Charlie White has been enticing us all with his rich and irresistible inserts for long and hence the ‘Cool Geek of the Week‘ series couldn’t have kicked off without his early foray into it.

We are overwhelmed with the response of our readers, who asked a good number of questions. However, we have picked up the most popular ones.

So finally, let’s see how deftly Charlie answers all your questions. Here he comes...

1. Vikas: Charlie, tell me, behind these glimmering eyes, apparently filled with fun and facts, who is Charlie White?

Charlie: Vikas, the short answer is I am a musician. That’s how I started out many years ago, playing saxophone professionally for a dozen years. I still think of myself as a musician, and if someone asks me, “Think fast, what are you?” — That’s my quick answer. That’s really what I do best. So I try to incorporate that musician’s mindset into my life as a writer now. I have fun thinking on my feet, improvising, finding unusual and harmonious twists and turns in the world that catch my eye and ear, and I like it when people and the objects around them are working in concert with each other. And you’re right, I like to have fun, I like to do things that enhance the quality of my life. I’m trying to live as much as I can with the years I have, because I don’t think this life is a dress rehearsal. This is it. I’m also trying to enhance the quality of life of people around me, too.

2. Lynda: Hi Charlie, It is great to get an opportunity to ask questions directly to you. I am new to blogging, and would like to know your blogging and surfing secrets?

Charlie: Thanks for your question, Lynda. I will be happy to give away some of my secrets, but there’s really no secret at all. I think the most important part of blogging is fairly simple: you must have something to say. And, then you need to think about who might be reading your blog, and try to think of what they might be wondering about. Try to be a good conversationalist; picture yourself at a dinner with one of your readers, and try to think of what you would say or do to keep from boring them to tears. Whatever that is, write it down in your blog. Another part of blogging is consistency. You need to post something every day. Readers want to keep coming back and reading your blog on a regular basis. We are creatures of habit, and if you become part of the readers’ daily habit, you can build momentum with your blog and be successful that way. Another big factor is work ethic. It takes a lot of hard work to put together a successful blog, and you have to be willing to put in the hours and make the supreme effort.

Claire adds: What are some of the tips for newbies who would like to take blogging as a full-time career?

Charlie: It’s really difficult to start up a blog from nothing. The best way to get involved with blogging professionally is to associate yourself with a blog that already has a large audience. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but it’s possible. Go for the blog that interests you, read its posts every day for a few months, and then write a few posts yourself for that blog. Get in touch with the people in charge of the blog, and show them what you can do. Bug them until they give you a chance. Many blogs change personnel quickly, and sometimes they find themselves needing someone in a hurry. If you keep yourself top-of-mind with the people in charge, you might just make it. However, pressure tactics alone aren’t going to cut it. You need to be a good, fast and entertaining writer, so polish your writing skills, make them fit the style of the blog for which you’d like to work, and be sure you have something substantial to add to that blog.

Rahul adds: Tell us about being a Professional Blogger - how did you get into this lifestyle? Do you think it is a viable career option for the long-term?

Charlie: Being a professional blogger is like being a jazz musician; you need to know how to improvise, think on your feet and do things quickly. You need to react to facts and information and write your opinion about it, and make it snappy. Yes, I do think being a blogger is a viable career option for the long-term, but it takes a certain kind of person to be able to keep up the pace. It’s a lot of work, and it takes a lot of energy. Blogging requires getting up very early in the morning, because most blogs hit their peak at around noon time. I get up every morning at 6 a.m., suffer through my morning commute (which takes about 30 seconds), and then hit the ground running with Gizmodo. It’s a good idea to have most of your posts done by noon, and so you have to be able to think clearly in the morning. Coffee helps. How did I get into this lifestyle? It’s a long story, but the short version is I’m a writer, I like gadgets, Gizmodo needed a writer, and here I am.

3. Nandini: How many weblogs do you follow? Why do you like those blogs?

Charlie: I keep my eye on about 150 blogs, and some are much more useful than others. Since I’m writing for Gizmodo, I keep an eye on many of the other technology and loosely-related blogs, including BornRich, Sci-Fi Tech, New Launches, CrunchGear, Boing Boing, Lifehacker, Jalopnik and of course, I always keep a wary eye on our worthy and honorable competitor, Engadget. All those blogs that I mentioned consistently find unique topics to write about, shiny toys, technology I haven’t seen before, and all of them are able to write about it in a way that is engaging and holds my interest. The writing on these blogs is most compelling because it gets to the point right away.

