4 ms·

There's a commercial bias at play with pretty much all review content, print or otherwise. I've been griping about this for years now. The major outlets and You

There's a commercial bias at play with pretty much all review content, print or otherwise. I've been griping about this for years now. The major outlets and Youtubers all have relationships with various vendors in order to get early access to products so their reviews can coincide with the product launch. This creates an inherent conflict of interest that has to shape their reviews in some form or another. The problem is that there's no transparency at all. They're talking with company reps before a product launches and signing embargo agreements to not release content early. I'm not saying that every piece of review content is low quality shill clickbait BS, but the reviewer has a relationship with a company and there's no way that doesn't influence their work given that early access is important for staying relevant in the space.

dmix 4y ago
I see this sort of complaint like RedLetterMedia making fun of Nerd podcasts [1] by satirizing how they are given gift bags, white glove early screenings, and emails with (marketing) executives but if you look at YouTube or most media there’s plenty of critique of superhero/‘capeshit’ movies. We’re not all being forced to watch cable tv and read the same two local newspapers anymore. Some people like lowest common denominator McDonalds-type corporate content. I don’t see that changing in the future (ie, some future where these people are better informed). But maybe I’m just cynical. [1] https://youtu.be/UCIYCaXNe88 https://youtu.be/UCIYCaXNe88
- thr0wawayf00 4y ago
  Yeah, but you're not seeing the conversations going on behind the scenes. This[0] is a great video that dives into how tablet manufacturers manipulate artists into shilling for their products. This kind of behavior is much more commonplace among tech review culture than people want to acknowledge (i.e. companies signing off on review videos before their posted, giving out free samples in exchange for positive reviews, etc.) Ultimately, the goal of advertising now is to generate advertising content that doesn't look like advertising. Review videos are an incredible vehicle to accomplish this. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1WEYF8rlA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1WEYF8rlA
  - dmix 4y ago
    Yeah I guess the noise to signal ratio is way higher in tech reviews than movie/media world. Maybe there will be a cultural reckoning once customers get wise to it like they have with other sorts of spin. Maybe the zoomer generation who grew up on TikTok will learn to spot bullshit influencer bait a mile away. Kinda like the 90s kids backlash against TV.

dmix 4y ago

I see this sort of complaint like RedLetterMedia making fun of Nerd podcasts [1] by satirizing how they are given gift bags, white glove early screenings, and emails with (marketing) executives but if you look at YouTube or most media there’s plenty of critique of superhero/‘capeshit’ movies. We’re not all being forced to watch cable tv and read the same two local newspapers anymore. Some people like lowest common denominator McDonalds-type corporate content. I don’t see that changing in the future (ie, some future where these people are better informed). But maybe I’m just cynical. [1] https://youtu.be/UCIYCaXNe88 https://youtu.be/UCIYCaXNe88

thr0wawayf00 4y ago
Yeah, but you're not seeing the conversations going on behind the scenes. This[0] is a great video that dives into how tablet manufacturers manipulate artists into shilling for their products. This kind of behavior is much more commonplace among tech review culture than people want to acknowledge (i.e. companies signing off on review videos before their posted, giving out free samples in exchange for positive reviews, etc.) Ultimately, the goal of advertising now is to generate advertising content that doesn't look like advertising. Review videos are an incredible vehicle to accomplish this. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1WEYF8rlA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1WEYF8rlA
- dmix 4y ago
  Yeah I guess the noise to signal ratio is way higher in tech reviews than movie/media world. Maybe there will be a cultural reckoning once customers get wise to it like they have with other sorts of spin. Maybe the zoomer generation who grew up on TikTok will learn to spot bullshit influencer bait a mile away. Kinda like the 90s kids backlash against TV.