io9 is a publication about science fiction, science and futurism—not a device or a technical acronym. It launched under Gawker Media on January 2, 2008. Its name came from the short io9.com domain acquired for the project; the time-machine story attached to the name on launch day was fictional.
What is io9?
io9 began as an editorial site bringing science fiction and speculation about the future together with reporting on real science. Today it appears within Gizmodo, whose About page lists dedicated io9 staff, including News Editor Cheryl Eddy and Senior Reporter Germain Lussier. The same page identifies Gizmodo USA LLC as Gizmodo’s publisher and sole owner of Gizmodo.com; it does not specify an ultimate parent company. Staff and publisher details can change.
When did io9 launch, and who created it?
Annalee Newitz says she joined Gawker in May 2007 to develop a publication about science fiction and the future. After about six months of preparation, io9 launched publicly on January 2, 2008. The early team included Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Kevin Kelly and freelancer Graeme McMillan; they wrote for a private test site before the public launch. Newitz developed the project, and Anders is also identified as a co-founder.
In a 2013 retrospective, Newitz reported that io9 had 5.2 million monthly readers worldwide. That is a historical figure from 2013, not a current audience estimate.
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Where did the name io9 come from?
The planned name was Futurista, but its domain was unavailable. After considering alternatives, the team accepted io9.com from Newitz’s friend Gordon Lyon, a domain speculator; Gawker Media bought it for the project. Newitz and Anders later recalled that the short, unusual name sounded right for a science-fiction publication, though readers sometimes struggled to tell whether it contained the letters “i” and “o” or the number nine.
The launch-day explanation that “io9s were marketed as cheap time machines in the 2070s” was an invented backstory for the site’s first post, not the name’s real etymology. io9 was not an acronym that needed decoding.
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Why was io9 created?
Newitz wanted to put real science alongside science fiction and futurism. She cited OMNI’s blend of speculative science and science fiction as an inspiration, and described the goal as helping readers imagine possible futures through science reporting and analysis of speculative culture. In her words, “We want to present you with a clear vision of what tomorrow could bring, and that includes reporting on real science, as well as analyzing science fiction and futurism.”
Anders later described the founding idea as making science fiction accessible beyond a niche audience: “Science fiction is for everybody.” She also noted that the later merger with Gizmodo brought technology into the editorial mix.
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How to understand io9’s identity
- It is a publication: io9 covers science fiction, science and futurism, and is presented within Gizmodo today.
- Its name came from a domain: io9.com was chosen after the team could not use Futurista.
- The time-machine story is fiction: it was playful launch-day world-building, not a factual account of the name.
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