GeekSugar

How To Celebrate 'Embrace Your Geekiness Day'

GeekSugar — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:00:58 -0700

Little known fact, today is national Embrace Your Geekiness Day. That's right people, it's one day of the year we geeks are told to embrace all the character traits that make us so special. I'm talking about those gadget-loving, internet-sleuthing, all knowing qualities. Here is my list of things you must do today in honor of the holiday.

Egosurf: In case you don't know, egosurfing is the act of searching for one's own name, or online nickname, using any search engine. This helps you keep track of your online identity and will undoubtedly produce a couple of laughs. Look for images, news articles and whatever web junk you can find.
Clean Your Inbox: It's not fun, but cleansing improves everyone's mood. Archive all the good stuff and dump the junk.
Harry Potter: If you haven't seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix you better direct your Nimbus 2000 to the theater. Don't forget to take some Butterbeer with you. (If you're over 21 try the cold recipe!)

For the rest of the list, read more

IM: Instant messenger has been keeping computer-minded types in contact for a good decade. If you've outgrown your instant messenger log on just for today and say hello to your real and virtual friends.
Use Office Slang: If you haven't already it's time to introduce a little Office Slang into your vocabulary. You have to make the Cubicle Farm entertaining some how.

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Geeks We Love: Doug Aamoth of CrunchGear

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:06:23 -0800

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we're kicking off our third annual Geeks We Love interview series to showcase some of the most talented and loved tech writers in the industry. And who better to get things under way, than the charming Doug Aamoth, who spends most of his days reviewing high-tech gadget goods for CrunchGear? I had the pleasure of meeting Doug at the HTC Touch Diamond Event in London last year, and found him to be very much the way he comes across in his work - passionate and knowledgeable about technology, and a really great guy with an addictive sense of humor. By the end of this interview, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about - enjoy!

GS: Considering you're the king of product reviews, what types of gadgets are you most excited to take for a test drive?

DA: I'll review just about anything, but I really like to take a look at stuff that has some sort of technological slant to it instead of being a full-fledged technology product. Basically, if I think it's something that would be interesting to other geeks, I'll review it. We get some pretty good response from stuff like the Penguin Home Soda Machine and a little four dollar keychain breathalyzer that also has a built-in stopwatch and flashlight. Of course, right? Every breathalyzer should have a stopwatch just in case you want to have an emergency footrace outside the bar before you figure out if you're okay to drive home.

As far as "real" technology products go, I'm really enjoying this netbook craze right now. I think it'll get much better, too, once Intel sees some more competition from AMD, NVIDIA, and VIA. Other than that, I also really like reviewing things that make people's lives easier. The simpler the better. Oh, and energy drinks. I love taste-testing energy drinks.

To learn more about Doug, including his "ah-ha" moment and his thoughts on technology and dating, read more

GS: What's the most outrageous and hilarious gadget that's arrived on your doorstep?

DA: I think that one of the best reviews I've done was for a product that never showed up. I spent a few days waiting for the new Flip Mino to arrive, at first thinking it would be here on a Tuesday morning, then being told Wednesday instead, then getting a press release envelope but no camera on Thursday, and finally having it show up Friday morning after all our competitors had gotten theirs on Wednesday. It wasn't really that big of a deal but I thought it'd be funny to chronicle the event as though it were an episode of The Office.

Aside from that, the most outrageous review would definitely be for a product called FyreTV, which is a set-top box that streams, um, "non-traditional" video. It's weird because it's basically a review just like any other. We rarely look at the media content for set-top boxes, but more at the actual hardware and how well it handles streaming. So for the FyreTV review it was like, "Here's the box, here are the connections, here's the remote, it streams stuff really quickly, and the video quality is pretty good. Oh, whoops, sorry I had to blur everything out and block the camera with my hand at certain points but you get the idea."

GS: Describe one of the most memorable moments of your career thus far. . .

