| Xeni Jardin | |
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Xeni Jardin in 2008 |
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| Born | August 5, 1970 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Parents | Monica Rumsey Glenn B. Hamm Jr[1] |
Xeni Jardin ( /ˈʃɛni ʒɑrˈdæn/ shen-ee zhar-dan; b. 1970) is an American weblogger, digital media commentator,[2] and tech culture journalist.[3] She is known for her position as co-editor of the collaborative weblog Boing Boing, as a contributor to Wired magazine and Wired News, and as a correspondent for the National Public Radio show Day to Day. She has also worked as a guest technology news commentator for television networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and ABC.
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Jardin was born in Richmond, Virginia on August 5, 1970.[note 1] Her father, artist Glenn B. Hamm Jr., died in August 1980 of ALS. She left home at age 14, but remained in school in Richmond. [1] Her brother, Carl M. Hamm, retained their family name, and is a Richmond, Virginia-based disc jockey, who performs under the stage name "DJ Carlito".[4] Meanwhile, Jardin prefers the name "Xeni Jardin" over her given name, for personal reasons.[5] "Xeni" is short for "Xeniflores," a word with origins in Guatemala's native culture, meaning "protector of flowers,"[5] while "jardin" is the Spanish and French word for "garden." Prior to becoming a journalist, she was site editor for travel agency Traveltrust,[6] then Supervisor of Enterprise Web Technology for Latham & Watkins[7] before working at Quaartz, an internet calendaring startup.[8]
Her career as a journalist began in 1999 when she was associated with Jason Calacanis's Silicon Alley Reporter, first as a contributing editor, and later as Vice President of Silicon Alley's parent company, Rising Tide Studios. In 2001 she became a freelance writer for Wired and other magazines, and in 2002 she began contributing to Boing Boing after Mark Frauenfelder met her at a party and invited her to be a co-editor.[1] Jardin has also written op-ed pieces for the New York Times[9] and the Los Angeles Times.[10] She has also been the main source of an article in The Age talking about the cultural relevance of Wikipedia articles,[2] and the source for a New York Times article discussing Boing Boing's part in the creation of the Flying Spaghetti Monster internet meme.[11]
Jardin is also involved in television and radio work. In 2003, she began contributing the "Xeni Tech" segment for NPR's show Day to Day,[12] and has appeared as a guest on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer to discuss the Washington Post's decision to remove their comments section (a step Boing Boing had also taken).[13] She has also made appearances on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and ABC World News Tonight.[1] and featured on the BBC Radio 5 show Pods and Blogs discussing her work at Boing Boing.[14]
Her work at Boing Boing has provoked some critical response. In March 2005, Jesse Andrews created a script for GreaseMonkey that filters out Boing Boing posts by Jardin.[15][16] In March 2006, Matthew N. Sharp created XeniSucks.com, which criticizes and parodies Jardin's posts on Boing Boing. Jardin posted a link to the site on Boing Boing and described it as "a total hoot" (the link is now removed).[17] A June 2008 controversy over Jardin's deletion from public view all posts and links associated with sex blogger Violet Blue in the wake of a falling-out led to discussions about journalism ethics and standards and media transparency.[18][19][20][21]
On December 1, 2011, she live-blogged her first mammogram, which returned a positive diagnosis of breast cancer.[22]