John Colucci

Engagement Editor

He began his career in media as a teen correspondent for CBS News and a show called Studio Y at the age of 17. College led him in a different direction, doing project management and marketing for Old Navy and Virgin America, before shifting back into media when he joined Engadget. He's interviewed Cookie Monster and the woman behind Sesame Street, iJustine, and appears regularly on HuffPost Live and speaks on panels like his most recent one at SXSW on social media and brands. His main job though is keeping our readers engaged. (With the site, that is, because couples counseling isn't his forte.)

Articles by John Colucci

Talk with the cast of 'Citizen Mars' during our Facebook Q&A
Would you give up everything you know on Earth to start a new life on Mars and never come back? The five people we profiled in our original series Citizen Mars are willing to do just that for the good of the world. If you've watched our short series, you probably have a lot of unanswered questions for the cast, so we're giving you the opportunity to ask them whatever you'd like in an upcoming Facebook Q&A. On Thursday, September 17th at 11AM PT / 2PM ET, head over to our Facebook page with your questions and get ready for an exciting discussion.
Four weeks with Jet (aka 'My month without Amazon')
I placed my very first order on Amazon.com for two very popular albums back on June 20th, 2000. I'd later go on to place about 230 orders, including everything from a mattress (no wait, make that two mattresses; don't ask) and soap -- lots and lots of soap. I loved Amazon so much that at one point I remember saying it was the kind of brand that could do no wrong. But, soon after that second mattress order, my romance with the company began to fall apart, thanks to shoddy logistics and problems with Amazon's renowned two-day Prime shipping.
We're hosting a Q&A with the US Labor Secretary about the 'gig economy'
Services like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Postmates are hallmarks of what's being called the "gig economy." And while presidential candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that companies like these are "unleashing innovation," they've also raised questions about workplace protections. So, to answer some of your questions (and ours), we're hosting a Facebook Q&A this Monday, July 27th at 5PM ET with Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
What sweet treat will the 'M' in 'Android M' stand for?
In no surprise to anyone, Google announced that its next version of Android will be called "M," the natural followup to Lollipop and its other edible mobile operating systems. We won't know for some time what the "M" will stand for and are really hoping it's not something lame like "Mobile." Our team came up with a few suggestions of what the sweet treat might be and invite you to guess which one you think will get the honors. If we got it wrong and you have another idea, tweet it to us (we're @engadget, natch).
Why text when your phone can sing messages at your friends?
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-344018{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-344018, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-344018{width:629px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-344018").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Ditty might sound like Sean Combs' latest stage name, but in fact, it's a new messaging application that takes mundane text messages and turns them into a shareable video, with onscreen lyrics. The app, made by a company called Zya, is one of the few that can be used in concert with Facebook Messenger, which just opened up to third parties. In fact, the app was unveiled today during Facebook's own F8 developer conference.
3M showed me how dirty my phone was at SXSW
I'm a certified germaphobe. In clinical terms, that makes me one of the 3.3 million Americans who suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Being at an event like SXSW where about 33,000 of my fellow digital comrades are coexisting in very public spaces, I'm always worried about keeping myself and my gadgets clean, especially my phone and laptop. And with good reason: scientists found that cell phones carry ten times more disease-causing bacteria than most toilet seats. So, when I heard 3M was on the ground at SXSW testing out how dirty people's phones were at its "LifeLab," I had to check it out.
We're on the ground at SXSW!
We're gearing up for another great SXSW in Austin, Texas! Last year, we witnessed a dude get "stunned" by Chaotic Moon's "CUPID" Drone, checked out IBM's Watson-powered food truck and punched some virtual sharks. This year we'll again get to see new emerging technologies, creative uses of old ones and generally explore how tech is changing our lives.
Sesame Street's executive producer on staying relevant after 46 years
Thanks to Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, the competition for kid's eyeballs is fiercer than ever, but that's not slowing down Sesame Street. Now in its 46th year, the show is making a bigger and bigger push into social media, with often hilarious (but secretly educational) results. I sat down with the show's Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, Carol Lynn-Parente, shortly after meeting my new best friend, Cookie Monster, to talk about the show's digital life and more.
Delta's in-flight WiFi is about to get a whole lot faster
If you've flown Delta recently (or most domestic airlines) and tried to use the onboard Gogo WiFi, you know that it's often a crapshoot. A combination of where you're flying over and the number of passengers attempting to use it leads to either a decent connection (yay!), one that's slow as a snail (ugh), or none at all ($#!%). Look, we need to remember that sending tweets at 35,000 feet is basically magic. But being able to stream even a low-res YouTube clip would really make flying a happier experience.
