat.
Just kidding. Best of luck, Brian! Looking forward to gdgt!
MrBabyMan
Munch the BanNail
Posted 3:33 AM 5/9/08
Congrats, dude, and WOOHOO for MW reader meet-ups!
Munch the BanNail
MR OPTIMUS PRIME
Posted 3:31 AM 5/9/08
SO glad I got to meet you at BOTCON 2007
MR OPTIMUS PRIME
i BaldEagle
Posted 3:30 AM 5/9/08
Glad to see you're gonna lose the gut Blam. I didn't wanna say anything, but it was getting a bit out of control. As far as the other stuff goes, I hope you got a decent raise out of the deal.
i BaldEagle
Parapraxis
Posted 3:28 AM 5/9/08
Blam,
gonna miss your posts big time. But, hey, if it gives you more creative access, then go for it!
Just don't forget to keep in touch with us grunts, okay?
Parapraxis
praevalesco
Posted 3:26 AM 5/9/08
"and I don't want to reinvent the wheel when the wheels we have are from formula race cars."
Smells of blog aggregation in that analogy. I find it hard to believe that AOL and Gawker would go for that type of thing though.
praevalesco
Brian Lam
Posted 3:23 AM 5/9/08
Regarding GDGT, can't get into details, but it's not competitive with Gizmodo and Engadget. That would be nuts to try from scratch, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel when the wheels we have are from formula race cars.
Brian Lam
ps61318
Posted 3:22 AM 5/9/08
Under the title of "Unintended Consequences" when I first saw the name gdgt I immediately thought of Sandra Dee and Sally Fields. And going Hawaiian.
May you have success, health, wealth, and happiness, not one, but all of the above.
ps61318
nachobel
Posted 3:21 AM 5/9/08
I'm all about Voltron, fyi.
nachobel
reddingofish
Posted 3:21 AM 5/9/08
Hey,anything to make the Internet a better place for techies.
reddingofish
clashcityrockerkat
Posted 3:17 AM 5/9/08
Very pleased for you Brian, well done on the promotion, and the collaboration with Block and Rojas - looking forward to seeing what you're cooking up over there!
- Kat Hannaford.
clashcityrockerkat
RalphWiggum
Posted 3:17 AM 5/9/08
Damn, with the launch of Gdgt, does that mean I'll have to check three gadget blogs every day, rather than two?
I currently prefer Gizmodo to Engadget by leaps and bounds, and that's in very large part due to your efforts Brian. Thanks for creating such a wonderful site and being part of my daily ritual for the last few years.
RalphWiggum
praevalesco
Posted 3:15 AM 5/9/08
You and Block? Brian for the first time even I can officially say you have lost some of my respect. Hopefully you can help salvage his site with some fair journalism and keep him off the Apple hump-a-thon.
praevalesco
reddevil07
Posted 3:15 AM 5/9/08
Congrats Blam! Life is a long journey.
reddevil07
Burgundy Corningstone
Posted 3:13 AM 5/9/08
Brian, it sounds like you'll have time offer a service that I think Giz has been missing for a while... face-to-face gadget news. So you'll come by my office about 2pm (you know, in that after-lunch sleepy time when we're all on the web anyway) and we can just chat about gadgets and stuff for a while. Sounds delightful!
Seriously though, it sounds like this new direction is something you are excited about and something that will really take Giz to a new level. Congrats and good luck.
Burgundy Corningstone
strider_mt2k
Posted 3:13 AM 5/9/08
Here's hoping everything doesn't go to shit.
Which is to say that someone has big shoes to fill.
You will be missed.
strider_mt2k
ALT
Posted 3:13 AM 5/9/08
Damn man. Sounds like you are on to some crazy shit. Don't stop writing here, no matter what you do.
ALT
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 3:13 AM 5/9/08
I'm looking forward to understanding this gdgt thing better.
Former/current editors of Engadget and Gizmodo join together to create a third gadget blog while still remaining a part of their separate gadget blogs?
I feel like I'm missing some fundamental aspect of the business model here.
92BuickLeSabre
Brad
Posted 3:12 AM 5/9/08
Will you still contribute with regular articles every now and then?
Brad
GeekyNerdGuy
Posted 3:12 AM 5/9/08
So, first on the agenda, Houston meet-up?
GeekyNerdGuy
Hectorvex
Posted 3:11 AM 5/9/08
As long as you are getting a piece of that ad revenue - go for it. Good luck.
Hectorvex
lldsandsll
Posted 3:11 AM 5/9/08
I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!!
lldsandsll
Xavoc
Posted 3:09 AM 5/9/08
Buh bye now! =) It's been swell, but the swelling's gone down.
