What I really wanted to say in this post, and Drew’s post was a good jumping off point, is that we at CrunchGear are independent even of our advertisers and of the companies we cover and that you can trust us to stay that way. Microsoft is not advertising with us nor would I care if they were.
Why, then, all the Zune fuss? Well, we were lucky enough to have Matt Hickey working with us who is a figure in the Seattle music scene — by figure we mean “guy who goes to shows and drinks a lot” — and he knew Cesar at ZuneInsider.com who was kind enough to give us three Zunes to give to you.
Now I know the concepts “multinational, billion dollar software company” and “kindess” don’t quite jibe, but this was a simple case of “right place, right time.” We’re not shilling for MS any more than we shill for Apple, HP, Belkin, Brando, Sony, or Applebee’s (who, by the way, make great finger food for the entire family! Stop in for their Red Hot Ribz Potato Winglets platter with Fried Salad!). We have access based on our skills and experience as journalists and drunks, but that’s about the extent of it.
Therefore, winners: enjoy your Zunes. Readers: ignore Zune or PS3 or Wii posts if you must. We will keep running contests and writing posts as long as there are folks to read them.
We’re proud of our tenacious, independent spirit (just like we’re proud of Applebee’s latest Family Fun Plate including Fried Cheeze Product, Pizza Bitez with Honey Dipping Sauce, and a Pepsi ™). None of the CG editors are on the boards of any major corporations, we are too poor to hold stock, and we have seen enough PR bullshit to know the good stuff from the bad. So please, before you harsh on our shilling or illusions thereof, remember: blogging is hard and blogging intelligently, consistently, and with any tenacity is harder. I’ve assembled a great team of writers and we’re all doing our best and if it seems there are back room dealings or other nastiness, we’ll be the first to tell you about them. From the beginning I have separated my staff from the advertising process run by TechCrunch and the Crunch Network and I take collusion or other silliness very seriously.
And remember: Eat at Applebee’s – Where Good Friends Go to Eat Good Food and Maybe Go Home Later and Play Carcassonne.
CrunchGear rocks! I’m glad that the coverage is open and unbiased on a particular product/vendor. I come to this site to read about the details of consumer electronics and gear, but ultimately want to use this information to make my own buying decision. In fact, from being a reader on this site, I’ve used the information and links to product information to buy my Treo 700wx, Zune pre-order (Brown baby), PS3 pre-order, and a Lexar JumpDrive Mercury…just to name a few.
The CrunchGear team writes intelligently about the products while also putting some humorous spin on the content to make it fun. I also like the occasional segways to non-gear content (like the Spidey 3 trailer). I was even referred to one of my newly favorite blogs (Dethroner.com) by John Biggs. Its really shaping up to be a good community.
Crunch on…
thanks, dude. i appreciate the comment!
I find it interesting that you say “Microsoft is not advertising with us”. This seems like weasley language to me since technically PayPerPost.com or ReviewMe.com would be the advertiser.
And you say that this is a major hardware release, but did (or would) you cover the Toshiba Gigabeat with the same zeal?
This blogger payola crap has gotten so out of control that how is anyone suppose to take this kind of coverage seriously? I work in advertising so I’m pretty good at spotting gorilla marketing (aka astro turfing) when I see it, or maybe I’m just cynical… but I don’t think so.
I enjoy and respect the coverage of John Biggs (I started reading this blog because of him), so it disappoints if this is really what’s going on here.
I wouldn’t touch PayPerPost.com or ReviewMe.com with a 10-foot pole, B. We got lucky. If MS is astroturfing, they’re doing it by reaching out to Seattle-area bloggers and letting them give away stuff and take people to concerts. Matt and/or CG didn’t see a cent.
Look at Engadget and Gizmodo with the Wii and the PS3 for further examples of coverage mania to excess. If everyone was aiming and emailing about the gigabeat, we’d give it the same treatment.
The real take-away here is the power of blogs in the eyes of marketers. Once, not too long ago, this giveaway would only appear on MTV or on a box of Wheaties. Now, because of our audience, they come to us – a bunch of jerks in our basements.
I appreciate you response, and I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. (sorry if that sounds condescending, it isn’t meant to be.)
This kind of open debate is reason enough for me to remain a loyal reader of CrunchGear. This exchange wouldn’t even have happened with the comment-nazis over at Gizmodo.
Thanks…
Carcassone is neat, but Settlers of Catan is better :D
i haven’t played Settlers yet. My wife and I love Carcassone, and that’s a plug that NO ONE paid me for.