[MBW]

I'm a reporter to reporters (other reporters are my readers) through my own weekly publication (almost 30 years old) and also appear on-air doing tech show & tell on 1 TV and 2 radio stations in a top-20 US market.

I'm planning on a ton of coverage surrounding the new BlackBerry Bold 9000, which I personally consider the hottest handset ever.

Manufacturers/sellers of accessories for the BB Bold are welcome to send me a PM with info about those products; I will respond with ship-to info.

[RedWings]

Go ahead and send me some free stuff too while you are at it.

Thanks.

[dlgus]

Welllllll, since we're all looking for free info, I'll take a Pearl with GPS.....

[MBW]

It's only "free" if your time is worthless.

The stuff that comes in here goes through an editorial review cycle and gets reported and/or reviewed.

Some of it also goes with me when I go on the air doing my occasional tech show & tell segments for 1 local TV station and 2 local radio stations - in a top-20 US market.

No vendor is forced to participate.

But I've found - in almost 30 years of doing this - that most are eager for the exposure.

So "free" is a relative thing.

Besides, this is not a black hole for gear - the stuff we don't send back may go into use but quite often ends up getting donated to schools, libraries, civic organizations or charities.

I wonder if RedWings or dlgus can say the same.

[RedWings]

I wonder if RedWings or dlgus can say the same.

Don't worry, i'll donate it when i'm done with it.

[oakie]

It's only "free" if your time is worthless.

The stuff that comes in here goes through an editorial review cycle and gets reported and/or reviewed.

Some of it also goes with me when I go on the air doing my occasional tech show & tell segments for 1 local TV station and 2 local radio stations - in a top-20 US market.

No vendor is forced to participate.

But I've found - in almost 30 years of doing this - that most are eager for the exposure.

So "free" is a relative thing.

Besides, this is not a black hole for gear - the stuff we don't send back may go into use but quite often ends up getting donated to schools, libraries, civic organizations or charities.

I wonder if RedWings or dlgus can say the same.

then why are you so adamant about hiding this show of yours? people dont donate to secret causes.

go ahead and make up a name for your little show. dont worry, we'll wait.


here's a hint: i, nor anyone else, will bother to donate product to you because we're not getting any feedback whatsoever about what's in it for us at this point. had you created at least some type of business proposal to layout a reward/benefit to the donor, you would at least create for yourself some credibility. if i were to donate something, i would expect mention of my company within your spot... and at minimum, know where your show is being presented so i can at the bare minimum see it for myself when aired.

but all you've presented so far is a way for me to give you something so you can take it as yours, present it, then donate it in your own name... which sounds more like, "gimme free sh*t" and i'll fill you full of lies.

you've got the pathos part right, but you've completely forgotten the ethos and logos part of your appeal.

[gpo1956]

then why are you so adamant about hiding this show of yours? people dont donate to secret causes.

go ahead and make up a name for your little show. dont worry, we'll wait.


here's a hint: i, nor anyone else, will bother to donate product to you because we're not getting any feedback whatsoever about what's in it for us at this point. had you created at least some type of business proposal to layout a reward/benefit to the donor, you would at least create for yourself some credibility. if i were to donate something, i would expect mention of my company within your spot... and at minimum, know where your show is being presented so i can at the bare minimum see it for myself when aired.

but all you've presented so far is a way for me to give you something so you can take it as yours, present it, then donate it in your own name... which sounds more like, "gimme free sh*t" and i'll fill you full of lies.

you've got the pathos part right, but you've completely forgotten the ethos and logos part of your appeal.

From looking at your Public Profile, I'm not sure you're in any position to call anyone out on "hiding this show of yours". Nunya?? And after reading said profile, I doubt you're in any position to donate anything anyway. What exactly was the point of the above rant anyway, other than piling on? And by the way, how much free sh*t do you have on your ecived ledom?
I don't kow how credible this guy is, but that is exactly the point, I DON'T KNOW. And besides, I own no business that caters to this industry, so I don't think I've got any right , or reason, to pile on him.

