Jason Chen
Below we have an interview with Jason Chen, a Sr. Associate Editor with Gizmodo, one of the world’s largest gadget blogs and the 2nd Most Popular Blog on the Internet according to Technorati.
1. What are your main roles as Sr. Associate Editor of one of the biggest if not the biggest blog on the Internet?
My main roles are to write a set number of posts a day, plus a number of features a month. In addition to that I help manage other writers, as well as coordinate features and other activities for posting/features. That, and to make dirty jokes in our chat room.
2. What advice do you have for a blogger who is just beginning to work with a team of writers?
Do as they do. See how they interact with each other and follow their tone. Each site has its own quirks like how to spell certain terms and how they want links to be embedded. The important part here is to fit into the team. Make sure they know where your expertise is as well. Most blogging teams are small, so it’s important to utilize each writer’s skills to cover each other.
3. When did you get started blogging and do you do any other blogging besides your work at Gizmodo?
I started blogging years ago, but only started blogging at Gizmodo in early 2006. I’m not doing any serious blogging right now other than Gizmodo.
4. What are the qualities you admire most in a blogger?
I admire a blogger that’s fast, smart, and hard working. Those are the traits we look for when we hire new bloggers at Gizmodo. Blogging goes so much faster than other outlets, so you have to hit fast and you have to hit often. If you don’t blog every day, with X number of posts a day, you’re limiting your growth.
5. Gizmodo gets many companies to send them products to review. What advice do you have for the blogger with a somewhat large audience with regards to contacting companies for product reviews?
Just start writing companies and ask them if you can review their products. They’re usually pretty receptive to it.
6. What is the number one piece of advice you have for a blogger starting out?
Blog with humor and creativity. It doesn’t matter whether you’re starting a tax blog or a dog blog, if you put humor into your posts you’re going to get noticed–even by people who aren’t necessarily terribly into what your topic is about. Be creative and put a new spin on your ideas. Changes are there’s a blog out there doing what you’re doing. Do things different, and eventually you’ll be doing things better.