DA: I had an "a-ha" moment about six months into my career when I was at this Acer conference in Spain. It was my first real work trip and I postponed my own bachelor party to go to it. I remember getting into this big conference hall with a bunch of other reporters, and sitting down at this long table with my laptop and my voice recorder waiting for the presentation to begin. I looked around and thought to myself, "This is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I love this stuff." I've had over 30 jobs in my lifetime (I get kind of restless) but I finally felt pretty calm for the first time.

In retrospect, I wouldn't have moved my bachelor party for a work trip but at the time I didn't know how often an opportunity like that Acer conference would come around. Turns out, it was a lot. It was still a great experience, though. Singing White Wedding at CES this year was pretty cool, too.

Also, any time I meet someone that I used to read before I started blogging is always really cool. Every person I meet always looks at me weird when I tell them I'm a big fan of theirs or that they're like a hero to me. I used to read tech blogs and magazines and think "Man, that would be the best job." Now that I'm actually doing it, I still haven't forgotten that feeling. I consider myself to be really fortunate.

GS: How geeky is your significant other? Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home?

DA: My wife is probably about a three out of ten on the geekiness scale. She's not into tech stuff whatsoever, but she'll think some of the things I tell her about and some of the products I show her are cool. So she's definitely not against technology and she's pretty savvy with the stuff she uses on a daily basis. She does NOT like all the boxes we have around the house, but I can't blame her for that. It gets pretty out of hand sometimes.

I handle all the IT administration and technical support in the Aamoth household. Interestingly enough, I've been terrible about picking a good cell phone for my wife. I got her the LG Chocolate a few years ago and she didn't like it. Then I recommended the Samsung Glyde and between the non-responsive touchscreen and the poor reception, it's really been a terrible device as far as our relationship goes. One of these days, though, I'm going to pick out a good phone for her. It's just tough being in the doghouse for two whole years while we wait for her contract to come up for renewal!

GS: In the new movie He's Just Not That Into You, Drew Barrymore's character has the following to say about technology and dating:

"I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, and so I called him at home, and he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think technology makes dating more complicated?

DA: Sure, I can see technology complicating things for people who don't embrace it. As someone who's into all this stuff, though, the thought of having seven different technologies that don't synchronize with one another is mortifying to me. I have a single Grand Central phone number that forwards to any other phones I might currently be using and my various e-mail addresses all funnel into a single Gmail account.

It's funny, though, because people will be like, "Give me your cell phone number, I can never get a hold of you at your work number," and I'll try to explain that my work, home, and cell phone numbers all forward to the same place. So they'll leave a voicemail on what they think is my home number saying that they'll try me on my cell, which leads to them leaving the same message in the same voicemail system two minutes later. Same thing with email: the same message three times to three different email accounts.

I think just starting to date someone would be really weird nowadays with Facebook and Twitter and everything. Do you friend this person right away or what? Is there a rule as to how many dates you go on before you can friend someone? And it'd be super weird if you were dating someone for a little bit and then they told you they were getting too busy with work or whatever, and then all of a sudden you see their status change on their profile and you see photos of them with someone else and all that. My buddy told me he watched his little brother's relationship with his girlfriend fall apart over Facebook, which seems totally surreal to me. That's what happens now, though, I guess. Everyone has access to everyone else's private lives with all the social networking stuff.

I'm really apprehensive to admit this but a former girlfriend and I actually broke up over AIM once. And we'd been seeing each other for a long time - like a couple years. We'd been living together in Seattle and I'd moved home to Minneapolis and I think we were both kind of ready to move on, so the mutuality of it made everything easier. I don't think most breakups would work that well over AIM but if you're both pretty much on the same page and it's going to be a relatively clean breakup because you both want the same thing, then it actually kinda works. Weird, huh?

