Gizmodo’s Rojas discusses online marketing, journalism

Co-creator of Gizmodo, Engadget, and Joystiq Peter Rojas recently met with Marketing, Journalism, and Media Production students to discuss the interaction of content, data, and ecommerce in online marketing and journalism with his new outlet gdgt (pronounced like “gadget”). Moderating the discussion was Marketing Communication adjunct faculty member David Gerzof Richard.

gdgt is a place where individuals can get to know their gadgets. Users can create a profile, list the gadgets they have, the ones they have previously owned, create wish lists of the ones they want, read reviews, chat with other members, and learn all about their gadgets. As TechCrunch describes the site, “Once, buyers were overwhelmed with choice. Now, they’re just overwhelmed with a choice of tools to help them choose.”

When Rojas launched gdgt, most people assumed it was going to be another tech blog—the evolution of Gizmodo, Engadget, and Joystiq; they were caught off guard when the blogger built a community. Rojas explained to students that the social and e-commerce components of gdgt were missing from Engadget, and that he wanted to create a place where readers could have thoughtful conversations about products.

Rojas said he strongly believes that the future of ecommerce will be about crafting a thoughtful experience that people can trust.  He said, “It is better to invest in trustworthiness than anything else short term.”

Rojas also discussed with students the web’s trend toward simplicity. He noted that Twitter and Instagram have been successful over the past few years because they are about creating a simple and coherent experience for people. “[These products] eliminate a lot of the visual clutter and information overload we experience online,” he said.