Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Seattle’s Top Stories of the First Quarter

It’s time to close the books on the first quarter of 2011. As the editor around here, that means it’s time to look back at the journalism we did that broke new ground, shed some new light, or otherwise exemplified what we think is the best stuff we did to serve our readers the past three months.

We know people are very busy, and it can be exhausting keeping up with news on the Web, especially with so much half-baked, recycled, or aggregated content out there. We try to keep the quality of the journalism around here consistent, and high. My friend and colleague Greg Huang summed up our approach pretty well earlier today in his roundup for Boston readers:

“Every so often, we like to take a breath and look back at some of Xconomy’s top stories from the past few months. These are not necessarily the ones that generated the most traffic (though in some cases they are). They are stories that exemplify what we try to deliver to our readers day in and day out—real stories behind the companies, people, ideas, and trends that are shaping the future of innovation in our network of cities. What’s more, they help distinguish us from the media pack.”

Below you’ll see our top 20 tech and life sciences stories from the past quarter. But I’m actually leaving out Xconomy Seattle’s single most important story in the first quarter of 2010. It was the one where I introduced our new senior editor here in Seattle, Curt Woodward. He started on February 14—just seven weeks ago—and you can already feel he’s making an impact on our coverage, with scoops and in-depth insight on the local tech scene. The dude can flat out report and write, and he’s just getting warmed up. If you aren’t already following him, check out @curtwoodward and @xconomyseattle. And watch for more from this team in the second quarter and beyond.

The Top 10 Tech Stories

“Zaarly’s Wild Ride, Winning a Weekend, Quitting a Job, and The $100 Midnight Cheeseburger“

“Seattle’s Tech Job Crunch: How Long Can Valley Invaders Poach From Microsoft, Amazon, Before the Talent Well Runs Dry“

“Cheezburger, With Dreams of Domination in Internet Humor, Grabs $30M from Foundry Group, Madrona, Madrona, Softbank“

“Jeremy Jaech Leaves CEO Post at Seattle’s Verdiem“

“Obama’s Earmark Ban Could Ripple Through the Northwest Makers of Vaccines, Biofuels, Clean Water Technology“

“Nick Hanauer and Rich Barton’s Stealth Startup, King of the Web, Inches Closer to Revealing What’s Under that Crown“

“Geoffrey Moore: Why Middle Managers Are the New Kings, Stiff-Arming Shortsightedness, and the Money Chasm in the Mobile Social Sphere“

“Skytap, Fresh Off Boston-Led $10M Financing, Seeks to Make Cloud Computing Work Better“

“Amazon’s Multi-State Sales Tax Battles Are a Sideshow to the Real National Solution, and the Politicians Know It“

“Photorocket, Led by Amazon and aQuantive Vet Scott Lipsky, Uncloaks Its Not-Another-Photo-Sharing Service“

The Top 10 life sciences stories:

“Clarisonic Cracks Big-Time With $100M in Sales, Riding Rave Reviews From Lady Gaga, Oprah“

“Dendreon’s Warhorse, Chief Scientific Officer Dave Urdal, to Retire at Year End“

“Gates Foundation Makes First Equity Investment in a Biotech Startup, Liquidia Technologies“

“Mobisante Wins FDA Approval for Ultrasound on a Smartphone Technology“

“Gilead Pursues Cancer, Inflammation as Next Step to Diversify Beyond HIV“

“The Immunex Alumni: Where Are They Now?“

“NanoString, Snapping Up Genomic Health Veteran, Seeks to Prove Economic Value of Cancer Diagnostic“

“Calypso Medical’s New CEO Seeks to Steady Ship After a Rough Couple of Years“

“How ZymoGenetics Coulda Been a Contender: The Big Break That Came Too Late“

“Biogen Idec’s New R&D Boss, Doug Williams, Spurns the Corner Office for a Return to Science“