Ryan Block
Encyclopedia
Ryan Block is a technology journalist and critic. He was the editor-in-chief of AOL
’s Engadget
before he co-founded the popular community site gdgt.
Originally from Southern California
, he moved to Jersey City, New Jersey
in 2001., but only lived there for two or three months while he was looking for a place to live in New York. He then lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn for several years.
Block joined technology news website Engadget as a part-time reporter in June 2004, and started full time in June 2005. He went on to replace the site's creator Peter Rojas
as editor-in-chief in 2007. On May 16, 2007, Block posted a leaked internal email from Apple in which it was revealed that the iPhone
and Mac OS X Leopard would both be delayed. The email was later confirmed as fake by Apple PR
, but it was reported that its posting by Engadget
took $4 billion off Apple's market cap. Block has since noted that the approximate $4b market cap drop was almost immediately pushed back up after he posted that the email was forged.
In July 2008 Block posted on Engadget that he would be stepping down as editor-in-chief to create a new company, leaving then Associate Editor Joshua Topolsky
in charge. On 1 July 2009, using $550,000 in initial seed financing
received from Betaworks and True Ventures, Block and Rojas launched gdgt; a discussion forum that generates reviews and answers questions about thousands of gadget
s.
Block is a regular panelist on The Engadget Show, and has appeared on Leo Laporte's
This Week in Tech
21 times. Block lives in San Francisco, California
with his girlfriend, Veronica Belmont
.
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
’s Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
before he co-founded the popular community site gdgt.
Originally from Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, he moved to Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
in 2001., but only lived there for two or three months while he was looking for a place to live in New York. He then lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn for several years.
Block joined technology news website Engadget as a part-time reporter in June 2004, and started full time in June 2005. He went on to replace the site's creator Peter Rojas
Peter Rojas
Peter Rojas is the co-founder of technology blogs Gizmodo and Engadget, as well as the video gaming blog Joystiq . A 2006 article in New York magazine described him as "the best-compensated blogger in history".-Education:...
as editor-in-chief in 2007. On May 16, 2007, Block posted a leaked internal email from Apple in which it was revealed that the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and Mac OS X Leopard would both be delayed. The email was later confirmed as fake by Apple PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, but it was reported that its posting by Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
took $4 billion off Apple's market cap. Block has since noted that the approximate $4b market cap drop was almost immediately pushed back up after he posted that the email was forged.
In July 2008 Block posted on Engadget that he would be stepping down as editor-in-chief to create a new company, leaving then Associate Editor Joshua Topolsky
Joshua Topolsky
Joshua Topolsky is an American technology journalist. He is also a record producer, drummer, and DJ under the stage name Joshua Ryan. Topolsky is the co-founder and founding editor in chief of the technology news network The Verge. Before The Verge, he was the editor in chief at Engadget...
in charge. On 1 July 2009, using $550,000 in initial seed financing
Seed money
Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding, friends and family funding or angel funding , is a securities offering whereby one or more parties that have some connection to a new enterprise invest the funds necessary to start the business so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period...
received from Betaworks and True Ventures, Block and Rojas launched gdgt; a discussion forum that generates reviews and answers questions about thousands of gadget
Gadget
A gadget is a small technological object that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. Gadgets are invariably considered to be more unusually or cleverly designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention...
s.
Block is a regular panelist on The Engadget Show, and has appeared on Leo Laporte's
Leo Laporte
Léo Gordon Laporte is an Emmy Award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur. A former resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he now lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Jennifer and two children, Abby and Henry....
This Week in Tech
This Week in Tech
This Week in Tech–casually referred to as TWiT, and formerly known as Revenge of the Screen Savers–is the weekly flagship podcast of the TWiT.tv network...
21 times. Block lives in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
with his girlfriend, Veronica Belmont
Veronica Belmont
Veronica Ann Belmont is the co-host of the Revision3 show Tekzilla alongside Patrick Norton, and the former host of the monthly PlayStation 3-based video on demand program Qore. Formerly she was the host for the Mahalo Daily podcast and a producer and associate editor for CNET Networks, Inc...
.