Gizmodo

Gizmodo
Type of site
Design, technology, science, science fiction, blog
Available in English, French, Dutch, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese
Country of origin United States
Owner Univision Communications
Created by Peter Rojas
Editor Kelly Bourdet
Website gizmodo.com
Alexa rank Decrease 492 (Global, July 2018)
Commercial Yes
Registration Optional
Launched July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)[1]
Current status Active

Gizmodo (/ɡɪzˈmd/ giz-MOH-doh) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website that also features articles on politics. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. Gizmodo also includes the subsite io9, which focuses on science fiction and futurism.

Most of Gawker Media was however purchased by Univision Communications in August 2016. Gizmodo was one of six websites in that acquisition, and is now considered the flagship website in the Gizmodo Media Group,[2] which in turn is part of Univision's Fusion Media Group division.

History

The blog, launched in 2002, was originally edited by Peter Rojas, who was later recruited by Weblogs, Inc. to launch their similar technology blog, Engadget. By mid-2004, Gizmodo and Gawker together were bringing in revenue of approximately $6,500 per month.[3]

In 2005, VNU and Gawker Media formed an alliance to republish Gizmodo across Europe, with VNU translating the content into French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and adding local European-interest material.[4]

In 2006, Gizmodo Japan was launched by Mediagene, with additional Japanese contents.

In April 2007, Allure Media launched Gizmodo Australia, under license from Gawker Media and incorporating additional Australian content.[5]

In November 2007, the Dutch magazine license was taken over by HUB Uitgevers.

In September 2008, Gizmodo Brazil was launched with Portuguese content.[6]

In September 2011, Gizmodo UK was launched with Future, to cover British news.[7]

In February 2011, Gizmodo underwent a major redesign.[8]

In 2013, Matt Novak and he moved his Paleofuture blog to Gizmodo from Smithsonian.[9]

In 2015, the Gawker blog io9 was merged into Gizmodo. The staff of io9 continued with Gizmodo and continued to post articles on subjects covered by the website, including science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and astronomy.[10]

Gizmodo was one of six websites that was purchased by Univision Communications in their acquisition of Gawker Media in August 2016, and is now considered the flagship website in the Gizmodo Media Group.[2]

Coverage

A Gizmodo blogger captured the first photos from the floor of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007,[11] and according to Reuters, journalists at the (simultaneous) Macworld debated whether Gizmodo or Engadget had the better live coverage of Steve Jobs' 2007 keynote.[12]

Controversy

TV-B-Gone

Richard Blakeley, a videographer for Gizmodo's publisher, Gawker Media, disrupted several presentations held at CES in 2008.[13][14] Blakely secretly turned off TVs using TV-B-Gone remote controls, resulting in his being barred from CES 2008, and any future CES events.

iPhone 4 prototype

In April 2010, Gizmodo came into possession of what was later known to be a prototype of the iPhone 4 smartphone by Apple.[15] The site purchased the device for US$5,000 from Brian J. Hogan, who found it unattended at a bar in Redwood City, California, a month earlier.[16][17] UC Berkeley student Sage Robert, an acquaintance of Hogan, allegedly helped him sell the phone after failing to track down the owner. With Apple confirming its provenance, bloggers such as John Gruber and Ken Sweet speculated that this transaction may have violated the California Penal Code.[18][19]

On April 26, after Gizmodo returned the iPhone to Apple, upon Apple's request, California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team executed a search warrant on editor Jason Chen's home and seized computers, hard drives, servers, cameras, notes, and a file of business cards, under direction from San Mateo County’s Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe.[17][20][21] Since then, Gizmodo and the prosecution have agreed that a special master will review the contents of the items seized and determine if they contain relevant information.[22][23] Gizmodo was since barred from Apple-hosted events and product launches until August 2014, when they were invited once again to Apple's September 2014 "Wish we could say more" event.[24]

See also

References

  1. "Gizmodo.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". WHOIS. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Calderone, Michael (August 18, 2016). "Gawker.com Ending Operations Next Week". The Huffington Post.
  3. Greg Lindsay (June 1, 2004). "What Makes Nick Tick? The smartest publisher in the blogosphere says there's no money online. So why doesn't anyone believe him?". Business 2.0. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
  4. "VNU to Publish Gawker's Gizmodo Blog in Europe". MarketingVOX. October 7, 2005. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
  5. "Gizmodo Australia". Gizmodo.com.au. August 9, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  6. "Gizmodo Brazil". Gizmodo.com.br. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  7. "Gizmodo to launch in the UK". Guardian.com. August 31, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  8. This Is the New Gizmodo, Gizmodo.com
  9. "The Paleofuture Blog Has Moved to Gizmodo". Smithsonian. May 30, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  10. Ingram, Mathew. "Gawker Media merging Gizmodo and io9 teams into a tech super-hub". GigaOM. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  11. Schofield, Jack (January 7, 2007). "Gizmodo claims first blood at CES 2007". The Guardian. London.
  12. "Apple's iPhone steals spotlight from rival tech show". Reuters. January 10, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  13. Needleman, Rafe (January 10, 2008). "Bloggers behaving badly: Gizmodo messes with CES flat screens". Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  14. Lam, Brian (January 10, 2008). "Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES". Retrieved January 11, 2008.
  15. Helft, Miguel; Bilton, Nick (April 19, 2010). "For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  16. "Man who found — and sold — the missing iPhone unmasked". Today in Tech. Yahoo News. April 29, 2010. Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  17. 1 2 Lundin, Leigh (May 2, 2010). "The Fourth Estate, The Death of Journalism". Newsworthy. Criminal Brief.
  18. Sweet, Ken (April 19, 2010). "Gizmodo paid for iPhone 4G: so are they receivers of stolen goods?". Technology Blog. London: The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  19. "Legal, Eh?". April 20, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  20. Sutter, John (April 26, 2010). "Police seize computers from Gizmodo editor". SciTechBlog. CNN. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  21. Calderone, Michael (April 26, 2010). "Silicon Valley cops raid Gizmodo editor's home, take four computers". The Newsroom. Yahoo News. Archived from the original on May 3, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  22. Lundin, Leigh (June 13, 2010). "Prosecutor in Search of a Crime?". Newsworthy. Criminal Brief.
  23. Myslewski, Rik (June 4, 2010). "Search begins on seized Gizmodo journo kit". Der Ring des Gizmodophonelungen. San Francisco, California: The Register.
  24. "Apple's iPhone Event Will Be Sept 9th (And We'll Be There)". Newsworthy. Gizmodo. August 28, 2014.
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