Wonder what Saul Hansell, founding editor one of the founding bloggers at the The New York Times Bits blog who subsequently went to AOL, then Huffington Post, and now betaworks, is feeling now? The Times tech blog is blossoming into a bi-coastal blog empire with writers in Seattle, San Francisco and New York, and just announced expanded coverage including a weekly column and daily newsletter and simplified, uber-webby, un-Timesy new logo.

It's seemingly an answer to the question we've seen bubble up on Twitter every so often: "what if Bits spun out of the NYT?" Although the blog is one of the tech news aggregator Techmeme's top referrers, Bits has to cater to Times readers who lack the ravish appetite for insidery, wonkish morsels that TechCrunch, Silicon Alley Insider, Betabeat and the rest of the tech blogosphere thrive on. As a result, it sometimes lacks the cutting-edge feel—although entrepreneurs know it's good for mainstream traffic and prestige. Bits reporter Jenna Wortham is frequently out at local tech events, as was blogger Nick Bilton before he jumped coasts.

We've heard rumblings of the Bits expansion for some time now, along with rumors of other tech blogs ramping up coverage, especially in New York, as tech becomes trendier and more mainstream. "It’s been more than four years since Bits made its debut," writes Bitsman Damon Darlin. "In that time you’ve made it one of the most frequented blogs at the The New York Times and one of the most prominent tech sites on the Web." Ooh, but you still capitalize "web!"

Not to be confused with real gang members who start beef on Twitter and then shoot each other.

Stay safe everyone!  - via Papermag