GearCrave Interview: Jason Chen of Gizmodo.com

To call this guy “prolific” would be an understatement.  If you’ve visited Gizmodo in the past few years, you’ve seen his work– and likely a lot of it.  Its not the sheer volume of his work that makes him one of the web’s top bloggers, its the fun, humor and knowledge that fill each and every post he writes.  This success has led Jason Chen to a recent promotion– to editor of Gizmodo.com, the web’s most popular gadget news blog.  In congratulating him on his new digs, we sat down with Jason for an interview about gadgets, about blogging, and about life as a gadget blogger.  Continue reading below for the dirty details…

What is your name, occupation and favorite quote?

Jason Chen, Writer (currently Editor of Gizmodo), and one of my favorite quotes of all time is from David X. Cohen of Futurama:

“The operating principle of Futurama was that you can do a joke that 1 percent of the audience gets, as long as it doesn’t derail the enjoyment of the mass audience,” Cohen says. “And that 1 percent becomes a fan for life.”

For those that are either sleeping under a rock, blind or Amish, what is Gizmodo?

Gizmodo is a gadget blog that focuses on being a tech site that’s readable, informative, entertaining and fun to visit. We’re basically your friend who you go to when you have a question about tech, who will always give it to you straight no matter what the subject is.

How long have you worked with Gizmodo?  How many posts have you written?  Do you have four hands?

I’ve worked at Gizmodo for two and a half years, written about 6666 posts, and wish I have four hands so I could blog AND play games at the same time. Or maybe four eyes so I could look at two screens at once.

You.  Brian Lam.  Mullets.  Who wins at Rock Band?

Mullets win, of course, but I’d come in a close second. You can’t beat mullets at playing any Bon Jovi song.

What were your aspirations early in life?  Did you imagine yourself as the editor of the leading tech publication on the web?

I had many aspirations early in life, from being an entertainer, to a philosopher, to a computer programmer, to an actor. Of course I was five years old and didn’t know what any of these things were, but in no way did I imagine myself as being the editor of anything except the Drool Club for Kids. As you can imagine, their readership is low since the publication gets quite soggy.

If you weren’t working as a blogger/editor, what would Jason Chen be doing as a career?

I would either be a software engineer and hating it, or be broke trying to get on the staff writing for a great TV show. Who knows, that might be what I’ll be doing 10 years from now.

What is your favorite part about writing for Gizmodo?  What is your least favorite part about being a blogger/writer/editor?

The favorite part of writing for Gizmodo is the freedom to write pretty much however we want, as long as it’s concise and gets the point across. It’s a very good way for me to express myself in ways other avenues like watching TV don’t allow. (The TV rarely gives feedback.) My least favorite part of being all those things is the travel. There’s a reason why we bloggers love working at home.

What is your favorite mobile phone on the market today?  Difficulty: aside from the iPhone.

Wow, this is difficult. The iPhone 3G! Ha. No, my favorite would probably have to be some kind of smartphone, so either an Android phone, which is not quite on the market, or one of the nicer Windows Mobile phones like the Touch HD or the Touch Pro.

The OS of the future: Mac or Linux?

Mac, just for the theory that paying someone to do something will get better results from them than having them do it for free. Nothing against Linux and open source in general, it’s going to take years and years before they get their UI and usability to the state where your parents are comfortable with it.

The best video game of 2008?  Difficulty: aside from GTAIV

I’d have to say Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s one of the only ones that really got me hooked this year. Lots of winners in 2007, but nothing spectacular so far in 2008. The holiday lineup looks pretty damn good though.

What is your favorite post on Gizmodo of all time?

That’s like asking me to choose which one of my six thousand babies I like the most. I don’t know if this is my favorite now, but this post about the Japanese Wii Manual back in 2006 was one of my favorites for a long time. I often find and read old posts on Gizmodo, laugh, then feel weird when I realize it was one of my own posts I wrote a long time ago.  (p.s. 500 of those babies are probably pretty awful)

Thanks for talking with us, Jason.  Here’s to 6,666 more posts…  just try to spread that out over a few years!  GearCravers, if you don’t already read Gizmodo regularly, you are sorely missing out.  Head on over and pay them a visit.