Defining herself as a “journalist, blogger, geek and Web 2.0 entrepreneur”, Katie Lee founded popular gadget site Shiny Shiny to cater for female technophiles and is one of the most prominent bloggers in the UK. In 2008, Lee was voted one of London’s 1000 most influential people by the Evening Standard. And in 2009 Revolution magazine voted her one of 50 To Watch in Digital.

Since moving on from Shiny Media, her latest project is Dork Adore, another site for female tech fans which promises to “provide the best advice, opinion, reviews and the odd bit of geek news.” NMK’s Chris Lee (no relation) caught up with her to learn more.

How did you get into technology? What excites you about it?

I’ve always had geek tendencies and when I got a job working for a laptop magazine it really brought that out. But I’ve got a bit of a love-hate relationship with technology. I love gadgets that solve problems, but I hate this constant upgrade society we’ve developed and I’m not a fan of gadgets that pretend to solve a problem - like electronic shower timers that are supposed to save water, but probably used more resources to create than you’ll ever save by using one.

I do tend to keep the same phone for a lot longer than a self-respecting technology journalist should. But once I’ve got something how I like it I’m reluctant to change. Having said that, just when I think I’m getting fed up with gadgets, something really special comes along and I get all excited again.

You founded Shiny Shiny in 2004. What was the inspiration for that and how did you develop it into a leading tech site?

Gadgets started getting better looking and more portable and my female friends always wanted to know what I had in my handbag that week. I managed to convince Marie Claire to run a tiny piece on gadgets for girls and it seemed like a huge deal both to them and to the PRs. But I was frustrated that I could only write really tiny pieces for them. I felt that the glossies were doing a disservice to their readers by not telling them about all the great stuff out there.

Meanwhile, I was spending all my time online, loving blogs like Gizmodo and Engadget and thinking that I could do the same in the UK but for women. I thought websites for women back then were pretty rubbish. They were aimed at the wrong audience. My suspicion was that women who were online were the Buffy-loving geeky types who wanted something funny to read. Apparently I was right because before the end of the first week we were getting over 2,000 unique hits a day and it soon grew to 100,000 a month, and then up to around 450,000 at its peak. I think it helped that we were the only gadget site for women and we got a lot of love from the other tech blogs.

You’ve now set up Dork Adore – tell us about that.

I really set it up as a pet project because I didn’t have Shiny Shiny to play with anymore. I wanted a site that was the full package, aimed at the demographic I understand. So it’s got gadgets on there, but it also covers crafts, TV and beauty because geeks like those things too.

It’s basically the site I want to read, which worked pretty well with Shiny Shiny and the other women’s sites at Shiny Media! I don’t have much time to spend on it at the moment as I have a 10-week-old baby to look after, but I hope it will grow good organic traffic and I’ve got some long term plans for it once I’ve got a bit more time. The great thing about it is that so many of the ex-Shiny Media writers have got involved, as well as some new people who’ve come to it via Twitter. Everyone has been very positive about it and I’m honoured to have so many great writers contributing.

How challenging is it to make money from Web publishing?

I think it’s very challenging to make money from publishing full-stop and it always has been. There are far easier ways to make money if you’re intent on getting rich. Publishing is for people who are passionate about it. Selling blogs to ad agencies is tough, but I think that there are still opportunities out there. I just hope that websites don’t just end up sounding like the glossies, many of which just read like advertorial from start to finish.

I’m using Skimlinks for affiliates on Dork Adore, which is great because it all happens without me really noticing (I don’t work for them any more by the way – I just think they’re a great company!) I’ve also got AdJug and Google ads on there. I’m not really too focused on the advertising at the moment, however. That may become more important in the future, but for now the site is just to make up for losing Shiny Shiny.

As a serial Web publisher, what is your advice for anyone looking to set up a website?

Pick something you’re passionate about and write as much as you can. Keep an eye on the typos and make it a site worth reading.

Is it socially acceptable nowadays to be a geek? If so why?

Of course! The geeks have inherited the earth. They started making things that people really wanted to own and then they started making real money. Plus, the Internet allowed them to gather without having to actually go out in public and they could share their interests and obsessions. Then they started getting brave because they realised that all the other losers out there added up to an awful lot of people. That’s why we all hang out on places like Twitter – we feel all validated and secure.