About Us

Nylon Futura cover by Kirk Millett

In 2001 the Seattle tech scene was overtaken, seemingly overnight, by a new tabloid paper that combined an oddball mix of technology, media, alcohol and fashion. It was simply called TEKBUG.

Created by serial publisher Ryan Douthit, TEKBUG was an experiment in the tabloid style, printing up to 110,000 copies every two weeks and distributing them all across the Seattle region. By the end of 2002, this trailblazing publication was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

Seattle’s snarky paper, The Stranger, had this to say about its passing:

“Tekbug’s chief legacy may be its unapologetic insistence that people who buy replacement hard drives do, indeed, have lifestyles.”

Damn straight.

Now, we’re back. For how long? We can’t say. Enjoy the site, send us your feedback by posting comments and we’ll see where we go from here.

About the Publisher

After launching TEKBUG in 2001, publisher Ryan Douthit was called by The Stranger “a 29-year-old, Nordstrom-outfitted former dot-commer.” (The only time Ryan has been compared actor Brendan Fraser.)

That same year he was also crowned “Sexiest Geek in Seattle” — a runner-up in the Sexiest Geek Alive competition. He ultimately lost to Ellen Spertus in San Jose.

Though he didn’t win the ultimate glory of being hailed the “Sexiest Geek Alive,” he was, years later, able to ace the following Trivial Pursuit question thanks to the experience, “What dubious distinction did Ellen Spertus win in 2001?” Thus, winning a game of Trivial Pursuit for the first time (true story.)

Since then, Mr. Douthit had toiled in the relative obscurity, publishing nationally-circulate automotive magazines and producing video seen by millions. He continues to publish TEKBUG because, even after all these years, he really digs well designed gadgets and a decent bottle of wine.