On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.
The team that invented consumer technology news has now done it again with a technology social media.
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block joined forces years ago and launched the website: Engadget.com. Engadget quickly became the premier source for consumer technology news on the Internet. Its breaking news became the industry standard. Today, it is not uncommon for that site to post twenty times a day and have tech announcements far before main stream media or public relations firms do.
According to reports that I have heard, the site’s authors grew tired of the breakneck pace required to support a 24/7 news cycle on technology and two years ago they left the site in the hands of a very capable team that has even improved on their model even more. Engadget is simply awesome at covering tech… I read it daily.
But now to the big news — This week. the original publishers from Engadget launched GDGT (pronounced gadget). This is not a gadget news site, per se, but rather a portal that links gadget information, a sense of community, usage information, and something brand new: social media. They call it the world’s largest gadget database.
This is how they describe it:
gdgt (like "gadget" — or g-d-g-t) is a new kind of technology site — a social gadget platform that enables you to connect with the community through your gadgets, and connect with your gadgets through the community. It’s a place for you to engage with your devices and hang out with people who are as passionate about their gear as you are.
gdgt is all about providing you with useful, contextual information — both from here and around the web — to help you get more out of the products you already own, as well as help you discover that next great device to add to your collection. We hope that gdgt will be the last personal technology destination you’ll need, and the place to call home for you and your gadgets.
They even have a video that explains it featuring one of the stars of Tekzilla, Veronica Belmont, here.
If you watched the video or poked around the site you can see what all of the fuss is about. If you are an information professional or just a gadget user, then you have found a new home on the web. After creating an account and inputting your favorite electronic toys you will immediately be thrust into groups and communities of people with not just similar, but identical interests. Besides getting personalized, up to the minute news and tips, you will be able to carry on conversations for troubleshooting, best practices, and recommendations. This mash-up of technology with social interaction seems made in heaven for the Internet and Information Technology Professionals in particular.
I think that their model will quickly spread from gadgets to all manner of special interests, consumer groups, and hobbyists. This is the start of something very new and very interesting. I think that what Facebook was to social networking, the gdgt model will be to common interests.
I recommended that you give gdgt a try. Sign up and list your cellular phone and camera as your favorite gadgets and see what happens.
Here is a link to my home page on gdgt if you want to see what you end up with.
Enjoy… then start thinking how this model can be applied professionally to our Information Technology Management profession,
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 5, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Picture Credit: gdgt.com
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News Commentary: What GDGT.com Means to Information Technology Professionals
On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.
The team that invented consumer technology news has now done it again with a technology social media.
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block joined forces years ago and launched the website: Engadget.com. Engadget quickly became the premier source for consumer technology news on the Internet. Its breaking news became the industry standard. Today, it is not uncommon for that site to post twenty times a day and have tech announcements far before main stream media or public relations firms do.
According to reports that I have heard, the site’s authors grew tired of the breakneck pace required to support a 24/7 news cycle on technology and two years ago they left the site in the hands of a very capable team that has even improved on their model even more. Engadget is simply awesome at covering tech… I read it daily.
But now to the big news — This week. the original publishers from Engadget launched GDGT (pronounced gadget). This is not a gadget news site, per se, but rather a portal that links gadget information, a sense of community, usage information, and something brand new: social media. They call it the world’s largest gadget database.
This is how they describe it:
They even have a video that explains it featuring one of the stars of Tekzilla, Veronica Belmont, here.
If you watched the video or poked around the site you can see what all of the fuss is about. If you are an information professional or just a gadget user, then you have found a new home on the web. After creating an account and inputting your favorite electronic toys you will immediately be thrust into groups and communities of people with not just similar, but identical interests. Besides getting personalized, up to the minute news and tips, you will be able to carry on conversations for troubleshooting, best practices, and recommendations. This mash-up of technology with social interaction seems made in heaven for the Internet and Information Technology Professionals in particular.
I think that their model will quickly spread from gadgets to all manner of special interests, consumer groups, and hobbyists. This is the start of something very new and very interesting. I think that what Facebook was to social networking, the gdgt model will be to common interests.
I recommended that you give gdgt a try. Sign up and list your cellular phone and camera as your favorite gadgets and see what happens.
Here is a link to my home page on gdgt if you want to see what you end up with.
Enjoy… then start thinking how this model can be applied professionally to our Information Technology Management profession,
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 5, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Picture Credit: gdgt.com
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
This entry was posted by Scott Coughlin on July 5, 2009 at 8:10 am, and is filed under Information Technology, News Commentary. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.