GS: Now for the lightning round!
Mac or PC? DA: PC
iPhone or BlackBerry? DA: I love my T-Mobile G1 but I'd take a BlackBerry. I need a real, physical keyboard.
MySpace or Facebook? DA: Facebook (as the lesser of two evils).
iPod or Zune? DA: I really like my iPod Touch.
The Hills or Gossip Girl? DA: I've never seen Gossip Girl, but The Hills is absolutely, positively, 100 percent the bane of my existence. My wife has to watch it in our bedroom with the door closed or when I'm not around because the way the brats on that show talk is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. So Gossip Girl.
Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? DA: Bill Gates. His acting in the Seinfeld Microsoft commercials was mesmerizing.
Picasa or Flickr? DA: Picasa. Great example of a desktop app working harmoniously "in the cloud."
Texting or Emailing? DA: Email. I like the cost better.
WiFi or Wired? DA: I'll borrow from a golf saying here and say WiFi for show, Wired for dough.
Pac Man or Space Invaders? DA: Pac Man, preferably Ms. Pac Man.
Star Wars or Star Trek? DA: Star Wars
Laptop or Desktop? DA: Ouch. That's like Sophie's Choice. I have both and could never part with either of them.
The Bachelor or the Bachelorette? DA: ABC should cut out the fluff and have them marry each other. I mean, they're both looking for the same thing, right? Set them up together and spare us all from having to sit through it.
Coffee or Tea? DA: Monster Low Carb energy drink. Coffee will do in a pinch, though.

Love 2.0: Pete Mortensen and Kimra McPherson

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:00:59 -0800

As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other.

If loving the internet, pop culture and Macs is wrong, Pete Mortensen and Kimra McPherson don’t want to be right. He’s an innovation strategy consultant, and renowned Cult of Mac blogger and she is an editor on the world famous BuzzSugar team. When the couple isn’t playing Wii sports or hiking Half Dome they can be found in their San Francisco apartment making messes while learning to cook, building up their netflix queue and keeping their two cats off their keyboards. And of course blogging, lots and lots of blogging. What geeky things do these two love about each other and life? read more

Geek-ground
Peter has spent the last two years covering Apple freelance for Wired and on the Cult of Mac blog. He also works for Jump Associates, a firm that helps clients unlock growth and create cultures of innovation. "I broke into blogging by sending Wired a blind cover letter with pitches," says Peter. "I’d been a Mac obsessive for about a decade before-hand, though, so I had a few things on my mind in advance." Kimra made her first Web site when she was 15 and has been on the Internet in various ways ever since, most recently as an editor for Buzzsugar.

Geeksugar: Let's start simple. What’s the geekiest thing about yourself:
He says: I was complaining just the other night that my experiment to learn twice as much on my morning train commute by listening to podcasts while reading books seemed to be failing, because I wasn’t retaining information from either source. Read that sentence again. Then get me some help.
She says: I’m currently chronicling the year between my 25th birthday and my 26th birthday by taking a photo every day and posting them all on flickr. If you ever wanted to know what the inside of my purse looked like on January 26, well, now you can.

Geeksugar: What’s the geekiest thing about your significant other:
He says: I think Kimra has actually got every personal blog on the internet as part of her RSS roll. I like to believe I get a pretty rich survey of everything the web has to offer, but then I see what she’s reading and recognize how small my world can be.
She says: The amount of information he knows about Apple is, frankly, a little scary. He might not remember shopping lists or flight departure times, but I’m sure he could tell you the names and personal histories of every key person who worked on the original Macintosh. He also “accidentally” impulse-bought a Nintendo Wii on eBay, so that’s a close second.

Geeksugar: How and when did you meet your significant other?
She says: We met in college, when he was my editor at our weekly campus magazine. We were also both college radio DJs, which is geeky enough in itself.
He says: This is 100 percent true. Though we didn’t start dating until well after we were both out of school.

Geeksugar: What are your top 5 favorite gadgets:
He says: My iPod shuffle (clip style, of course! I really want an orange one, now). My HDTV. Its picture is great, and it’s a Westinghouse, which makes me feel like it’s 1956 in the living room. My Nintendo DS Lite. My Powerbook G4 12”. His name is Malimikigio, which is Esperanto for “You are the enemy.” I got the name from liner notes of Radiohead’s “OK Computer.” Hmm… that might actually be the geekiest thing about me. Except that my iPod shuffle is named “L’il Malky.” That could be. Kimra’s dustbuster Scorpion with the extender nozzle. It almost makes cleaning up kitty litter fun. Almost.
She says: My 80 gig iPod, my iDog, my Blackberry Pearl, Pete’s Nintendo DS Lite (Brain Age has the best Sudoku game ever) and my iMic, for transferring my old high school mix tapes to mp3.

