The man, the myth, the legend… I guess that applies here.
Jonathan Geller (most of you know him as Boy Genius) is the person behind Boy Genius Report, your favorite mobile news site. Jonathan started his blogging career at Engadget with the name Boy Genius. He was only 16 at the time and somehow knew a ton of inside information. He became so involved in blogging that he dropped out of high school to pursue his passion that was taking over his life. After building up a following, Jonathan decided to build his own mobile blog, BoyGeniusReport.com.
Jonathan never looked back and 4 years later he sold Boy Genius Report for millions. Up until the purchase, Boy Genius Report was a one man show for the most part. He had writers, but he was handling all the other details. Let’s just say all the hard work paid off for Boy Genius.
We had a chance to talk to Jonathan and ask him why he was hiding his true identity, his plans for the future, and some good advice for anyone interested in starting a blog. Enjoy!
Why did you want to be known as Boy Genius instead of Jonathan Geller?
It was just a marketing thing for me when I started out writing for Engadget. Originally I just wanted to use an alias because I had no interest in doing this professionally at the time. I was just sharing information with the people that wanted to read it and view it. And then people really started taking it to the next level by trying to figure out who I was. So you had CEOs and marketing directors for wireless carriers who were literally flipping out thinking that Boy Genius was a network of people. You’d go to these conferences and people would be like “Is he here?” So it was more of a marketing thing I kept up with and then after the acquisition, I felt it was time to let people know who Boy Genius is.
Even though no one knew who Boy Genius was, Jonathan still had credibility. He explained, “I could connect with people even without them knowing who I was.”
Now that Boy Genius Report has been acquired, what are your plans for its future?
Right now what we’re focused on is still continuing to be the leader in the mobile category and also branching out to encompass more general tech. And that will happen with the re-launching of the site and branding. Instead of going to BoyGeniusReport[dot]com, you’ll be going to BGR.com.
Jonathan is really excited to be working with MMC. “I just didn’t have the man power to do it on my own. I am really excited to expand.”
Do you think BGR will be where Engadget and Gizmodo are?
I think short term, I am really focused on my lane. I don’t really look at what other people are doing, for better or worse, I’m really just focused on what I’m doing. And that’s to be the leader in mobile news. And I definitely have some great ideas for the future.
You had a lot of connections when you started blogging, but many people don’t. What advice can you offer someone who wants to start a blog?
It’s hard because there are so many people that have ideas and opinions they want to share. It’s getting really crowded now. I think I came in at the very end of it, at least in terms of tech blogs. Other blogs – as long as you can initially get people interested and develop loyal readers and you have something interesting to say, I think you’re good.
Big thanks to Boy Genius for the interview and for finally telling the World who you are. We all don’t have to live in suspense anymore.
Check out BGR.com
Check out Jonathan Geller on Twitter
