Ryan Block

AOL Confirms Tim Stevens as New Engadget Editor in Chief

Kara Swisher in News on April 4, 2011 at 7:08 am PT

As BoomTown reported earlier, AOL has confirmed that Tim Stevens (pictured here as Speed Racer) will replace Josh Topolsky as Editor-in-Chief of Engadget. Stevens has been working at the site since 2007, most recently as its automotive editor and also–until recently–part time. The appointment comes as eight former staffers at the giant tech news site said they were joining together to create a competing gadget site.

BoomTown on TWiT: You Can't Say No to Oprah!

Kara Swisher in News on October 1, 2010 at 10:29 am PT

No, you may not, and that’s what I said on Leo Laporte’s terrific “This Week in Tech” online show last Sunday about why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his recent $100 million donation to schools in Newark, New Jersey, on the same day as the splashy Hollywood movie–”The Social Network”–eviscerating him premiered. Because the powerful television talk show host wanted him on that week, since she was focusing on education reform! And what Oprah Winfrey wants, Oprah Winfrey gets–which is pretty much my motto for life. Here’s the video.

Gdgt Raises New Financing with New Concept

Jessica E. Vascellaro, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on April 7, 2010 at 7:40 am PT

Is there room for another Web site for gadget lovers? Peter Rojas, 35, and Ryan Block, 27, veterans of tech blogs Gizmodo and Engadget, think so. Last year, they launched gdgt, a new take on a discussion forum for gadget lovers.

BoomTown Turns TWiT Again and Talks About the Apple iPad Launch, Paywalls and Whither Embargoes

Kara Swisher in News on April 5, 2010 at 9:00 am PT

BoomTown just made it through the snow-choked Donner Pass in the Sierras of Northern California, so excuse my laxity in posting this episode of “This Week in Tech,” the very fine Leo Laporte-helmed online chitchat tech show done on Sundays. It has a lot going on, including predictions about the Apple iPad launch, online content paywalls and a lively debate related to the Twitter fracas over embargoes.

Gadget Gods Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Finally Unveil their Newest Gadget Site: Gdgt. Get it?

Peter Kafka in Media on July 1, 2009 at 11:00 am PT

Does the world need another gadget site? Yes, say two of the gadget world’s biggest stars, who are launching gdgt.com today. The site is the work of Peter Rojas, who helped build Gizmodo and Engadget, and Ryan Block, who took the torch from Rojas after he moved on. Gizmodo and Engadget are the best known and most powerful of the new generation of gadget sites, which makes Rojas and Block revered by the gadget gang and able to cobble together funding. But they’re still taking on a very crowded field.