Why I’m Leaving NewTeeVee

By Dec. 8, 2009, 11:12am PT 38 Comments

Today is my last day with NewTeeVee/GigaOM.

How’s that for not burying the lede?

As corny as it sounds, I can’t stop thinking about The Matrix as my time here winds down.

More than two years ago, I quit a rather lucrative job working with short-form filmmakers to join Om and his rag-tag group of bloggers. There was no latte machine, no cafeteria, heck, they had no office, but after following the killer work on NewTeeVee since its launch, there was an undeniable spark — and I wanted to be a part of it.

So I took the red pill, as it were, and joined GigaOM. I may not have awoken on some space ship and suddenly known kung-fu, but my eyes were open. I thought I knew a lot about online video coming into this job. I quickly realized how much there was to learn.

And learn I did. Over the last two years and more than 2,100 posts, I have gained a little more knowledge about the industry and become an infinitely better writer. But I’m ready for my next challenge. I’m not leaving to blog anywhere else because Om has assembled the finest group of journalists writing the best stories online or anywhere. Anything else would be a pale imitation.

Instead, I’m looking to get back to my passion for fiction storytelling. So I’ve taken a job as the vice president of Machinima.com‘s director’s program (keeping true to my blogger work ethic, I start tomorrow morning). There I’ll be working with the next-generation of talented content creators to use video games as a new way to tell stories.

The little words “thank you” aren’t nearly enough for Liz and Om and the rest of the crew here. They are the smartest, hardest working, most honest people in this business. This has been the most challenging, but ultimately the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I leave with a heavy heart and will always be indebted to them.

I also want to thank you, the NewTeeVee community. You’ve kept me honest, on my toes and always on the lookout for the next big story.

I leave you in better hands than mine as Janko Roettgers and Liz Shannon Miller will be stepping up and joining Ryan in taking NewTeeVee to the next level. I’ll be reading everyday.

If you want to keep up with me and my next adventures, you can follow along at Twitter.com/ChrisJAlbrecht.

Thank you for everything,

-Chris
P.S. Hopefully this move will turn out better than those crappy Matrix sequels.

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