Geeksugar: What are the top 5 luxury gadgets you really want:
He says: The iPhone. Someone else can handle the service charges. A MacBook Pro, though I probably want the next generation of processors to roll through before that. If you’re paying, though, the current version’s fine. Noise-canceling headphones. Sennheiser makes some good ones. A Toyota Prius. Though what I really want is a hybrid Mini Cooper, if they’d ever get around to making it. A USB Missile Launcher. For attacks. Stealthy ones.
She says: Some really nice earphones, the iPhone, the Nike+iPod kit. I know the kit’s cheap, but I count it as a luxury because I don’t already have a Nano. I also don’t run, but that’s beside the point, right? Clocky! I can’t really justify spending $50 on an alarm clock that doesn’t also play music, except that it would run away from me when I hit snooze. A Nabaztag rabbit. Maybe my iDog’s lonely, OK?

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a…
He says: A Kaypro II. I swear I didn’t make that name up. It had a built-in green screen and couldn’t render graphics other than letters and numbers. We had an awesome fake Donkey Kong game called Ladder for it where you were a capital P that ran away from lower-case o’s and hopped over vertical carrot characters. My brother was way better at it than me. Thanks to the internet, I can play it again now. Check it out!
She says: An Apple IIe that my family kept many, many years past its prime.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites?
He says: yourmomsbasement.com, thevhive.com, daringfireball.net, core77.com, track50.com, crooksandliars.com, www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html
She says: televisionwithoutpity.com, shelterrific.com, flickr.com, 43things.com, tomatonation.com, track50.com, catsinsinks.com, postsecret.blogspot.com

Geeksugar: What is your Valentine’s Day plan?
He says: We’ve got a reservation at one of our favorite restaurants, Sauce. They’re doing a pretty amazing price-fixed four-course menu for the occasion. It’s awesome. It’s a Wednesday. Then, on a weekend not too much later, we’ll head down on Saturday to Big Sur – site of one of our earliest really significant dates, and an area we haven’t visited in almost two years.
She says: All of that is completely true.

Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home?
She says: We pretty much decide together while braving the piles of merchandise in Best Buy.
He says:Yep.

Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home?
She says: Oh, he does. Definitely. He networked everything and thus must deal with my phone calls asking inane questions about how to work the VCR.
He says: It’s cute that she calls the AV set-up a network. It’s not, but the fact that I could explain why it isn’t is way too geeky to even cover here.

Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone?
He says: If I start making a lot more money, I’d love one. HINT. I also would need to leave T-Mobile, which I’m not actually eager to do.
She says: If I can ever get out of my Sprint contract, I would; they own my soul for several more years.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek”?
He says: It’s fine. I think I bristle a little bit at nerd, though. I could be wrong. I have a close friend who thinks geek is more insulting than nerd. But then, he’s not really a geek. I think the only reason he uses a computer instead of a typewriter is that I tricked him into it.
She says: I definitely embrace it. Life just wouldn’t be the same without my Dashboard widgets and my Wired magazine subscription.

Geeksugar: What has been your better half's greatest contribution to the tech/blog industry – don’t be modest
He says: “She helped bring the BuzzReel into the world.”
She says: He, his Cult of Mac readers and Claire Danes raised $15,000 through Donors Choose so teachers could fund Mac-related classroom projects. He also put his body on the line to taste-test the Jones Soda Holiday Collection so we don’t have to.

Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day?
He says: I’m not even sure how to measure this anymore. Even when I’m not online, I have GMail open, and I read each message as it comes in. Let’s call it a good 10 hours and not probe too much more.
She says: All of my working hours, and a large number of my leisure hours. Probably 12? Wow, I feel kind of dirty now.

Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day?
He says: As much as I do. Possibly more. My day job sometimes requires me to put the computer down, which is both a blessing and a curse.
She says: He uses the computer as much as I do at home but slightly less at work. So 10 hours sounds about right, I suppose.

Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit?
He says: Hitting refresh on sites I like that are just not actually going to update in the next five seconds. I probably waste a good hour a day just revisiting sites and message boards I’ve already skimmed in hopes they’ll offer me something new. It’s sad.
She says: I’m way too easily distracted on the Internet. For example, I started answering this question 15 minutes ago, but then I decided I needed to go see if some of my old favorite Web sites that I hadn’t visited in a while had RSS feeds, and then I started following the links on their blogrolls, and suddenly I was reading the entire archives of a blog I’d never heard of before. So yeah, that.

Geeksugar: Are you the “Beauty” or the “Geek” in the relationship?
He says: I’m totally the geek. Kimra’s really beautiful, and, crucially, is nowhere near as dorky as I am when it comes to understanding how technology works, not just what it can do for her. Plus, I know the name of the woman who created all the icons for the original Mac. (Susan Kare! She’s great!) Um…yeah.
She says: Not that Pete’s not attractive, but I’m going to have to claim the title of Beauty here – I can only dream of someday reaching his level of Geekiness.

Geeky Girl We Love: Gina Hughes

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:30:09 -0700

Words like "geek," "techie" and "diva" can drum up some nasty stereotypes, but Gina Hughes, the Chief Editor and Founder of TechieDiva, seems to embody only the sugar-sweet aspects of each and her site is anything but diva-driven. Like geeksugar, TechieDiva showcases fun gadgets, iPods, cell phones as well as practical services and killer applications. We fell for Gina because of her inherent ability to merge technology and style and her aptitude for keeping us entertained and coming back for more everyday. Turns out she's a karaoke fan (big props here!) and she thinks Gizmodo's Jason Chen is a dead sexy geek...following her hubby of course. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Gina: Soon after my four-year tour in the Marine Corps ended, I moved to Austin, TX where I worked as a Web Designer for several years. Colleagues introduced me to blogging, mainly to learn the code, but I ended up creating my first business blog in 2003. I launched Techie Diva in 2005 all by myself, mainly to stay up-to-date on the latest technology out there. Blogging has opened up many doors for me, including the opportunity to write a column for Yahoo! Tech which has really exposed me to a broader audience, and gives me the opportunity to help tech novices around the world. I love it!

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Gina: Anyone who blogs for a living, might as well say good bye to any kind of social life they had. It can become an unhealthy obsession! I completely shut off my
computer on weekends to get my weekly overdose of Vitamin D playing tennis, running, biking, hiking, or golfing. I also enjoy watching foreign movies, playing
board games (yes, board games), shopping, playing guitar and guitar hero, reading, entertaining friends, and chilling out with my hubby. My geeky hobbies have me slaving away on the computer editing home movies, digitizing my photo collection, burning DVDs of old home videos, and helping my friends and family with any techie needs. I try to change things up all the time, and love to try anything at least once.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Gina: I refuse to spend any time on the computer on weekends - that's my time. But during the week, I can literally spend 12-15 hours a day online - and it feels
more like a guilty pleasure than work! I have to remind myself to take breaks often, since sitting down all that time can be really bad for your back. I started doing some yoga to stretch out the muscles. It works great.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Gina: A very old and slow one, that I'm quite embarrassed to talk about. I was a poor student at the time, and it was within my budget. But ask me about my computer
now...(cough) Macbook.

Geeksugar: What are three luxurious things you've featured on your site that you really want?
Gina: I want them all! I wouldn't mind a Vertu Phone, Muiro iPod Robot, and the NailJet Pro, since I'm terrible at doing my own nails.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites/websites that inspire you?
Gina: I tend to visit design and celebrity gossip blogs to break up the monotony. My favorite eye-candy blogs are Coolhunting.com, TheCoolhunter.net, Design Sponge, Treehugger.com, Digg.com, Blogher.org, and Valleywag.

Geeksugar: What is your greatest techie luxury in life?
Gina: My car. I drive an Acura RL with GPS, Bluetooth, voice recognition, satellite radio, iPod connections, keyless entry, gosh you name it. That thing can do just about anything, but park itself, but I hear that's coming soon. I also feel really guilty about having a swanky 40" 1080P Sony Bravia in my office so I can watch Oprah. That TV is insane!

