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''Lifehacker'' is a
weblog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
about
life hack A life hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a p ...
s and software that launched on January 31, 2005. The site was originally launched by
Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American online media company and blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorporated in the Cayman Isla ...
and is currently owned by
G/O Media G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that runs ''Gizmodo'', ''Kotaku'', ''Jalopnik'', '' Deadspin'', ''Lifehacker'', '' Jezebel'', '' The Root'', '' The A.V. Club'', ''The Takeout'', '' The Onion'', and ''The Inventory''. Hist ...
. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microsoft Windows, Mac,
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
programs,
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
and Android, as well as general life tips and tricks. The website is known for its fast-paced release schedule from its inception, with content being published every half hour all day long. In addition, ''Lifehacker'' has international editions: ''Lifehacker Australia'' ( owned by Pedestrian), ''Lifehacker Japan'', and ''Lifehacker UK'', which feature most posts from the U.S. edition along with extra content specific to local readers. ''Lifehacker UK'' folded on September 9, 2020 when its UK publisher decided not to renew its license.


History

Gina Trapani Gina Marie Trapani (born September 19, 1975) is an American tech blogger, web developer, writer, and technology executive. Biography Trapani was born and raised in an Italian people, Italian Catholic family in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York ...
founded ''Lifehacker'' and was the site's sole blogger until September 2005, when two associate editors joined her, Erica Sadun and D. Keith Robinson. Other former associate editors include Wendy Boswell, Rick Broida, Jason Fitzpatrick, Kevin Purdy, and Jackson West. Former contributing editors include The How-To Geek, and Tamar Weinberg. ''Lifehacker'' launched in January 2005 with an exclusive sponsorship by
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
. The highly publicized ad campaign was rumored to have cost $75,000 for three months. Since then, a variety of tech-oriented advertisers have appeared on the site. ''Lifehacker''s frequent guest posts have included articles by Joe Anderson, Eszter Hargittai,
Matt Haughey Matthew Haughey (born October 10, 1972) is an American programmer, web designer, and blogger best known as the founder of the community weblog MetaFilter, where he is known as ''mathowie''. Life and career Haughey grew up in Placentia, Califo ...
,
Meg Hourihan Meg Hourihan is the cofounder of Pyra Labs, the company that launched the Blogger.com, Blogger personal blogging software that was acquired by Google. Career Hourihan graduated from Tufts University in 1994. In 1999, she and Evan Williams (Int ...
,
Jeff Jarvis Jeff Jarvis (born July 15, 1954) is an American journalist, associate professor, public speaker and former television critic. He advocates the Open Web and argues that there are many social and personal benefits to living a more public life on ...
. On January 16, 2009, Trapani resigned as ''Lifehacker''s lead editor and Adam Pash assumed the position. On February 7, 2011, ''Lifehacker'' revealed a redesigned site with a cleaner layout. Then, on April 15, 2013, Lifehacker redesigned their site again to match the other newly redesigned Gawker sites, like Kotaku. On January 7, 2013, Adam Pash moved on from ''Lifehacker'' to a new start-up, and Whitson Gordon became the new editor-in-chief. On January 1, 2016, Whitson Gordon parted ways with Lifehacker to another popular technology website, How-To Geek, as their editor-in-chief replacing Lowell Heddings. In his announcement, Gordon confirmed that Alan Henry would take over as the interim editor pending interviewing processes. Alan Henry became the new editor-in-chief on February 1, 2016. On February 3, 2017, Alan Henry left his position at ''Lifehacker''. He has since moved on to write for the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
. On February 28, 2017,
Melissa Kirsch Melissa Kirsch (born 1974) is an American author who writes predominantly about media, politics, and women's issues. Her most recent book, ''The Girl’s Guide'', provides advice to women on topics ranging from financial issues to dating. Current ...
became the editor-in-chief. Alice Bradley was named editor-in-chief in June 2020, but left in March 2021. Former deputy editor Jordan Calhoun succeeded her as editor-in-chief. Lifehacker was one of six websites that was purchased by Univision Communications in their acquisition of Gawker Media in August 2016.


Accolades

*In 2005, ''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' named Lifehacker one of the "50 Coolest Web Sites" in 2005, one of the "25 Sites We Can't Live Without" in 2006 and one of the "25 Best Blogs 2009" * CNET named Lifehacker in their "Blog 100" in October 2005. *''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'' presented Gina Trapani with a Rave Award in 2006 for Best Blog. *In the 2007 Weblog Awards, Lifehacker was awarded Best Group Weblog. *'' PC Magazine'' named Lifehacker in "Our Favorite 100 Blogs" in October 2007. *US Mensa named Lifehacker as one of their top 50 sites in 2010.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* International
Lifehacker Australia

Lifehacker Japan
{{Univision Communications Gawker Media American blogs Internet properties established in 2005 Former Univision Communications subsidiaries