Welcome to The Verge (original) (raw)

We couldn't be more pleased to share what we've been cranking away on for the last several months.

Although much of the editorial team here has been publishing content and covering events on This Is My Next, our true work has been preparing The Verge for this moment.

We're focused on bringing you — our extremely savvy and frankly very handsome readers — the best and most comprehensive coverage of the consumer technology world. Not just the nuts and bolts, 24-hour news cycle stuff, but more in-depth coverage, bigger stories, and content that goes further.

We're going to do that on a new product that we're really psyched about. A site that's not just a stagnant, fixed entity, but an evolving, growing piece of technology. We think of The Verge (and its underlying CMS) as something akin to an app. A piece of software that is being constantly developed and updated. Today we're launching with The Verge 1.0, but 1.1 and 1.2 are just around the corner.

We're launching with awesome tools like StoryStreams, which help us tell a narrative in a way which no one else can. It's a technology developed in-house that allows us to stitch together disparate parts of a story in a logical timeline, and it's incredible for reporting news.

We're launching with design-focused, beautiful reviews and features (you can see some examples here and here). We're launching with a robust product database with thousands of entries (and counting) and fantastic comparison tools (here, for example). We're launching with a fast, smart community commenting and forum system, one that ties directly into the rest of our site and lets reader voices be heard in a meaningful way.

We're also really excited about our hub pages, which are super focused on topics we think our readers will huddle around and build communities around (like, you know... Android). This is a place where we're encouraging our readers to sound off, discuss, share, learn something, and yes, have the occasional knockdown drag-out fanboy battle. In fact, we think it's totally cool and normal to be psyched about a product or brand and want to talk about it. We're encouraging people to join real communities and discuss what they love (or hate!). And for members who sign up early and post often, we'll offer special sneak previews of our newest features.

But that's just the beginning. We have new features and additions planned that will make these products even better, and we're going to be incorporating what we hear and see from our users to make the products even better. Those updates won't just be focused in one place either. Editorial tools, community, database, and more will be getting tweaked and refined.

It's really exciting. Not only do we get great tools to tell the stories we want to tell and inform you guys the way we think you should be informed, but we get to build on those tools and make them better, smarter, and faster.

Instead of painstakingly describing every aspect of the site, my advice is that you go and explore. We've got a ton of tools for you to play with and lots of great content to see, and those are both growing day by day.

Lastly, the creation of The Verge has been a huge team effort, and not just the brilliant editorial team that I am constantly and consistently amazed by. I would like to thank the teams and people whom without none of this would have been possible. And I truly mean that.

First and foremost, our product team: Trei Brundrett, Justin Glow, Skip Baney, Michael Lovitt, Pablo Mercado, Clif Reeder, Dan Chilton, Ryan Gantz, Ted Irvine, Tate Tozer, Chris Haines, Mark Hanna, Joe Grossberg, Sean Soper, John Fuller, Luke Zimmermann, Chris Cameron, Sid Telang, Dusty Matthews, and Tyson Whiting.

There are no words to describe how talented, hard working, and ingenious these human beings are. If the content is the soul and heart of The Verge, our product team is the sinew and muscle of this site. Without a team like ours which intimately understands and interprets the needs of content creators, these pages would be blank, or lifeless at best. Put simply, they are totally, totally radical. Do not mess with them.

Our Database Manager William Savona and our amazing team of interns: Kim Abe, Patrick Austin, Gally Battat, James Brace, Joshua Cherkes, Erik Domnizky, Dante D'Orazio, Jonathan Eilenberg, Tyler Gold, James Ho, Omy Melo, Lucas Ogera, Alexander Roman, Gabriel Toledo, Chris Welch, Jack Wink.

These guys are the hardest working people I have ever seen. And it's not just about hours or focus. They love this stuff, and have given huge support to everyone on our editorial and product teams. They're like family to us, and we will be forever in their debt.

Our incredible sales team. The guys on the other side of the office (literally) have worked their collective rear quarters off bringing killer sponsors to the table — and keeping them there. They're helping to fuel our work and build our brand, and they also have impeccable fashion sensibilities. Bulldogs! The lovable kind, of course.

Code and Theory. We are lucky to have been able to collaborate for a second time with one of the most inventive and original design firms working on the web today. Once again, the C&T team took our wild ideas and made them a beautiful reality by working hand-in-hand with our product team and designers. These guys are so good and so clever that it should be illegal.

AREA 17. The design firm which gave us our brilliant and playful branding. The Verge wouldn't be The Verge without their talents. Early on, they helped us set the tone which has now become the theme song.

Ryan McCullah. The designer who came up with our awesome forum icons. They are awesome. You are awesome.

vid.io. The product that powers our video. These guys are about to change the game with their technology, and we are so happy to be early adopters.

The SB Nation and Vox Media family. You guys started this thing, and what a killer job you've done. From the bloggers to the full-timers, the level of passion and engagement you have is unmatched. This is an incredible place to be right now.

My co-founder Marty Moe, and our CEO Jim Bankoff.

Marty is quite simply the most positive man I've ever known, and I find his vision, excitement, and zeal for what we're doing highly infectious. This is a guy you want on your side, and I'm lucky call him a friend as well as a partner.

Jim is basically just psychic in his ability to see where things are going and take action on those hunches. He has supported and understood what we needed from day one, and has had the leadership and foresight to make all of it happen.

And last, but most definitely not least... you. The audience of people that we've watched grow while we worked on The Verge and published on This Is My Next. We can't wait to see what happens next, and we're thrilled you've come along for the ride.

Now, get reading!