So, for various reasons, we've been pretty obsessively refreshing Valleywag, "Silicon Valley's tech gossip rag." We have to admit that we've felt a more-than-miniscule frisson of joy as we've watched that site's guest editor struggle and scrape in an attempt to make the mandated 12-a-day post count. But we're better people than that; we know how difficult it is to produce content on a tight schedule while contending with occasionally undermedicated commenters and the vagaries of a news cycle that sometimes produces nothing worthy of discussing. And while we lack certain advantages that our colleague over there possesses (it's a lot easier to get your e-mails returned when you're an evil billionaire Internet mogul with a lengthy track record of providing journalists as much prosecco as they can slam down until the third bottle runs out), we'd like to offer a few pointers in an attempt to aid the transition. After the jump, our advice.

• Washington Post shrinking. Yes, yes, "tightening up the paper's news hole," is a funny phrase. [WaPo
  

• Yes, Eat the Press just compared Nick Denton-Nick Douglas to Sumner Redstone-Tom Freston. Not the analogy we would make, but what do we know. [Eat the Press]
  

There have been some changes over at digital sib Valleywag. Apart from a sparkly new design, editorial content will be changing a bit, as will the editor himself: Out goes founder editor Nick Douglas, in comes (temporarily, at least) Nicholas Denton, a former journalist for the Financial Times who's spent the last four years in the pursuit of evil. Nick will be over there until they find a new editor (Interested? Apply here.), so everyone here in New York is hoping he has a long and glorious reign. With the quality material he's already turning out, it would be a shame to lose him to other pursuits.

^{Dating columnist Julia Allison, wearing condom armor to Nick Denton's party, proves that there is life after commenter execution.}

So, you may not have known this, but Friday was the final day of Jess Coen's tenure as editor at Gawker. (Don't feel bad, there wasn't much mention of it in these parts.) In an oddly uncharacteristic display of affection for his employees, Gawker publisher Nick Denton opened his home to the various hordes who had come to celebrate J. Co's departure. As is his wont, Denton left around eight for a better party, thus missing the ancient Gawker tradition wherein the departing editor shears mascot Andrew Krucoff's hair. Since Elizabeth Spiers first gave Andrew a buzz-cut back in 2003, each editor signals the end of his tenure by symbolically shedding his or her ties to the company. After the jump, we share the evidence of this touching ceremony.

Just like Christmas in July, New Year predictions deserve a mid-year refresher — especially since Valleywag wasn't here for New Year's. Valleywag predicts that by the end of 2006:

You remember the Times Square billboards that display secrets sent in by the confessionally minded? Too bad we didn't get a capture of this message actually on the billboard, but a tipster nevertheless caught its replay on the website accompanying the fine Secret deodorant ad campaign. Gawker Media's mandarin Nick Denton is no doubt pleased and titillated to know of his secret crush, regardless of the crusher's BO issues.

Here's a sad example of vlog Beet.tv video-stalking bloggers — bloggers! — through the party celebrating the launch of Wired editor Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail on Wednesday night at Tribeca Cinemas. Thrill to blurry footage of the top half of Dealbreaker's Elizabeth Spiers's head, plus Gawker Media's own Nick Denton, shot monolithically (and unawares) from below. Oh yes, and musician David Byrne. He probably has a blog too, the sumbitch.

We try not to get too self-referential here at Gawker, mainly because it's boring, but also because it fucks up the carefully-crafted media strategy which we sit through countless monthly seminars learning to apply. On the other hand, when an article like Jack Shafer's most recent Slate piece appears, it seems silly not to address it. You can read it on your own if you like and adjudge its merits as you see fit. We just want to point out that any article that uses the phrase, "Charming and approachable, he puts people at ease and makes himself a sympathetic source," in reference to Nick Denton is clearly devoid of research, accuracy, or a basic grasp of reality. Get off the pipe, Jack; it's not doing you any good.

Bye, everyone. Looks like Gawker Media is so over.

Gawker Media's shake-up is all over TechMeme today, thanks to a well-timed New York Times profile of my boss Nick Denton (pictured here being better than you).

Marketer and pro-blogger advocate Curt Hopkins is a good and reasonable man. Good because he's running the Blogswana project, in which students will help those affected by AIDS in Africa tell the world about their plight. Reasonable because when he asked the following Valley people — people known as good souls with a passion for world-changing technology — for financial support, he expected a few yeses and a few nos.

Blow! Blow! The tech bubble's still not big enough! Enterprising New Yorker Paul Maiorana is selling Alleywag.com, the perfect trademark infringer for Valleywag Startup Idea #2090: A gossip site about New York City's Silicon Alley (home of DoubleClick and iVillage).

What Valleywag got:

Gawker alumnette and former mediabistro editor Elizabeth Spiers has informed FishbowlNY that this Wednesday will mark the launch of her latest bloggy venture, Dealbreaker. The Wall Street blog is intended to be the first in Spiers' forthcoming blog network, for which she will presumably craft individual blogs the way Condé Nast crafts magazines—each one carefully aimed at some ineffable, deluxe readership. They will all be, however, in niches that target high-spending, well-educated readers—such as gossip, sex, and politics. Spiers' aim is to hit the sweet spot: big readerships, but not hoi polloi.

Posted on newborn brother Consumerist:

• Judge rules that Stallone's Sly magazine won't be confused for a shoe-fetishist rag. Which is kind of too bad. [E! Online]
• Reuters: "Men want facts, women seek relations on Web." Clearly the reporters don't know any gay men, who we're pretty sure seek all sorts of deviant "relations" on the Web. [Reuters via Yahoo]
• Breaking: Reporters like to drink. [NYT]
• Jossip presents his 2005 media awards, though we don't quite understand why "Graydon Carter's Deep Throat discovery" is a nominee for "biggest newsmedia mishap." [Jossip]
• Bossman's stuck in London, and WWD clearly has absolutely no real news to report. [WWD]

• Media observers make predictions for 2006, and prove that everyone — not just us — loves a good Radar punchline. [MB]
• Magazine editors make resolutions for 2006, and remind us that no one — not even us — is amused by a Blackberry joke. [WWD]
• Monday Night Football is dead. Long live Monday Night Football. [NYT]
• Bossman Nick is, apparently, a sexy geek. [Wired News]

• Confessions of a (granted, emergency-landing-surviving) media whore. [NYO]
• Bossman Denton cruises the Jersey Turnpike on a bathwater-powered scooter, apparently. Also, he has a large head. [NYO]
• Nonfamous writer Matt Haber's past was pillaged by adorable and now-famous writer Benjamin Kunkel, and Haber'll be damned if you don't know about it. [NYO]
• Dan Rather wants to revisit Bush National Guard story; CBS brass won't let him. We await Public Eye's take, presumably that spirited debate is a good thing. [NYP]
• A day in the life of Us editor Janice Min — in which no one cares about Britney's baby. [asap/AP]
• Geraldo won't sue Times, but his feelings are still hurt. [NYP]
• Washington Blade launches a "gay Romenesko" site. We always thought that was us. [E&P]
• Turns out, SCOTUS nominee Roberts might not hate the press as much as the Times thought. Which still doesn't mean he likes it. [NYT]
• Sly gets up off the mat. [WWD]