[MBW]

then why are you so adamant about hiding this show of yours? people dont donate to secret causes.

go ahead and make up a name for your little show. dont worry, we'll wait.


here's a hint: i, nor anyone else, will bother to donate product to you because we're not getting any feedback whatsoever about what's in it for us at this point. had you created at least some type of business proposal to layout a reward/benefit to the donor, you would at least create for yourself some credibility. if i were to donate something, i would expect mention of my company within your spot... and at minimum, know where your show is being presented so i can at the bare minimum see it for myself when aired.

but all you've presented so far is a way for me to give you something so you can take it as yours, present it, then donate it in your own name... which sounds more like, "gimme free sh*t" and i'll fill you full of lies.

you've got the pathos part right, but you've completely forgotten the ethos and logos part of your appeal.

Oakie -

To your points:

I disclose such details in response to any legitimate PM response to this editorial call; the fact that I don't disclose those details here is a proper and appropriate precaution.

No one is compelled to participate. Those who have participated so far (recently, since we don't have room for 30 years' worth) include Weather.com, E*Trade, RIM, Rove Mobile, Shape Services, Yahoo, Google, MapQuest/AOL, TeleNav, AT&T, Garmin, Neosistec, Toysoft, DexMobile, Nobex, Impatica, Trapster, Microsoft, Where.com and dozens more. Those who elect not to submit their software to my process simply don't get my coverage.

You regard these as product "donations" and I don't want to dissuade you from such strongly held beliefs, no matter how much they're off the mark. I might suggest you ask somebody with some years in the saddle with their businesses to explain to you the value of press coverage. You can ask the car companies why they urge any legitimate reviewer to borrow an endless series of different models for 1-2 weeks at a time. Ask Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, Lenovo, Toshiba, Fujitsu or Sony why they send their computers out to reviewers. Ask JVC, Sony, Panasonic, Sanyo or Canon about camcorders. Please note, there is a much greater innate cost of goods in these products than in software.

I have several "little shows" for which I've "made a name up". One of these is an esteemed annual award granted in Las Vegas just before CES; the networks and other major media come to that one. One is my weekly publication, also read by people at the networks, major market radio/TV/newspaper people, mass circulation magazines, etc. And I really don't have to cite call letters when I say that I go on the air on one TV station and 2 radio stations in a top-20 market.

Any vendor can decide whether or not I represent significant enough coverage opportunities to warrant a single software license.

My main publication (it is not a blog) does 5 reviews per week.

And again, any legitimate inquirer with a PM response to this message will learn the particulars.

If you are a candidate, in addition to the information I requested, I hope you will think to include an apology.

As to my credibility, having long since established it, I do not need to take any steps now to embellish it. If you are ignorant of it, well, I can't take responsibility for that any more than I can take responsibility for the bad manners you exhibit by attempting to smear me here.

But thanks for bumping the thread.

[anon(153966)]

I already don't like the path that this thread is taking. So, I'll only say this once, keep it clean, and be nice...

[BBEnriched]

The same exact thread was posted on other forums, it got out of hand there too.

[MBW]

I already don't like the path that this thread is taking. So, I'll only say this once, keep it clean, and be nice...

My apologies, but let me ask you, how would you have wished me to respond any differently?

I am only trying to invite vendors into an activity that will benefit them, not establish any kind of battleground. I think I've been trying to approach the negative messages as questions to which answers can help, and I think I've been calm in responding to them, but you seem to hold a different perception, and it's your venue, so I'm trying to better understand that and modify my responses to cause less consternation.

(And I truly understand that there are always times in forums when you have to just be a lightning rod and let attacks pass; I've moderated elsewhere).

So I am not asking this question of you out of anything but a sincere wish to know how you would have, in my place, wished I would have respoinded.

[funkym]

I'm a reporter to reporters (other reporters are my readers) through my own weekly publication (almost 30 years old) and also appear on-air doing tech show & tell on 1 TV and 2 radio stations in a top-20 US market.

I'm planning on a ton of coverage surrounding the new BlackBerry Bold 9000, which I personally consider the hottest handset ever.

Manufacturers/sellers of accessories for the BB Bold are welcome to send me a PM with info about those products; I will respond with ship-to info.

The Solar Charger for BlackBerry might be a nice gadget for you.

[MBW]

The Solar Charger for BlackBerry might be a nice gadget for you.

Indeed - as you know from my participation in that thread, we already have reviewed such devices and continue to review them as we encounter them.

I appreciate the indirect referral; the intent of my founding message on this thread is to invite the makers of such devices to send me a PM to arrange their own reviews.

And I would like to thank the several who have been in touch, here or through similar postings in other forums.