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119 Comments
- BlakeHandler, on 10/12/2007, -11/+122Companies have always sent free stuff to reporters -- so why not key bloggers? This isn't bad -- it makes sense!
- h0zae, on 10/12/2007, -10/+93on MS's side for once - this is common practice - jealous bloggers are going to pissed that they did not get one...
- amandaw33, on 10/12/2007, -9/+85If apple did the same promoting newest iLife releases.. they'd be considered brilliant
- Wobs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42What's the issue here exactly?
- GravyTrain6, on 10/12/2007, -1/+38someone is bitter (ie...the author of this article)
- superdue, on 10/12/2007, -10/+47I agree completely. This is quite normal and if Apple had done the same thing the title would probably read something like ' OMG WTF BBQ Sauce....Apple is giving away MacBook Pro's to bloggers. Apple Rocks! Finally, a forward thinking company that acknowledges the online media comunity.' But MS beat them to the punch and this is the response from a bitter blogger. I've got 10 bucks that says he has a Tiger OS X bumper sticker on his segway.
- pintomp3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21lemme guess, this blogger didn't get one. hater.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18These people are celebrities to enough people, celebrities get free things all the time.
Cars, watches, you name it they get it. - bias, on 10/12/2007, -20/+34danwarne = dumb fxxking retarded fanboy
Hmmm, if this is bribing, then W... T... F... was Linux doing all these years? Bribing all the fanboys to spam on Digg.com? Giving out free OS with "No strings attached"!?
Stop all these spinning / spamming / accusing / blaming ***** on Microsoft, tell us what Microsoft did wrong all you want, but please don't exclude all the others who did the exact same thing. Not everything Microsoft does is evil, they may not make the best OS out there, but they must did something right to get billions of people to use their OS instead of Linux/Apple. You are one of the news editors APC Magazine, you should know these brainless "bias" (LOL) articles are *****. But hell no, you read it and think OMG this is a brilliant article that you can use to bash Microsoft on Digg! and this is why I call all of you fanboys "dumb fxxking retards". - aftk2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Hah, this is funny - from one of the blog of one of the folks who received a laptop:
"During the holidays I'll be busy playing with my new laptop - the Acer Ferrari 5000. Yup, I traded in my Dell XPS 1710 for a little something different."
And then...
"UPDATE 12/27: This is indeed a laptop donated by Microsoft and AMD. As Callie pointed out in comments, I should have pointed this out sooner. I had intended to explain where this laptop came from in a more in-depth post. "
Ah hah...yeah, right. Credibility, much? - donjaime, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Every company does this. They release products to press for review purposes etc..
The title is quite misleading. - RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -11/+22The difference is that reporters have to return all the review products they get. David Pogue caused a minor controversy this year when he reviewed a data recovery service that recovered his data from a crashed drive for free. He was ethically obligated to pay for the service.
However, you are right. Industry finds ways to influence journalists all the time. I'm not saying that they bribe them. It's more subtle than that. They make reporters think twice about their products by providing everything from insider access, to meals, to junkets, to high profile CEO appearances at the conference you're organizing, etc.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5281529 - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Someone has not been given a free laptop (i.e. the submitter of this article).
- nbx909, on 10/12/2007, -18/+29where do i sign up? I'd love a free laptop to install linux on.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Im guessing the submitter is like 15 years old and has no idea what marketing and good PR is...just guessing...
- sirdaz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Microsoft can never win can they.
They do something bad, there hunted and killed.
Do something good? Slated and insulted. - Junkyarddawg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Damn it Microsoft - dont you know only console producers may give away hardware to journalists and bloggers!
(That's sarcasm, for the sarcasm impaired. Hardware companies have *always* given away free hardware to journalists. It's marketing.) - Michalson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I'm going to have to back this up - as far as the tech press goes, we *prefer*, to the point of normally demanding, that all product "samples" be no strings attached. If the unit is a loaner, we can't take it apart or are otherwise restricted in what we can look at or experiment with because we are "borrowing" it. With the way things work a loaner is always a company controlled test - they get to dictate the terms and so can control what we say or don't say.
Granted some people can take items as "bribes", but that's really up to your trust of the person. If you don't trust the person, it doesn't matter what terms the review item was given under. There are many, many other ways to bribe reviewers, and providing the review product for free is pretty low on that scale because the review might have no need or want of the item for themselves. Expensive meals, hotel stays and executive type swag items are all higher up on the bribe meter. If you want to see this in action, just look at how openly movie "critics" are bought - it's not the free copy of the movie (it tends to be the opposite, with the legitimate reviewers getting a DVD prerelease in the mail to review on their own terms), instead the bribe takers get a first class flight to a 5 star luxury hotel with everything included to watch a screening and speak to a director or cast member (the interviews are actually done as a round table).
There are better ways, like actually buying the product yourself, but especially in places like tech this isn't financially feasable, and often reviews are required to be written *before* the product comes out (magazines can have several months of lead time, meaning a review for a November release game needs to be written in August). Some places that don't have the time problem have interesting solutions - HardOCP has managed to convince some PC vendors to go with a plan where they secret shopper the item, review it, then send the invoices back to the vendor under their real name to get their money refunded. - brian1001001, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Shame on you and your yellow journalistic title. Bad submitter! No digg!
=P - Wolfboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Yes, companies seeking publicity often give stuff to the media -- bloggers, TV reporters, newspaper reporters, etc. Free samples frequently arrive unannounced.
Media outlets that aim to protect their credibility with their audience have policies about whether to accept the freebies. Hardware/software received for review is to be returned at the end of the review testing, etc. Some places are so strict that if a reporter, columnist, staff blogger, producer, etc., visits someone for an interview, they're not allowed to accept anything, not even a cup of coffee. - consonance, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Microsoft: Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Where's mine?
