Andy Baio (blogger)

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Andy Baio (born April 22, 1977) is an American technologist and blogger. He is the founder of Upcoming.org, and the author of the Waxy.org blog.

Contents 1 Internet Entrepreneur 2 Media 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Internet Entrepreneur

In 2003, Baio launched Upcoming.org, a collaborative event calendar.^[1] The site was acquired by Yahoo for an undisclosed sum in 2005 and Baio joined the company as the site's Technical Director.^[2] In 2007, Baio announced his departure from Yahoo.^{[3] [4]}.

[edit] Media

Baio writes mostly about technology and media on Waxy.org, and publishes a sideblog known as Waxy Links. Unlike many contemporaries, Baio does not usually offer opinions on the issues of the day or confessional diary entries. Instead, Baio has vowed that entries on the Waxy.org blog will always be based on original research or link to little-known websites, even if this entails a less frequent posting schedule.^[5] Baio's research often blends both traditional journalism and technical methods. A typical posting on Waxy.org may uncover the origins of a currently popular Internet video clip, or report the results of some original quantitative research into technology trends.

Baio often takes a stand against censorship on the Internet by hosting or linking to controversial content which some parties wish to suppress. This ranges from unauthorized mashups and other artwork where parody or fair-use claims are disputed^[6][7][8] to newsworthy video, such as that of 2008 United States vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin competing in a beauty pageant^[9].

Baio was one of the first bloggers to draw attention to the Star Wars Kid video, which depicted a teenager clumsily emulating martial arts moves for the camera. ^{[10] [11]} He was the first to identify the youth and interview him. ^[12] In response to the negative attention the boy received, Baio later organized a fundraiser for him, raising $4,300 in a week. ^{[10] [13]}

When the parody cartoon House of Cosbys was taken down from its original site due to a cease and desist letter from Bill Cosby's attorney, Baio placed the videos on his own website.^[14] Baio later received a similar cease and desist letter but refused to comply, citing fair use and decrying what he termed "a special kind of discrimination against amateur creators on the Internet", since Cosby had often been parodied in the mainstream media.^[15]

Baio has also written for Wired magazine^[16] and The New York Times^[17], and was a staffer on R. U. Sirius' online magazine GettingIt.com.^[18]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Waxy.org main blog
• Waxy Links links selected by Baio, each with a few words of commentary