

Engadget's Top Editors Topolsky and Patel Exit From AOL's Giant Tech Site - moses1400
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20110312/engadgets-top-editors-topolsky-and-patel-exit-from-aols-giant-tech-site/

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benologist
Considering the AOL Way highlights them as a glorified content farm (that
everyone scrambled to say doesn't apply to _them_ leaving approximately nobody
it _does_ apply to) I don't blame them for leaving.

Churning out content on w/e the stats say is trending would be a shit way for
a writer to express their creativity.

~~~
talbina
Actually, Topolsky said before that Engadget is not affected by the AOL Way.

Arianna Huffington (the new Cheif Editor of all AOL content sites) said she
won't be messing with TechCrunch and Engadget.

~~~
benologist
Engadget are a textbook example of it and quite likely where the entire plan
_originated_.

Their most recent article other than the resignation letter:

[http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/12/htc-droid-
incredible-2-sm...](http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/12/htc-droid-
incredible-2-smiles-pretty-for-the-camera-shows-off-i/)

\- 3 sentence summary gives them a strong chance of hitting their rev per
article goals.

\- 3 internal links and a shitton of tags to reinforce their SEO

\- 1 solitary little external link at the bottom to minimize the SEO juice
they leak

If your job involves tagging summaries with "Android 2.2" _and_ "Android2.2"
then you're working the Aol Way™, even if it's not official.

~~~
sdz
I've always found the tags on Engadget to be completely useless, and I was
wondering why they even waste their time with them. SEO makes a lot of sense.

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rexf
Wow - both Topolsky & Patel are out now[1]. Before was Ross Miller[2] & Paul
Miller[3]. With all these Engadget people leaving, I haven't heard about
anyone leaving their rival Gizmodo.

I wonder how Arrington feels about this. Arrington was pissed over Topolsky
trying to kill the AOL/TC deal[4].

[1] <http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/12/hello-i-must-be-going/> [2]
<http://ohnoros.co/post/3407371558/goodbye-engadget> [3]
<http://pauljmiller.com/2011/02/leaving-aol/> [4]
[http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/blog-fight-rules-of-
engagem...](http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/blog-fight-rules-of-engagement/)

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yurylifshits
Some times the decision to leave is made many months before but actual
resignation happens in March. February and March are the months when annual
bonus is paid. It is a natural time to leave. I've seen a lot of March
departures in the past years.

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seanalltogether
I don't imagine Topolsky will stray far from his existing career. He has a
very visible position that people tend not to relinquish lightly. How many
other bloggers are able to command guest slots on late night talk shows?

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sdz
I'm going to miss the Engadget Podcast. After Paul Miller left, I thought it
might still have a chance, but now all three are gone!

~~~
kylec
Now that they're all gone, I'm hoping that maybe they'll continue podcasting
together, even if they no longer use the Engadget name.

~~~
nielsandersen
Topolsky did mention in his post that he has a project on the horizon that he
will be sharing more about. Ryan Block and Peter Rojas went on to start GDGT
so maybe the alienated engadget editors have some new fresh take on tech up
their sleeve.

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dr_
This is a loss for AOL. There are a few reviews which you really look out for,
and Topolsky's was always one of them.

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talbina
From Topolsky: <http://engt.co/ftwNtM>

~~~
Luyt
Unshortened URL:

<http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/12/hello-i-must-be-going/>

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dusing
AOL mass exodus lately

~~~
tomwans
specifically Engadget. So strange ... obviously none of them have declared
what the real reason is yet.

~~~
randall
I don't have any inside knowledge w/ Josh / Nilay's exit, but I can say
Enagdget editors tend to last about three years. Peter "left" and worked on
rcrdlbl right after AOL acquired Engadget (twoish years into the site's life),
then Ryan left after three years of tenure (2008), now Josh is leaving... not
a surprise.

Blogging the Engadget way is hard. You have to always be on your game, making
sure posts are timed, etc. It's not a picnic. These guys are really good at
what they do, and having a corporate overlord wears on you.

[Disclosure: I was at Engadget in 2005-2007]

