Letter from the Editor: Expanding our coverage universe

I stated that we would be focused on gaming news from the cutting edge of technology, when I took on the role of editor-in-chief at Shacknews in 2017. Technology has expanded far outside of traditional coverage spaces as tech powers the world. One area that I believe is in the middle of a truly disruptive growth spurt is the electric vehicle space and the surrounding alternative energy ecosystem. This is something that I care about, and I have assembled a new team to help cover this space at Shacknews while still providing our readers all of the video game news, guides, long reads, gameplay videos, and interviews that they have come to expect from us after 23 years in the industry.

Tony Hudson, Sara Sartarelli, and Adam Kraus are all dear friends who I have known for decades, and we are joining forces to create content focused around electric vehicles, alternative energy, and emerging technologies. Tony and Sara recently picked up a Tesla Model 3 and drove it across the U.S. from California to Ohio, and I was an early adopter of the Tesla Model S. Adam took me to the Tesla showroom in Denver when we were partners at our investment advisor firm, and I was convinced by him to preorder the car that day. We are all obsessed with Tesla news, and we will be focusing our energy towards that company as it is a leader.

Tony and Sara have spun up a Shacknews sister channel on YouTube called Tesla Fudge, so give them a sub if you are interested in seeing more EV content. They can also be followed on Twitter @TeslaFudge. Adam will be contributing to our podcast and news efforts and can be followed on Twitter @Long_Elon. This team will report to me at Shacknews, and we look forward to engaging the EV community in our own Chatty forum for content ideas. 

Regarding our content, we are believers in electric vehicles, and there will be a positive bias to our coverage. That doesn't not mean we will ignore facts or criticism, but we will instead meet everything with actual data as opposed to the tremendous amount of misinformation you may see on the Internet regarding Tesla and the viability of electric vehicles. We are all long shares of Tesla stock, and will vocally express our opinions on why we believe we are just at the beginning of the electric vehicle revolution. Tune into our 9to5 Elon podcast to hear more of our spicy hot takes.

Additionally, Shacknews will begin coverage of SpaceX, Neuralink, OpenAI, The Boring Company, Hyperloop, and whatever other weird stuff Elon Musk finds himself getting into. We find the man fascinating, despite his odd behavior at times, and will seek to bring our readers informative articles and content in all these emergent spaces of technology.

One more thing, we are also expanding our coverage at Shacknews to include toys, collectibles, and tabletop games in a bigger way than ever before. You may have seen some unboxing videos hitting our YouTube channels lately, and we have a lot more videos to come in that space. Once again, we will always reach out to our community to make sure the products and games they are interested in get our attention.

I believe that the Shacknews readership is going to be very happy with our new content offerings. Tony, Sara, Adam, and I recorded a Pilot Episode of the 9to5 Elon podcast, so check that out to get a preview of what to expect from our new team.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.