As announced earlier, today is Joel's last day as editor of Gizmodo. During Joel's year and a half at the helm of the site, laughs were had, traffic soared, and Gizmodo won the 2005 Bloggie Award for Best Technology Weblog. Joel's ability to write amusingly about gadgetry and its discontents will not easily be replaced.
So what's next for Gizmodo? I'm dropping in for a bit in my role as managing editor of Gawker Media. John Biggs, who's been Joel's number two here for awhile, will continue our daily quest for shiny new toys as Gizmodo's news editor. Jaime Manzone, of Octopus Dropkick, joins us as Gizmodo's Japan correspondent. And, over the next few weeks, special guest stars will enliven the site; next week, Regine Debatty of WMMNA graces us with her presence.
We're looking to grow the Gizmodo team. If you're interested, check out the details after the jump. Gripes, suggestions, and pleas are also welcome to lock at gawker dot com.
I asked Joel if we could get him a gold watch as a retirement present. He declined, but did remind me of one long-held dream: to witness the death of the cyber-elf that peers down on us from above. So, on Monday, we're giving him his wish and debuting a new look for Gizmodo. See you then. —Lockhart Steele
GIZMODO HELP WANTED
Gawker Media is expanding its technology coverage, and is seeking to fill the following positions. All these roles are full-time, and paid accordingly, though we take a relaxed attitude towards external freelance.
What makes a good candidate? Immersion in the web — particularly blogs — is essential; traditional journalistic experience is optional, though no disqualification. We welcome recent graduates with flair and overweening ambition.
DESIGN WRITER, GIZMODO. For this position, we're looking for a design geek rather than a spec geek, and writing with wit rather than cubicle humor. But, let's face it, ultimately readers want to know whether the latest Sidekick is any good. And the successful candidate will have to care enough about that question.
NEWS WRITER, GIZMODO. As well as the softer design stories, Gizmodo is expanding its coverage of hard gadget news. The ideal candidate will be someone who tracks new products for fun, obsessively, as well as for work. That means a newsreader full of hundreds of smaller gadget sites. To the head of the queue: amateur hardware hackers.
WRITER, KOTAKU. Kotaku covers the computer game industry thoroughly, but misses out sometimes on the culture of computer games. We're looking for the kind of person who's reached levels in World of Warcraft that ordinary humans can only dream of. But can pull back enough to do some social observation.
THE RULES: No resumes. No attachments. Applications with either will be deleted unread. And please, for the love of God, no IMs. Instead, write a paragraph about yourself, and a paragraph describing your favorite gadget. Tell us what other gadget sites or publications you read regularly, and why you like (or dislike) them. And include the link to your blog, if you've got one.
Applications to Lockhart Steele at jobs at gizmodo dot com. Due to the volume of submissions, we can't respond to everyone individually, but we appreciate your interest. If we like what we see, we'll get back to you shortly.