About

Welcome to MakeUseOf, a booming daily blog that features cool websites, computer tips, and downloads that make you more productive. The aim of MakeUseOf is to guide you through the web and tell you about hot websites that you have never heard of, free alternatives to popular software programs, and all kinds of “how to” tips for Windows, Mac and Linux computer users.

MakeUseOf launched in July 2006 and now has over 140,000 active subscribers and serves about 5 million pageviews a month. It also ranks among most popular blogs on the web according to Technorati. Over the last two years MakeUseOf has been recommended by several mainstream sites and mentioned in hugely popular publications like Telegraph and PC Magazine, including their Top 100 Websites for two consecutive years.

Who Are We?

We are just a bunch of regular folks who happen to be obsessed with the Internet and would like to share our passion with others. Meet the MakeUseOf squad below. Although, we have about 35 techies in the team, only about half of them are posting on a regular basis.

Aibek Esengulov (Editor in Chief / Co-founder)

Aibek Esengulov

That’s me, the guy behind MakeUseOf and a true geek. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Computational Science and Masters in Entrepreneurship.

I consider myself a pioneer of a new generation of geeks, you may call it Geek 2.0. On the one hand I retain the basics of being a geek i.e. being good in science, treating my PC as member of my family, and reading lots of stuff on a daily basis. On the other hand I am good in sports, on excellent terms with females, hold PhD equivalent degrees in several video games, love Amsterdam and have a blessing to always find myself among the smartest people around.

MakeUseOf is my full-time job these days. If you would like to know me better, feel free to add me to your friends on Facebook (mention MakeUseOf as how you know me). Here are my Facebook and Twitter profiles.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at aibek[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Kaly Mochoev (MakeUseOf Directory / Co-founder)

I am a regular dude, a father of two, neo geek, tech-obsessed male who runs the MakeUseOf Directory. I am also the co-founder of MakeUseOf and been here since makeuseof domain went live. I happily live with my wife and two daughters in rainy Glasgow.

In regards to what kind of person I am, let me just paste you a few lines from what Aibek wrote about me earlier. It goes: “Unique, never boring, extremely smart, inspiring person with always something interesting to tell” I really like the “extremely smart” part. . Continues: “…Apart from the web he is quite fond of projectors, video games, gadgets, cooking, arranging things, and LCD TVs”.

These days I work full-time for MakeUseOf, mostly running MakeUseOf Directory and Geeky Fun sections.

Whenever you stumble upon something cool on the web and would like to share it with us please send it over to Kaly (kaly[at]makeuseof[dot]com).

Mark O’Neill (Managing & Publishing Editor)

Mark O'Neill

Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland and now living as an ex-pat in Würzburg, Germany, Mark is the full-time managing & publishing editor of MakeUseOf and the 2nd person in charge. He is the guy who reads and edits all article submissions and makes the best ones ready for publication. He is also the one who gets to decide whether something is going to be published or not. He manages the ever-expanding busy staff and makes sure everyone meets their deadlines on time. In short, he keeps MakeUseOf running on a daily basis.

He is highly active on the internet – as well as writing and editing, he is also a book proofreader for Project Gutenberg. You can also find him on Stumbleupon, Twitter and Facebook. He also has a personal website which you can find here.

After working in various industries including the British Civil Service, debt collection, hotels and restaurant kitchens, various call centres and a few other jobs he’d rather forget, he is now self-employed as a professional freelance writer (when he isn’t running MakeUseOf). For two years (2004 & 2005), he was a columnist on Auctionbytes covering eBay and e-commerce related stories and has worked in the eBay/e-commerce sector as a consultant and copywriter. He has also written, as a contributing writer, for about a dozen other blogs.

Email Mark at mark[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Management Team

Jackson Chung (Assistant Editor)

Jackson Chung is a medical student who spends most of his free time indulging in electronics he can’t afford. He loves anything that goes beep and has an instructional manual. Being a passionate Switcher, he writes Mac articles exclusively for MakeUseOf.

Currently, he is also the Assistant Publishing Editor and the Weekend Editor whose main task is to ensure that everyone is a happy worker.

In whatever free time he has left, Jackson tries to live the life of a 20-something year old — traveling, hanging out with friends, blogging and making pictures.

