It was an especially unusual August, and it wasn’t just because the down comforter never came off the bed or the fan didn’t make it out of storage. Nope, there was something else going on completely unrelated to the weather. The tech industry experienced what could only be described as some truly tectonic shifts.
Typically, most folks in the biz take a breather during August before the big conference circuit heats up in the fall and deal makers head back to the board rooms.
But this past August was different. Way different. Who would have thunk that in the course of the month we’d see Apple CEO Steve Jobs resign; Google purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion; and HP decide to get out of the tablet and PC business?
And, if that wasn’t enough, on the last day of the month, the Department of Justice filed suit to block AT&T’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA.
It has certainly been a constant stream of news — perhaps one of the reasons that GeekWire experienced its second biggest traffic month on record and saw a surge in Facebook followers and a rise on the TechMeme Leaderboard.
Frankly, it has been a ton of fun to report on what’s going on everyday in the fast-moving tech industry and to hear from you — our loyal readers — who help inform (and keep us on our toes) each day in the active comment threads of GeekWire.
But, as you know, we’re not just about the daily news flow. We love the offbeat and unusual stories of geek culture, and featuring the interesting personalities who help make this region and industry truly unique.
We’re also inspired by the cutting-edge startups and inspirational entrepreneurs who are looking to transform industries, sharing insights on how we can become a better community along the way. And, finally, we’re humbled that so many of you have chosen to share your own writings with us in the form of guest commentaries and opinion pieces. (Look for even more of those in the near future).
As always, we welcome your thoughts, comments and constructive criticism. That only helps us improve on our mission of building a first-class technology news site that’s rooted right here in Seattle.
Thanks again to everyone for coming along for the ride.
OK. Enough of my yapping. Here’s a look at the top 10 stories on GeekWire for the month of August. So, in case you missed any, now you’ve got some weekend reading ahead of you.
Windows Phone GM leaving Microsoft, with a rallying cry (29 comments, 116 Tweets)
Practical Nerd: The hidden cost of ‘free’ (35 comments, 182 Tweets)
Jeff Bezos wants to put an airbag in your smartphone (36 comments, 298 Tweets)
Microsoft previews smarter file copying in Windows 8 (44 comments, 76 Tweets)
Five weird (and wacky) pursuits of rich tech moguls (1 comment, 30 Tweets)
Google Parcel Service? Search company patents electronic shipping notifications (14 comments, 78 Tweets)
Does working at Microsoft really turn your brain numb? (17 comments, 59 Tweets)
Weekend Humor: Hitler gets the bad news about HP ditching the TouchPad (6 comments, 72 Tweets)
Amazon seeks Lab126 trademarks in advance of expected tablet debut (4 comments, 72 Tweets)
What Apple can learn from Microsoft in the post-Jobs era (7 comments, 82 Tweets)
John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire. Follow on Twitter: @geekwirenews and Facebook.