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Gina: Over 500 feeds! I don't visit them on a daily basis, but I do visit them at least weekly.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Gina: The warm weather has motivated me to start working out again, so these days I try to exercise early in the morning or sometime in the afternoon. After the occasional A.M. workout, my day starts out by checking email, IM, posts on my blogs, reply to email, review products, do a little video blogging, go through my RSS feeds, and write up my daily posts on Yahoo! Tech and Techie Diva. After that, I take a long TV break to catch up on my TiVo programming, then I'm back on the computer blogging before I go to bed. Pretty boring, which is why sometimes I hit the bar during happy hour, and on Thursdays happy hour turns into Karaoke night. A girl's gotta have some fun.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Gina:

Mr. Hughes- my daily inspiration and great all around geek.
Chris Null - The man is funny and smart. Funny is the new sexy.
Jason Chen - Any guys who sticks electronics down his pants is pretty damn sexy.
Ricky Montalvo - Ricky is bringing technosexual back!
Sergey Brin ( in drag) - Need I say more?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Gina: There are so many sexy geeky ladies out there, and I wish I could list them all here. Sexy geeky women are a combo of brains, humor, fearlessness, and inspiration. I think these five ladies fit the bill right now.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Gina: I love David Pogue from the NYT because he's so funny, and really out there. I admire the way he has fun talking about tech.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek?"
Gina: Geek is the new chic, don't you know? I consider it a compliment.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Gina: I spend more time at electronics stores, than a shopping mall. Anyone who really knows me, would be shocked to hear that.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for Techie Diva? What do you want your readers to get when they visit your site?
Gina: These are exciting times, so I hope Techie Diva visitors get their daily fix of present and futuristic technology trends changing the way we live. My goal would be to inspire more women to embrace technology in their own way. It has literally rocked my world, and even I feel like I learn something totally new and exciting every day. I just love it!

Geeky Girl We Love: Mia Kim of Popgadget

GeekSugar — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:32:00 -0700

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is Women's History Month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet.

Mia Kim is the founder and editor-in-chief of Popgadget, a lifestyle magazine that embraces technology as a regular and essential part of women's lives. Not only do I look up to her as a leader in the geeky girls movement, but I'm inspired by her business savvy and natural chicness. For part one of the interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Mia: I went to NYU Film School with the idea that I was going to write and direct movies, and filmmakers are so in demand that I became.... a statistical programmer. But I didn't love programming, and wanted to do something that merged tech with something more creative so I went to NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program for my Master's. I graduated at the height of the dot com boom, and had fun jobs with monied startups and then of course, it all exploded and I ended up doing a much more traditional media job, as the new media director of a huge traditional entertainment company. I felt stifled again, and had to get out- so I started my own tech consulting company and dreamed up Popgadget. There were zero publications for women that had any significant technology coverage, online or offline, and that drove me crazy. After percolating in my head for several years, I just opened up a Blogger account and started Popgadget on my own in April 2004.

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Mia: Cooking, especially baking. Making an intricate dish is meditative for me and I dream now about going to culinary school someday. I will always be in love with movies so I like to go see everything. I still write screenplays, hope to do something with them someday. Mostly though, I'm obsessed with my dogs and pop culture so if I'm not working I can be found in my bedroom surrounded by a couple of naughty dogs, a stack of magazines (US Weekly perched on top, most likely), newspapers, a ton of books, and some homemade cookies. I love to travel, and my husband and I make plans all the time to do an all-around-the world trip just as soon as we have the time and the means.

