Well, it’s official… After more than 4700 posts, countless events and roughly three years and five months at the helm, I have officially ended my tenure as editor of Gizmodo Australia. But before I kick off the next adventure, it’s time to look back and reminisce…

Technically speaking, I’ve had the job for three and a half years. I remember it like yesterday, heading into Darlinghurst for a meeting with Allure Media boss Chris Janz on my birthday back in December 2007. He offered me the job on the spot. If I recall correctly, his exact words were, “If you’re keen, I’m keen.” I started just over a month later.

It’s been one hell of an awesome gig. For one editor, 4,750 posts is a pretty respectable haul over three and a half years. During which time I got married and had our first child, I should add.

So, what were the highlights? Well, this would have to be a big one:

When I started back in 2008, I had a huge task of getting the Australian technology industry to consider us a valid news source, and not just another two-bit blog. And I know I succeeded, considering Giz is now the 5th biggest tech site in Australia, and second biggest if you take out the news sites like SMH.com.au, News.com.au and theage.com.au.

It was kind of icing on that cake when Giz won Best Personal Technology Coverage at the IT Journo awards this year. With the exception of my (now ex) Allure stablemates, no other publication could claim to win an award with a single dedicated editorial member.

I’ve been on quite a few junkets during my time at Giz. Highlights include getting to CES this year, the LA trip with Rockstar Games last year to see the MotionScan technology of LA Noire, and IFA in Berlin last year. I took my favourite photo on a trip to Hong Kong for a Samsung camera launch and have crossed off almost all the big technology conferences around the world (with Photokina being the exception).

We gave away a car. That was pretty awesome.

So why am I moving on then? Mostly, it’s the purely selfish reason of wanting to spend more time with family. But it’s also a thirst for something a bit different. Despite some people’s misconceptions, professional blogging is hard work. Every day, you need to put your everything into creating fast, accurate, entertaining copy time and time again. And after three and a half years, I needed a change.

So now I’m freelancing. My first gig as a freelancer is… Guest editing Gizmodo Australia. Well, at least until the new Editor starts in a few weeks. I’ve also got some work lined up in a few other places, and will be proactively seeking out more work this week. If you need something written and are prepared to pay money, email me!! I’m definitely available.

And after a few months of freelancing (and vehemently trying to not get distracted by the Xbox), we’ll see where life takes me. It’s been a good ride so far, I’m sure the next stage of the journey will be just as satisfying as my time spent at Giz.