Block, Rojas Launch Gdgt Site

Ryan Block and Peter Rojas are the closest to rock stars the tech journalism world has. Between the two of them, they started both Gizmodo and Engadget and became the mainstream media's top example of hip tech-journalism moguls. Rojas then started a record label, RCRD LBL, and Block has been named to lists like Fortune's "Web Celebs" and Paper Magazine's "Beautiful People." Further enhancing their mystique, both are members of Web 2.0 power couples: Block's longtime girlfriend is geek heartthrob Veronica Belmont, while Rojas' wife Jill Fehrenbacher is a respected design blogger.All this goes to explain why the launch of their new site, gdgt.com, is important. Block and Rojas have been incubating gdgt.com since Block left Engadget in 2008, posting weekly podcasts and the occasional liveblog. But they launched the real site today, and it's really interesting. Rather than a news-driven blog or reviews-driven Web site, gdgt is entirely community driven--it's a collection of lists of gadgets people want, gadgets people have, and places for people to ask each other questions about their gadgets. Third-party reviews, news links to other sites, product finders and user-editable spec sheets fill out the mix. It's like Wikipedia for gadget fans.A community site is only as good as its community, and Ryan and Peter have managed to get many of the top tech journalists to take a peek in. (When I logged in this morning, I saw that Lance Ulanoff had just signed up.) Belmont does the site's introductory video. It's definitely worth a look, especially if you like to chat about gadgets.