While his tweet revealing the news wasn’t at all specific, the main reason for his retiring was due to financial instability, according to Blass’ interview with The Next Web. He felt as if he needed a more traditional full-time job in order to not only provide for his family, but also fight his multiple sclerosis (MS), which was first revealed in a piece by The Verge which detailed Walgreen’s blacklisting of some drug buyers.
While Blass attempted to monetize his leaking ways through his website and sponsored tweets, the effort wasn’t a stable-enough form of payment for him to continue it. In addition, in the interview, Blass noted that his audience tended to use ad-block software, which prevented an even flow of revenue.
All good things must come to an end. Thank you for an amazing two years. [RETIREMENT]
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 3, 2014
While he noted that the decision is final, with the fate of his website up in the air, he did reveal that his well-known @evleaks Twitter handle will now be for personal use. Blass started off in 2005 as an editor for Engadget before working his way up to senior editor. He then had a three-year stint at Pocketnow as a managing editor before converting his leaking tendencies into a full-time gig in 2012.
As early as 2009, Twitter was a hotbed for leaks. Unfortunately, for these early leakers, legal threats from phone manufacturers and the high difficulty of publicizing leaks, as well as failure to monetize such a path, were enough to ward them away. What made Blass stand out from the rest was not only his success with the latter, but also how accurate his leaks were. This is why outlets such as Engadget, The Verge, and we here at Digital Trends aren’t hesitant on reporting whatever he leaks.
TK TechNews, a website run by T.K. Connor, launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund Blass’ MS treatment. The campaign is asking for $100,000, with three people who give $500 getting a leaked phone and two people who give $1,500 getting box seats for a New Jersey Devils hockey game and the chance to meet up with the team. The campaign has raised $1,746 as of this writing.
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