4. Dhiram: Hi Charlie, Which gadget do you feel can make writing much easier?

Charlie: Great question, Dhiram! Besides the obvious answer, the computer, one of my secrets that I’ll give away right now is that I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9. It has been a life-changing tool for me. I’m not a very good typist, but with NaturallySpeaking all I have to do is just talk into this VXI BlueParrot TalkPro B1000-GTX Bluetooth wireless microphone that I’m using right now, and the text writes itself on the screen, Star Trek style. I think anyone who’s not using this setup is at a distinct disadvantage. It’s near-miraculous. It’s not as easy as you might think, though. The writing still has to be done somehow. To use a dictation software package such as NaturallySpeaking, you need to think in paragraphs, and you need to be able to say exactly what it is you mean. Then, you still have to go back and correct everything, but it’s really a whole lot faster than typing.

5. Al Carlton: Hi Charlie, I would like to know how you find all the cool stuff that you cover and what is the coolest gadget you have ever written about?

Charlie: Sometimes manufacturers will contact me and let me know there’s a brand-new product coming out soon, other times I find clues on other blogs, and many times readers will send us confidential tips via e-mail or instant message. The coolest gadget? That’s something that changing for me all the time, but right now I’m particularly fascinated with GPS devices. I’m also pretty much blown away by the TiVo Series3 HD PVR. I’m also intensely interested in gadgets for the home, hybrid vehicles and anything having to do with video.

6. Pramit: How has your writing changed since you started blogging? Do you ever write to deliberately provoke a reaction?

Charlie: I learned to write faster since I started blogging, and my writing style as a blogger is a lot less formal than magazine writing and other website writing that I usually do. I try to make it more conversational, and I’m also very careful to check the facts because with our half-million readers every day, if I make one single tiny mistake, someone will call me out on it. Fact checking is key. To answer the other part of your question, I never write anything to deliberately provoke a reaction, but I’ve noticed that if I use one particular word, it always gets a lot of reaction, and that word is “inexplicably.” What is it with that one word? Someone will probably flame me about using it here. Maybe it makes people want to explain something to me.

7. Naveen: How do you deal with negative feedback?

Charlie: I take negative feedback seriously, and try to take it to heart, because many times negative feedback is correct. Sometimes it’s an opportunity for self-improvement. Other times, someone is angry about something else that’s happening in his or her life, and will send me a mean-spirited note, not even realizing that there is a human being on the receiving end. I’ve learned that it’s best not to respond to these hostile types of emails, because all that does is provoke another blast from the angry writer. I think many emails are so mean-spirited that there’s only one response that doesn’t provoke more anger and vitriol, and that is no response at all. I have to admit, though, sometimes a vicious email can cut right to the bone. Ouch. But I just try to shake it off, and I can take it.

8. Michael F.: How long does it take you to write a longer entry? What is your methodology or approach? Do you have a formula you rely on?

Charlie: I can usually write about two and sometimes three blog entries per hour, but for a longer and more-complicated post, it can take two or three hours. Some of the website articles I do for Digital Media Net take two or three days of hard work, and sometimes I need to travel thousands of miles to get the story. A more involved article might take a week and a half or two weeks. It just depends on the story. There’s no real formula for writing a blog entry; I just gather the facts, sort out what’s important from what isn’t, and sometimes I’ll make a list of the points I’d like to make, and then fill in the blanks. Many times it happens very quickly. Sometimes I’ll wake up and it’s already done. I already have it written in my head — all I have to do is get talk it out into this Bluetooth headset and there it is on the screen, like magic. Other times it’s like pulling teeth.

9. Dennis Thomas: What do you think are the most innovative gadgets launched in recent years?

Charlie: I think the biggest innovation in recent years is the way high definition video production has been made accessible to almost everyone. I’ve worked in television for many years, and you wouldn’t believe how much things have changed since I started back in 1975. Just 15 years ago you needed $1 million edit suite to do what you can do with a common, everyday computer today. And what about high-definition? Just 10 years ago there were hardly any facilities in the world where you could edit high-definition video — heck, there were only about two or three video postproduction houses in the United States where you could accomplish that. Now you can edit HD on just about any garden-variety computer. It’s just remarkable.

10. Kanchan: Have you ever thought of focusing on being a green consumer?

Charlie: I am a green consumer now. I drive a hybrid vehicle, I recycle even though I don’t think most of it is cost-effective and it’s mostly symbolic, I work in a home office rather than driving a lot, and I am presently planning to build an off-the-grid house about seven to 10 years from now. I think by then the technology might be such that batteries can store more power, fuel cells will be more cost-effective and solar energy will probably be more efficient as well. Yeah, I’m pretty green. You won’t catch me driving an SUV, no way.