Email Jackson at jackson[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Jorge Sierra (Tech Guy 1)

Jorge Sierra has been a geek for the better part of his life. He has always enjoyed tinkering with PCs ever since his father bought the family a 12 MHz 286 XT with a mere 1MB of RAM and 40MB of hard drive space, two decades ago.

Being both a geek and Florida native, naturally he studied computer engineering at the University of Florida, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1998. He is a die-hard Gator and bleeds orange and blue. During and after his tenure at UF, he developed an affinity for Linux and other free software, which further advanced his status as a geek.

Late in 2008, Jorge started a new blog named GeekLad and shortly afterwards joined MakeUseOf as a contributor and later as a staff writer. Now he mostly hides behind the curtain, performing technical tasks to help keep things running smoothly at MUO.

Karl Gechlik (Tech Guy 2)

Karl Gechlik calls himself a superhero of the IT industry. He spends his days fighting hackers and keeping his global network running at peak efficiency. Karl is a loving husband and devoted father.

On MakeUseOf he is both a staff author and one of the guys responsible for keeping our servers up and running. He has also authored several MakeUseof manuals, including ‘The Idiots Guide to Building Your Own PC which has been downloaded over 30.000 times.

In his spare time Karl runs Ask The Admin to help people all over the world with technical problems. Karl is also working on a fiction novel that you can get a glimpse of here.

Simon Slangen (MakeUseOf PDF Manuals)

Simon Slangen is an 18 year old male from Belgium. He counts himself amongst the new generation of nerds, being fanatically interested in anything remotely scientific and technical. In his free time, he pays regular visits to XKCD and Fazed, and stumbles away more time than he can spare.

He’s currently playing with the idea of starting a vodcast portal. On MakeUseOf, he’s the primary games writer, and the guy who manages everything related to the MakeUseOf manuals. If you like his work, you can always buy him a bagel or tip him on some good SF novels.

Email Simon at simon[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Ryan Dube (SEO Optimization & Promotion)

Ryan Dube Originally born in the wilderness of Northern Maine in the United States, Ryan was eventually civilized through a rigorous Electrical Engineering schooling.

With an obsession for high-tech gadgetry, a passion for creating unconventional computer applications and a love of writing, Ryan now serves as the MakeUseOf Idea researcher, always seeking to push the limits for creative and illuminating topics that will both educate and entertain MakeUseOf readers.

You’ll find Ryan throughout the net, working as a Group Editor for LoveToKnow, a major information portal site, as well as running his own blogs FreeWritingCenter and TopSecretWriters. You can also find him on Twitter.

You can reach Ryan by email at Ryan[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Saikat Basu (MakeUseOf Newsletter Editor)

Saikat Basu A marketing greybeard reincarnated as a tech savvy professional freelance writer and blogger. That’s how Saikat describes himself. After having spent ten years in sales and marketing, he found nirvana in his old love for writing. So, you will always find him online trawling the net for bytes to comment upon or write about. His MBA degree might be gathering wool moths, but he tries to bring that training into his 360 degree imagination while writing.

His basic idiom on life is to find simpler answers to things which we miss in the clutter of the day. Be it a Windows shortcut, new web technologies, life hacks or positive inspirations from the world around us, his personal search engine is always on the go. Apart from tech topics, he loves writing about the environment and motivational themes.

Based in the City of Joy, Kolkata (India), he loves travelling offline too. That also allows him to try his fumbling hands on a Nikon. An avid reader, he likes nothing better than a mug a coffee and a good book. At MUO, he is a Staff Writer and the guy behind the MakeUseOf Newsletter. Giving you the straight dope on what’s buzzing here and answering all that you throw at him.

You can reach Saikat by email at saikat[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

Tina Sieber (MakeUseOf Answers Editor)

Tina Sieber grew up in the suburbs of Frankfurt and Stuttgart, Germany. After spending a voluntary year working in nature conservation, she was accepted to study Biology in Würzburg (never meeting Mark) and later moved to Berlin to obtain a PhD in natural sciences. She is currently finalizing her PostDoc research project and preparing to move to Vancouver, Canada.

Tina discovered her passion for technology long before advancing into higher education. It led to countless missed parties and honorary jobs throughout her time in university and research. In 2007, she applied for a writing position with MakeUseOf, which has given her the chance to develop many new skills.

Today, Tina is a staff writer and the editor of MakeUseOf Answers.

Feel free to email tina[at]makeuseof[dot]com.

MakeUseOf Staff Authors

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