Unlike Kelly's site, Gizmodo (gizmodo.com) is built for speed and the quick hit, and it wants to be far more au courant than "Cool Tools." It was launched by New York-based Brit Nick Denton — who also started the ultra-hip blog site Gawker.com, a mix of New York party gossip and news. Denton's approach to online publishing is part of trend that's been dubbed "nanopublishing."

One reason why hard-bitten Web publishing veterans are so interested in emerging nanopublishing models is that, after being hyped for so long, community is finally coming true. The fact that bloggers can easily link to material they find interesting not only keeps them ranked high on Google, it also means that communities of shared interest emerge quickly online, as PaidContent and Gawker have demonstrated.

Denton says a site such as Gizmodo costs between $1,000 and $2,000 a month to maintain. It is run by one journalist — Peter Rojas — and employs one designer. "Start-up costs were minimal, at around $2,000 for the initial set-up, plus $150 for the Moveable Type software the site uses." So, in other words, Gizmodo and Denton's other sites won't be running up huge debts as they attempt to build a readership. "Some of these new online media ideas are small but potentially profitable little businesses."

One name for this slimmed-down approach to online publishing is "thin media". Denton's label of choice is "nanopublishing", a term coined by Jeff Jarvis, head of content, technology, and strategic development for Advance.