Seriously though, good luck.
Xavoc
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Posted 3:09 AM 5/9/08
I wish you luck with your new endeavors/duties. You built a fine ship here.
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
m4ximusprim3
Posted 3:56 AM 5/9/08
As long as the new (old?) guy keeps the irreverent humor factor high, i'll stick around. I will miss Lisa pics though.
Maybe a "Newbies guide to Lisa" editorial?
m4ximusprim3
Xavoc
Posted 3:48 AM 5/9/08
@92BuickLeSabre: It's like that time when wait, I can't think of a time... Oh right, it's like when that crazy Russian teams up with Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to save world from a giant meteor. They're still technically enemies, but they band together to both survive.
Xavoc
bosskev
Posted 3:42 AM 5/9/08
@Brian Lam: "Regarding GDGT, can't get into details, but it's not competitive with Gizmodo and Engadget."
So, ps61318 has it right...it won't be a GADGET blog, it will be a GIDGET blog! Can you say whether or not there will be a Flying Nun sister site?
Congrats, BLAM!
bosskev
laroi
Posted 3:39 AM 5/9/08
Brian, best wishes! Can't wait to see what's coming !
laroi
carsly
Posted 4:16 AM 5/9/08
$5 says Lam is going to start building a T1000 version of himself that he will send back in time to destroy the Engadget crew before they were even born. Thus begins a new chapter, "Terminator: The Gadget Blog Chronicles."
Seriously though, congratulations and looking forward to the deeper pieces and more user engagement.
carsly
apeguero
Posted 4:13 AM 5/9/08
Hey BLam, I'm sure if you and Ryan/Rojas can find a way to work productively on something together then the free world has hope that Russia and the US will also find common ground someday and become allies as well.
I'm sure this gdgt site will have some good stuff. I'm not sure about the name though. Anyway, I wanted to ask: what's next? Fanboy Leo will invite you to his all Apple, all the time, podcasts as a friendly commentator? You got our respect sir and I, sincerely, wish you the best of luck!
apeguero
Phishy
Posted 4:06 AM 5/9/08
Enjoy the new title!
Can't wait to see the new business card with the fancy new position. My suggestion is eggshell white, maybe a gold border. Something that says "Yes, I am important".
Congrats!
Phishy
Xavoc
Posted 4:03 AM 5/9/08
@m4xmsprm3: Nh, nw sh cn strt wrtng hr hrslf wtht wntng t kll BLm
Xavoc
Xavoc
Posted 4:23 AM 5/9/08
I was disemvoweled for suggesting she could write for giz? Sheesh.
Xavoc
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 4:57 AM 5/9/08
@Xavoc: *giggles*
@Kaiser-Machead: I know. It's all *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* today! I love it!
92BuickLeSabre
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 4:41 AM 5/9/08
God speed good sir, and may the Schwartz be with ya.
And now I must tremble at the might of alphabit-disassemble-ray.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Monty
Posted 5:16 AM 5/9/08
Thanks for ruining my day, Brian. So much for that fruit basket I was sending you.
Seriously - thank you for the amazing work you have done here.
Monty
btrotta
Posted 5:40 AM 5/9/08
Can't wait to see what the next evolution of the Giz is. But don't give up on trade show humps. I think some of your truest impressions of stuff come out of the excess and overload of the shows. You can tell when something like a tv looks like crap because you've seen a hundred other good ones that day. And, because you're overtired, and buzzed on jolt and Red Bull, you're nerves are so raw you'll actually call a piece of crap a piece of crap instead of a "less desireable alternative." Plus, you find the real niche-y kind of stuff you wouldn't find anywhere else.
So please, don't give up on the shows. But if you don't want to go but still want them covered, give me a call.
btrotta
Con Seannery
Posted 5:38 AM 5/9/08
@92BuickLeSabre: That's what forms when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, Gizmodo and Engadget are the objects.
congrats on the new job
Con Seannery
Brian Lam
Posted 6:15 AM 5/9/08
Thanks everyone, appreciate it. Make sure you welcome Chen in his post!
Brian Lam
Lock
Posted 6:15 AM 5/9/08
*applause*
Lock
mildretard
Posted 6:09 AM 5/9/08
I was just thinking of that episode of the office when Ryan got promoted.
Please let me keep my vowels.
mildretard
mcjake
Posted 6:37 AM 5/9/08
That sounds like a crazy nice direction to go in Blam. Congrats and good luck.
More Tahoe Ski Days!
mcjake