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about the Popgadget team...
Mia: For about the first year of Popgadget, it was pretty much just me writing at night after work. Then a couple of amazing women, Camilla Beltrami and Regine Debatty (We Make Money Not Art), both in Italy at the time, started helping me out with the writing, just because they loved the idea and they both totally upped the game, and made me realize that we had something good. My sister, Hoyun Kim, who was a corporate lawyer then decided to help me turn Popgadget into a real business and she's now the publisher and we have two sites (Babygadget is the second), with at least seven more in the pipeline and nearly 20 writers from all across the world.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Mia: I was going to say that I am rarely online for more than 10 hours a day because I just literally get eyestrain and have to unplug but that's not strictly true. My Treo is never off, even when I'm in a movie theater, and so I check emails, texts, and IMs pretty much 24/7. I also have a Verizon wireless broadband card so if I'm going to be away from my desk for any significant time, I will have my laptop with me and can get online without having to look for a wifi signal.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Mia: I wish I could say I had serious geek cred and came out of the womb programming a Commodore 64, but no such luck - I think I was 20 when I got my first computer, and it was a tiny, and incredibly slow Gateway notebook that barely worked. It was a hand-me-down of several generations. I didn't own a brand-new computer until I got a Dell Latitude notebook which could hold a maximum 32 mb of RAM. I thought it was awesome and used it for 6 years. Since then, I probably average a new computer a year, alternating between a new notebook and a new desktop.

Geeksugar: What are three things you featured on the site that you really want?
Mia: Not a day goes by that I don't long for the Sony Vaio G1. It's only released in Japan (but available from Dynamism.com) and is just over 2 lbs, with the optical drive built-in.

The Kinetix Blender from Breville. Again it's not yet available in the US, but it moves around the ingredients in the jar so you can make smoothies without having to stop the blending to break up the fruit and ice.

The Just In Time watch. This is still in development, so you can't buy it yet, but it's a watch that not only tells time but uses GPS to track you and traffic conditions so it will let you know how long it's going to take you to get to your next appointment. I'm late for everything but I swear it's the traffic every time! I so need this.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about Popgadget?
Mia: I love that my job is to be clued in to all things new and innovative- I'm a total neophile. I love reading the speculation about what's ahead. My favorite thing about Popgadget is that it's turned out to be exactly the thing that I had in my head about 10 years ago. I wanted something that melded together techie stuff with things that are silly, fun, sometimes even frivolous. Tech isn't a chore, it's fun and I wanted other women to be able to see that.

This is part one in a series of two interview with Mia Kim. Come back tomorrow to check out who Mia thinks are the sexiest geeky girls and guys on the internet!

Geeky Girl We Love: Mia Kim - Part Deux

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:15:49 -0700

This is part two in a series of two interviews with Mia Kim, the founder and editor-in-chief of Popgadget, a lifestyle magazine that embraces technology as a regular and essential part of women's lives. Not only do I look up to her as a leader in the geeky girls movement, but I'm inspired by her business savvy and natural chicness. For part two, read more

Yesterday, Mia shared some of her background and hobbies, which include cooking and not programming a Commodore 64.

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Mia: The funniest thing about being a blogger is that you develop real relationships with other bloggers- but you rarely meet in person even if you IM, email all the time and become good friends. At this year's CES, Popgadget had a three person team: me, Stuart Memo from Glasgow, and Evan Hosie who's in California. Our first night there, we were meeting in the hotel lobby, and despite the fact that we were colleagues who knew each other pretty well, we all walked around and around the hotel passing each other because we'd never seen each other. We kept circling each other until Evan called and said, "I think you're standing right in front of me."

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Mia: Yikes, it's over 350. But I have to admit that there are only about 20 that I read every single day. The others get a weekly scan and yet I'm still constantly looking for new feeds.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Mia: I just can't do the 15-hour "blogger in their underwear" routine anymore. I was feeling like I wasn't a part of the human race anymore so I break up my work day, make sure I do other things like eat and walk the dogs.

Mornings are rough because I'm a terrible sleeper and have probably been up half the night but I always want to get to email straight away and check on Popgadget posts and start IM chats with the other writers. Then I'm in research mode for a few hours- reading everything in sight. Pop Life Media (the umbrella that publishes Popgadget and Babygadget) also has another side, new media consulting, so I need to set aside a few hours for working with clients and coordinating that work. We don't have a publicist so I'm on the phone a lot, talking to companies and to news people. We also don't have a full-time tech person, so I'm often doing the troubleshooting of the site. We had a server crash a few weeks ago, and after we migrated, I was working on getting the site back up for about a week straight. Never been so tired or stressed in my life.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Mia:

