Aug 31 2006
How to approach bloggers about products
I find this article by Dave Taylor very interesting right now. Offering a blogger a product in the hopes he or she will review it is definitely on the rise, as is the sponsorship of blogs and podcasts. What do you think? Is it okay as long as the blogger or podcaster discloses the fact that they received the product from the company? Or do you think bloggers should turn down this sort of offer? I think as long as you disclose it’s okay, but I want to know what you think.
Speaking of which, I’m really enjoying playing with the Nokia 770 I was lent at Linuxworld by Nokia. I still have some problems with stability and I wish I could run Kismet and a couple other wireless tools on it, but for light Internet surfing and listening to online radio stations it’s pretty good. I don’t think I’d spend the ~$360 one cost for the priveledge though. Given that the laptop I just purchased only cost $1000 including tax and has more than ten times the processing power, I think the laptop is a much more reasonable purchase. Now if a successful port of Kismet is done and the tools to intergrate it with a bluetooth GPS become available, I might persuade my company to buy one.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
I think it’s okay. It’s even better if you disclose the fact that the product was given to you.
In the end it’s about your credibility, you have no reason to promote a product which is bad. If you just stay honest I don’t see any arguments why you shouldn’t review products.
By the way: “Thu Aug 28 2006 – Kismet-stable-devel in subversion now works properly on the Nokia 770″
Source:
http://www.kismetwireless.net/
Bloggers are a new form of journalist. Some call themselves analysts. Some do it for an outlet. But all now have a megaphone and provide another media outlet.
Is Nokia wrong for lending the folks at CNET their new phone, so they can do a review? No. So why would anyone have an issue if they lend one to you.
But there does need to be the line in the sand. If you write a flattering review and you are doing consulting for them and don’t disclose it. That’s a no no. Or if they are a sponsor of your blog.
But for the most part, this is nothing more than multiplying the number of folks that can review a product.
This is an interesting idea. First of all, I’d have to concur with Mike on consulting for a company, and then giving rave reviews. I read gadget blogs on a daily basis, and I pay special attention to gadgets that were specifically given from a company to the gadget site, mostly because it shows confidence in their products. Sites like Engadget(http://www.engadget.com), and Gizmodo(http://www.gizmodo.com) are usually brutally honest when it comes to devices that suck. Hand your gadget to them if you’re confident enough, and I may end up buying what you’re selling.
On the other hand, when I see rumors or doctored photos of “the new Apple XYZ”, I usually yawn and move on. However, I often wonder if Apple “leaks” that information to get the hype going. That certainly doesn’t work for me.