On November 20, 2007, Wayne Schulz wrote his very first Gear Diary review on the Bose In-Ear Headphones. This post gave absolutely no hint that the same man who could write such a mainstream piece would also be the guy who would hit his stride posting about Crayon Sports Drinks, $110,000 New York toilets, how to research urban legends, how to get yourself fired, and so many other offbeat things. In fact, we had to create an Offbeat tag simply because there was no other way to define so many of Wayne’s postings. But more than just the offbeat, Wayne also had a knack for finding the best internet nuggets – things that sites like Engadget and Gizmodo couldn’t resist linking to. He had — and continues to have — an uncanny nose for the newsworthy and the unique. He also became the most prolific poster in Gear Diary’s three-year history – as of today, he did it 2,074 times.
Let that sink in for a moment.
That’s not to dismiss Wayne’s acumen for cutting to the chase regarding all things tech. The man is a master of pinpointing what will work and what will fail. Trust me on this – he knows.
Wayne brought much humor and kitsch to the site – and for that he is a legend, but behind the scenes, he was so much more. He was a confidant and mentor during my amazingly successful online dating experiment, he was a motivator, an instigator, and a general wiseacre. His sarcastic musings (and I mean that in the fondest way) about social networking, internet startups, and all things web 2.0 were the start of many a spirited GearChat. Wayne was and is, and will always be – – one of a kind.
So how do you say good-bye to someone that has done so much, meant so much, and simply is so much to the site?
You don’t. I can’t.
So instead, I’ll say “see you around,” and I’ll point all of us to WayneSchulz, where we can continue to enjoy Wayne’s World.
Thank you for everything, Wayne; you will be missed.
Good luck Wayne! May many wacky gadgets find you wherever you may be!
Now just who are we going to get to review the Weird USB devices from Thanko?
My birthday posts!! Now I am going to get teary … 🙁
I’ll miss you lots here too Wayne. You really have posted some of the most classic and bizarre stuff here. I’ll keep following you at Twitter and Friendfeed of course. Oh, and I just discovered ‘Tampon Angels’ (for the Christmas tree of course) over at wayneschulz.com – nice one: http://www.wayneschulz.com/2009/11/tampon-angels/
No way! Wayne, you will be missed here for sure.
But you will be followed here and there. (Not in a stalkerazzi kinda way or anything…)
Best of luck, buddy.
Wayne, as a Gear Diary reader I will miss you too… and thank you for all your hints when I was trying to join the Gear Diary team.
I appreciate the well wishes.
Blogging is a great skill (and one that I hope to develop someday ) — there are increasingly many practical applications to put blogging skills to use in everyday life.
To think I got my start telling Jenneth and Judie how Facebook was a total waste of time and it would never go anywhere (see how much I know). Rather than shoo me away (which would have been the wise thing) they welcomed me to become their friend on Facebook (bad move). The next few years were pretty much a blur.
Thanks so much to Judie for the patience and support – and the rest of the Geardiary team as well as Jennifer (the source of nearly all the cool ideas like the cake as well as provider of the Tampon Angel link).
See you all around the web.
RT @GearDiarySite: Please Help Me Wish Wayne Schulz Bon Voyage http://bit.ly/2cy5IZ
RT: @GearDiarySite: Please Help Me Wish Wayne Schulz Bon Voyage http://bit.ly/2cy5IZ – best of luck Wayne!
Good luck Wayne! We’ll definitely miss your humor and ceaseless energy around here!