Grant Achatz- the chef-owner of Alinea in Chicago. He'd make you dinner, 22nd century style: vaporized cocktails, lobster in the form of edible paper, and an exploding souffle for dessert.
Matt Mullenweg, founder of Wordpress. I'm surprised he's not a bigger tech celeb because who doesn't love a 22-year old genius with a hot property, but he's a soft-spoken, thoughtful guy who'd probably shy away from all that. I'd put him on the cover of Tech Teen Beat.
Masi Oka, who plays Hiro on Heroes. He may not have superpowers, but he's a real-life CGI effects artist, so he could just fake it. And maybe he'd give you some Heroes' spoilers.
Douglas Krone, the owner/founder of Dynamism.com , which imports the most amazing computers and gadgets from Japan about a million years before we'll see them here. I consider myself an early adopter but anytime I see Douglas he's got a phone that does, like, satellite communications with Mars Rover, and is also a high-def video camera and personal MRI scanner.
Ray Kurzweil, the futurist and writer of The Singularity is Near. I believe we are all spiritual beings, I do, but I have doubts and dark moments, and during those times I'd love for Kurzweil to preach to me about how in 500 years, I'll be sitting around with my family and my dogs, in our cyborg bodies, with our holographically assisted brains, and we'll still, essentially, be ourselves. And in 500 years, finally, we will really be driving flying cars. Wouldn't you want to be there too?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?

Gina Trapani, of lifehacker.com. Lifehacker is the site I wish I'd created and Gina just seems like the type of woman I'd love to be friends with. I can just imagine our PC vs Mac conversations over french fries and highly caffeinated drinks in a Brooklyn diner. Sadly, I really can.
Molly Wood, from CNET. At CES this year, I was a bit under the weather and kept complaining that we weren't seeing anything interesting. Then Stuart told me that he spotted Molly Wood at some event and I spent the rest of CES trying to find her so I could casually tell her that she's my favorite podcaster and that I get a thrill every time she mentions Popgadget.
Katherine Moriwaki, of personaldebris.com , who is an interactive artist and new media lecturer. She writes for Popgadget and is a good friend, but I'm in awe of how much she knows about technology, and she's the most uncompromising person I know. She and her husband Jonah Brucker-Cohen are THE tech geek supercouple as far as I'm concerned.
Katie Salen game designer and director of the Design Tech program at Parson's School of Design. She's one of the most engaging speakers I've ever encountered. She's so good that when she came to speak at a class I was teaching, my students had so much fun, it completely changed the chemistry of the class for the rest of the semester.
Rebecca K. Rowe, whose first novel Forbidden Cargo blends hard sci-fi about genetic engineering with politics and lots of action. It's the antithesis to the the unicorn and space princess type type book that so many people tend to associate with women science fiction/fantasy writers.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Joseph Stirt of Book of Joe. Joe, unlike so many bloggers, doesn't play the blog game at all, meaning he doesn't just read blogs and link his favorite posts. His posts are about books and art and things he encounters offline. He says he reads no blogs at all and I believe him. That's what makes him a great blogger.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Mia: I don't mind being called a geek at all. I don't think it means what it used to-bringing to mind someone of questionable social skills and even more questionable grooming. Being a geek is just about being enthusiastic, about really loving something and needing to talk about it, write about it.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Mia: My friends know it drives me crazy knowing that their virus definitions are three years old and they've got porn pop-ups all over their screen from some site they "accidentally" visited, so I do a complete tech checkup whenever I go over to their houses. After that, I can relax.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for the site?
Mia: It amazes how far we've come and now we're at a point when we're talking to big media companies and investors and trying to figure out the next step to help us grow into a bigger network of sites providing innovative content for women. We are also planning a lot of things outside of the blogs- we want to be a lifestyle brand.

Geeksugar: What else is up in the Popgadget world?
Mia: We just launched our email, which is weekly, and will have all kinds of content that isn't on the site, and will have exclusive discounts and giveaways. We'll be giving away some very cool things and saving some of our best stories for the email. And it's free so people should sign up.