- dynamit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This is something good. MS is realizing the power of new media and sending bloggers stuff instead of only working with old media. Marked as inaccurate. There is nothing suspicious going on here.
- HalBSure, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Oh dear, that made me laugh. An excellent example!
- cquinnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6step one: honestly review the system and do a write up on your blog for new page hits.
step two: if you choose that path, do an honest review of the other OS as well on the same hardware.
Otherwise you are applying your own "strings" to the deal. - HalBSure, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I still haven't gotten my $250.
- drifter, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7They gave Acer Ferrari laptops. I'd take it.
- thunderer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well, anyone who had a reviewer's Zune wasn't really allowed to review it properly, with the restrictive/ridiculous reviewers' agreement and all...
I wonder if this is the same kind of deal. - danisse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5They flew bloggers out to Redmond to have some time hands-on with the Zune, but they didn't get to keep them. Yes, free trip. No free Zune.
- jakejarvis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Exactly. Sprint has been doing this for almost a year.
http://ambassador.sprint.com/Faq.aspx
http://paulstamatiou.com/2006/03/27/sprints-ambassador-program-the-samsung-a920/
http://justin.everett-church.com/index.php/2006/02/27/sprint-ambassador-program/
http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2006/01/06/smart-sprints-unadvertisement/ - rapiddemon, on 10/12/2007, -10/+15$250 and a blowjob
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Of course it is. And there is no problem with it.
- SirBotchness, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7They gave away free Zune's too. How do they expect people to get reviews of their products if they don't shell out a few feebies to respected folks who can give a fair review? Good move. And if people are bitching about getting free computers, then just give it to me and i'll be happy.
- freff, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I have no comment on the original story. It's pretty much a non-story. I just want to say from reading through the comments here, I had no idea just how many wannabe tech bloggers hang out here at digg. Everyone almost simultaneously and with one voice started begging for a new laptop.
- spunquik, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I work for a Toronto newspaper, and we send out "gifts" all the time.
its a part of business. - Thuktun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This can also backfire, if the free products suck. They can motivate someone to write a review when they previously wouldn't have bothered.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/09/19b.html
"The phone they sent me, an LG Fusic, is really quite awful, and the service, Power Vision, is tremendously misconceived and full of dumb features that don’t work right and cost way too much." - cavemonkey50, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You're right about Bloggers getting Zunes. I got a free Zune from Microsoft. I received it about 2 months before launch, but had to give it back a week before launch. The review restrictions were so ridiculous. You basically couldn't say anything bad about the product, leaving me with a horribly generic review, if you could call it one. I basically only talked about the appearance since saying anything bad about the interface was off limits due to still being "beta".
My review in case anyone wants to see how generic I had to make it: http://cavemonkey50.com/2006/11/looking-forward-to-the-zune/ - SirBotchness, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Kinda weird since i've seen other bloggers state they've recieved up to 3 free zunes from microsoft. but i guess that doesn't count.
- brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'll say good things about Microsoft for a free laptop. I could rave all day about their keyboards and mice.
- HonoredMule, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4At the peak of his career, companies would donate large amounts of merchandise to Michael J. Fox with no strings attached. They did so just on the chance that he might be seen enjoying their stuff, which would indirectly endorse it. Is that unethical? He wasn't even required to accept the merchandise, or use it, or even NOT give it negative press.
Now explain to me how this laptop scenario is any different. Just because it's good for Microsoft and awesome for the bloggers doesn't make it wrong.
(Note that I used Michael J. Fox as my example as I read his biography and can be certain that I'm not exaggerating or fabricating details. I imagine hundreds of other celebrities, reporters, or otherwise important people could also have been used.)
It's also generally considered a good thing when you are nice to the people who are nice to you... - Kappa3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I get the impression from the author and a lot of comments here that MS did this out of the kindness of their hearts... How painfully obvious is it that this is only a marketing campaign, not generosity.
- greatromance, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't understand why this looks like a "bad" thing for Microsoft to be doing. Bribing bloggers? Bribing them for what gain? The title and description of this submission makes it look like it's a bad thing for Microsoft to do something like this, when it's not.
- dgp1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6MS can afford great Xmas presents, so why shouldn't they give them!
As far as "bribery" goes, I wouldn't say Vista's the bee's knees knowing it really wasn't, just because of a free notebook BUT... it would make me want to review it when I wouldn't otherwise, (A) because this is the only way I'd have access to Vista in the first place, and (B) because I consider that a very acceptable exchange--my consideration and time to write the review, in exchange for a beautiful notebook.
I say, Go Microsoft!
PS: I could be called a Mac fanboy, so no accusations of being pro-MS in general. - HMTKSteve, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11Where do I sign up? My laptop is 6 years old!
Just think, I could write an article on how Ubuntu works when dual booted with Vista! - raccettura, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Laptops for free...
I'm still waiting for my free flash drive! - CryoNine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Like the others have stated I'm having a hard time finding this objectionable as well. It's a common practice, kudos to the MS marketing department for targeting yet another review audience.
- graphmac1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have no shame, gimme gimme!
- TheAgencyBlog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Many folks here seem to be very emotional. Quit getting your panties in a wad. There's no need to get all worked up about this. This is a common practice that happens across all forms of media and across all industries. It happens at conferences as well. Keep in mind that Microsoft also runs a risk of this backfiring if the product doesn't perform as expected.
- blacklilyninja, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6no strings?
step one: format
step two: install ubuntu (or anything other than a microsoft OS) - markdr123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Welcome to the world of P.R.!
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