I'm Neowin's new Managing Editor and I was a journalist before the internet was invented

Hello, Neowin Community. I'm John Keefer, the new managing editor at Neowin and I figured I'd introduce myself before Steven gets bombarded with questions about the "new guy."

Coming into a new job is always daunting, especially when the position is at a site with the reputation and history of Neowin. But I have never been one to shy away from challenges, and covering the cutting edge of technology is something worth sinking my teeth into.

As my daughter is fond of telling me, I've been a journalist since before the internet was invented, starting in high school, and continuing through college and even law school. My first gig was at a weekly paper covering the space program, county government, and schools, and when I finally left newspapers in 1999, I had been a news editor, business editor, production editor, photo editor, front page designer ... you name it, I had probably done it over my first 19 years. Then I jumped to the internet age.

In 2000, I became managing editor at GameSpy, a young site that was covering video games. I'd always had a passion for new gadgets, and games fell into that category. I developed a love for RTS and RPG games, and loved to write about them. By 2007, GameSpy had become one of the three biggest gaming sites (along with GameSpot and IGN), and I decided it was time to move on.

I was cofounder of the ill-fated Crispy Gamer, a site devoted to an irreverent look at games, with the hook of not taking ad dollars from game publishers. We had an incredible freelance staff of some of the best writers in the industry, but alas, even with one million unique visitors in our first year, the economy was starting to bottom out and we folded after two years.

From there, I've been Editor-in-chief of Shacknews, Senior Editor and then Managing Editor at the Escapist, and then writer and editor again at Shacknews. Through it all, even though I was covering games, my passion has been writing, editing and journalism in general. I love clever headlines, the good turn of a phrase, and even a bit of curmudgeonry when I write. I have also mentored writers and editors, built strong bonds with PR and industry people, and even done event planning to make sure readers get the most out of the conferences we attended.

And so that brings me to Neowin. When Steven brought me on, he knew I was eager to cover tech, despite only a year or so of experience covering the field. But I also made clear that my passion was good journalism, clean copy and bringing new ideas to the site. If you want a deeper dive into my editorial philosophy, you can check out an editorial I wrote as News Editor at The Escapist at the height of Gamergate when "Ethics in Games Journalism" was a huge buzz phrase.

I don't have any major plans for radical changes here, but I can promise a sincere effort to continue to make Neowin a site that people want to read and need to read for the latest news and opinion on the important events shaping technology now. While I am still learning tech, I won't be afraid to ask questions and do my research to make sure I get it right.

I will be active in the forums, and will happily answer any questions. I look forward to getting to know everyone, while continuing to help Neowin grow and prosper.

Cheers.