Cookie Monster: The Engadget Interview
It'd be wrong to say that the cast of Sesame Street just discovered the internet. As it is, the show's characters have dozens of games and mobile apps, with a large video archive that goes at least as far back as "Me Lost Me Cookie At The Disco." It would seem, though, that someone over at the Sesame Workshop has been working to bring Big Bird and co. into the twenty-first century. For starters, Big Bird only just issued his first tweet ("tweet" -- get it?) last week. Meanwhile, PBS Kids just premiered Cookie Monster's first movie, The Cookie Thief, and, in an effort to promote it, also came up with this ingenious gif generator that basically lets Cookie take over your browser.
Cookie Monster wants to take over your browser
The entire Engadget staff is pretty excited about Cookie Monster's first PBS Kids movie "The Cookie Thief," (which premieres this Monday, February 16th). In celebration, our entire site is now a veritable sea of Cookie Monster GIFs! Well, sorta.
The 10 most-tweeted commercials from Super Bowl XLIX
It was a great night for Rob Gronkowski and the New England Patriots, but it wasn't so good for our friend Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. It also was a great night for brands trying to hold your attention for seconds with ads to get you talking on Twitter. From the usual highbrow suspects selling soda and beer, to toe fungus medication and superglue, here's our take on the most-talked about spots from last night's big game.
The poetry of my tweets
I'd like to think my tweets offer some cultural value and promote a better world. I consume plenty of brilliant films and scholarly articles, then reflect my learnings on Twitter multiple times a day. So when I heard there was a tool to turn my tweets into real poetry, I expected a reflection of the erudite person I've become. Unfortunately, I was painted as, well...a boob.
iJustine loves fitness wearables as much as Taco Bell
Digital diva and influencer Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine) thinks CES is a big "tech tease." She's right, of course -- there's just too much technology to cover in a short amount of time (and inevitably, some of it will never be released). But it's fitness wearables that get her the most excited about the show floor this year, like the stuff Misfit showed off. On our CES stage she explains her valentine Taco Bell and how the two keep up over Snapchat. We talk about a whole lot more during our fun conversation, which you can watch after the break.
The trailer and beyond: Engadget at CES 2015
Team Engadget spent a long week running around Las Vegas during CES, whether it's the the many exhibits at the city's Convention Center, the umpteen meetings at hotels or all-important pitstops like the Peppermill. Want to get a glimpse of what it was like? Follow the journey of our editorial team (and its dear friends) through social media in the gallery below.
will.i.am's wearable tech plans merge high fashion with inspiration
What hasn't will.i.am done? He's a mega-producer, solo artist, founding member of The Black Eyed Peas and, yes, even a tech entrepreneur with a significant history at CES. With his new "computer on your wrist," the $399 i.am PULS+, announced this past October, will.i.am's ready to dive deep into the wearables space under his own i.am+ brand umbrella. But it's not all about the tech, as we learned on the Engadget CES stage. He's got plans to tie the fashion industry into his product line -- former Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley's onboard to lend his expertise -- and inspire underprivileged kids to tackle careers in tech. You can watch it all go down in the video just after the break.
Keeping up with Engadget on the ground at #CES2015
It's the most wonderful time of the year! And if you look at the lyrics to the Andy Williams classic, it can easily be adjusted for the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (and despite impending sleep deprivation, we'll still do our very best to "be of good cheer.") We're perched up in a gorgeous trailer (with plants!) and broadcasting live from our delightful stage right in the heart of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
IRL: Why I got my mom a Nexus 9 for Christmas
My dad called me up a few weeks ago saying he wanted to get mom a tablet for Christmas, one that might be good enough to replace the laptop she hated. It wasn't the hardware causing angst; it was the software: Windows 8. She's pretty comfortable with technology, but migrating from the familiar world of Windows' past was tricky and she wasn't alone -- I didn't find it easy either. While no tablet could completely replace a laptop, for general internet use, it's all she really needed.
Reminder: Help us build a gadget room for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!
#enGIVEget means you give and they get -- "they" being the brave and wonderful kids going through life-saving treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And knowing you're busy with the holidays, let us take a moment to remind you about our sweepstakes ending this Friday, December 19th.
Security flaw lets Delta passengers access strangers' boarding passes
If you've been dreaming about tanning on Miami Beach versus visiting your family in Minneapolis this holiday, a security flaw involving Delta Airlines' electronic boarding pass system might just make that a reality. Dani Grant, a product intern at BuzzFeed and founder of Hackers of NY, realized she could share the URL to her boarding pass for anyone to download. Then, by changing a digit in the URL, someone else's boarding pass (even on another airline) popped right up.