11. Andy: Where do you see yourself in next 2 years?

Charlie: Two years from now I hope I’ll still be working for Gizmodo, I’m hoping our group of websites (Consumer Electronics Net and Digital Media Net) will be even bigger and more successful than they are already, I’m hoping the podcast that my friend Stephen Schleicher and I do every day, Coolness Roundup, will be an enterprise that we could do full time if we wanted to and make a decent living with that alone, and I’m hoping that my daughter will be doing very well in high school. I’m also hoping my wife will be feeling well and her modeling and acting career will still be flourishing as it is today. But you asked where do I see myself? Literally, as far as location, I just hope I’m still here at the Midwest Test Facility, living out here on the windswept prairie among the whispering pines and amber waves of grain, not far from Lake Michigan in my beloved Wisconsin.

12. Kylie: Are there any developments in the tech industry you are excited about?

Charlie: I think the most exciting thing happening in the tech industry right now is that television, computers, telephones, navigation devices and music players are all converging into one kind of Frankentech, where high definition video can be downloaded from the Web, video can be watched on cellphones, and people will be able to exchange video just the way they do audio now and everyone will be connected, whether they like it or not. Other than that, I’m also excited about personal jets, robotic space travel as well as people on Mars and what Ray Kurzweil calls “the Singularity,” where computers and human beings merge into one. Another intriguing development is nanotechnology, and I’m also interested in what medical technology will do with the genetic code they’ve recently unraveled. These are exciting times.

13. Sid: How do you kick-start your burn-out days: How do you find inspiration?
Kanchan adds: Did you ever face writer’s block? How did you handle it?

Charlie: I thoroughly understand the thrust of your question, Sid and Kanchan, and can certainly commiserate with you. Some days, that inspiration is nearly impossible to tap. I’ve found the best way to deal with the lack of motivation is just to start writing anyway. The first few sentences will sometimes be almost gibberish, but if I can just start the process, it seems like I invariably begin to get into the rhythm of it. Another thing I do is go for long walks, four to five miles every day, and that sometimes helps kick start things. Another quick fix I’ve noticed, besides drinking a lot of coffee, is to go and take a nice big swig of very strong mouthwash and swish it around in my mouth for 30 seconds. For some odd reason, that never fails to intensify my focus. Try it. I told my dentist about that and he thought I was crazy.

14. Chris: When you’re not being surrounded by gadgets, what sort of things do you like to do?
Poonam add: What do you do when you are not blogging?

Charlie: I’m a walker, staying in shape with a regular exercise program. I like to listen to various podcasts while I walk, think, and talk with my wife. She’s also a walker, and we have some lovely places to walk here in Wisconsin. We’re also movie buffs, and have quite a vast collection of films on our server for viewing on the HD projector in our home theater. We also like to go out to dinner, and have some great times with our close friends, many of whom are media types and working in the same business that we are. I also can’t seem to get enough of reading books, and now I’m just finishing up the book The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, and I’m about to start reading Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, one of my favorite authors. I also like to study history, and my 13-year-old daughter (who is a descendent of John Adams and John Alden of the Mayflower) and I like to go on history-seeking road trip adventures. So far we’ve visited the homes of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Mount Rushmore and Washington, DC. Next, we’ll visit her ancestral home where Adams lived in Massachusetts. I also enjoy a bit of TV directing here and there, and produce/direct a little three-camera live-on-tape talk show for the local CBS affiliate just for kicks, just to keep my skills sharp.

15. Lynn: You write one of the most popular gadget blogs on the Internet. What attracted you to the gadget blogging?

Charlie: I really like goofing around with gadgets and I was attracted to the informal and humorous style of Gizmodo. I was a Gizmodo reader for a couple of years before I approached the blog, asking them if they’d mind if I did a bit of copy editing for them. I did that for a few months, and then they asked me to begin writing for them. It’s been a great adventure. I think gadget blogging is exciting and has a unique immediacy; it’s a bit like doing a live shot on television. Plus, it’s fun to be on the leading edge of technology, which undoubtedly is one of the liveliest areas of our culture.

16. Nandini: Finally, we would like to have your thoughts on BornRich and Instablogs Network.

Charlie: We were just commenting the other day among ourselves at Gizmodo about how BornRich has an uncanny ability to find great stories. Now I want you to tell me your secrets, reveal your sources and tell us how you find all these great stories, gadgets and luxuries that interest us so consistently. We enjoy linking to you, and appreciate your linking to us as well. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer all of these great questions. I’m flattered that you would ask me to be your Geek of the Week.

We finally Thank Charlie for taking time-out for this interview and finishing it in the best possible way! And, wish him all the best in all his future endeavors.35096