Andy Baio
| Andy Baio | |
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Andy Baio in 2012
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| Born | April 22, 1977 |
| Occupation | Technologist and blogger |
| Employer | Upcoming.org, Waxy.org |
Andy Baio (born April 22, 1977) is an American technologist and blogger. He is the co-founder of the XOXO Festival, founder of Upcoming.org, a former CTO of Kickstarter, and author of the Waxy.org blog.
In 2003, Baio launched Upcoming, a collaborative event calendar. The site was acquired by Yahoo for an undisclosed sum in 2005 and Baio joined the company as the site's Technical Director. In 2007, Baio announced his departure from Yahoo.
In September 2008, Baio joined the board of directors of Kickstarter, a "crowdfunding" website that helps people with project ideas (often artistic works) to connect with an audience of potential funders. Baio later joined the staff as Chief Technical Officer in July 2009, stepping down in November 2010 to join Expert Labs.
After Yahoo offered to sell the Upcoming domain back to Baio, he launched a Kickstarter campaign that hit its $30,000 goal in May 2014 to revive the site. Baio explained on the Kickstarter page, "Like many of the people that used it, I miss Upcoming. Nothing's come to replace it in the years since, and I have the same problems that motivated me to build it a decade ago -- I'm missing interesting events in my city and struggling to discover interesting events when I travel."
Baio writes mostly about technology and media on Waxy.org, and publishes a sideblog known as Waxy Links.
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 to newsworthy video, such as that of 2008 United States vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin competing in a beauty pageant.
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. He was the first to identify the youth and interview him. In response to the negative attention the boy received, Baio later organized a fundraiser for him, raising $4,300 in a week.
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