On July 15th, 2002, the first post went live on Gizmodo. Say, that was ten years ago exactly. Happy birthday to us!
In the summer of '02, Gizmodo's founding editor, Pete Rojas was writing about things that are quaint to the point of hilarity from up here on 2012's high horse. iPod support for windows had finally arrived. We posted a laser printer roundup. We were eager for the debut of the Roomba. We wondered "Where Are All the FMP3 Players?" Now I'm not sure we even know what that meant. Apparently they never arrived.
Today, starting with that little iPod, Apple has put many of the companies we once wrote about out of business and become the king of consumer electronics, Google makes computers you wear on your face and provides everyone with free email, and you can hook yourself up with pretty much every movie, TV show, and piece of music ever created over the Internet—to a small, thin computer you hold in your hands, if you'd like. We're living in a present that would've made Gizmodo 2002's eyes bulge. This gadgety present has its problems, its complexities, and its frustrations, but above all its a time of awe and enjoyment.
Like any halfway decent birthday party, we're glad to be able to look up at those around us and see friendly faces (that means you!) reading along and discussing this stuff with us. The Gizmodo team has changed again and again over the past decade, but the spirit of amazement and fun we find every day won't ever, so before we all start choking up, let's dig into this next decade. But be warned: there's a good chance you'll be wearing a computer on your face by the end of it.
As a matter of clarification: The Gizmodo that started publishing in July was not live. These early posts were just frontloading—a common practice wherein you fill your coffers with content so new visitors don't show up to a site with like two stories on it. So even though we started publishing in July, we'll be celebrating our birthday in Augsust. Stay tuned!
For now, we'd like to acknowledge all the people who brought us to where we are today, from our founding fathers—Gawker Publisher Nick Denton and founding editor Peter Rojas—through the five EICs we've had along the way, to the interns who help us every single day: We love you guys and are thankful for all the work you've put into the site.
Get ready for one hell of a party in August.
Photo: John Minihan/Hulton Archive