Jeff Bates (technologist)
Jeff Bates | |
|---|---|
| Other names | hemos |
| Education | Holland Christian High School (1994) |
| Alma mater | Hope College (BA in History and Biology, 1998) |
| Occupation | Technology executive |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of Slashdot |
Jeff Bates, also recognized by his online alias hemos, co-established Slashdot alongside Rob Malda (known as "CmdrTaco").
Biography
Bates completed his secondary education at Holland Christian High School in 1994 and subsequently obtained a Bachelor's degree in History and Biology from Hope College in 1998.
While both were students at Hope College, Malda and Bates launched Slashdot in 1997. The website was sold to Andover.net in 1999, which was later acquired by VA Linux Systems in 2000. VA Linux underwent rebranding, becoming SourceForge, Inc. in 2007 and later renamed Geeknet, Inc. in 2009.
From May 2001 until July 2004, Bates held the position of Director of Media Operations at Geeknet. He then advanced to Vice President of Editorial Operations and Executive Editor for Slashdot. In February 2008, he was elevated to Vice President of Platform at Geeknet, where he managed engineering and product divisions for Slashdot, freshmeat, and SourceForge.
In August 2011, Bates joined the ranks of Google, initially serving as Chief of Staff for the CIO. As of 2019, he occupies the role of Chief of Product Operations.
Slashdot
The technology news site originally named "Chips and Dips" was founded by Bates and Malda in July 1997; it was rebranded as Slashdot two months later in September 1997. By the year 2012, Slashdot had established itself as a premier technology news outlet, attracting approximately 3.7 million unique visitors each month and generating over 5,300 comments daily.