I Want to Be An Advocate, Not An Influencer

While I prefer in-depth reviews, some things I use don’t deserve a 5 page, outlined rundown with scientific testing of performance, capability and durability. That said, I have bought a lot of stuff to get my GFX system on par with my X-T3’s capability and, more importantly, safely and easily transported to locations.

While I often strayed away from repeatable testing to include a healthy amount of subjectivity, I’m now embracing my biases and forgoing all pretense of being “unbiased,” and here’s why: I have my skin, aka wallet, in the game. Unlike others who are receiving review units, renting, being gifted items to review or receiving some form of compensation, I’m reviewing stuff that I’ve actually bought. These are things I’ve intensely researched, bought, used, and intend to keep. Sometimes I buy purely out of objective needs, like my ND filters. Other times, I’m driven by subjective factors, like my choice to use Fujifilm bodies and lenses. Either way, my purchases are made based on a conclusion I’ve formed from equal parts objectivity and bias.

I am biased. My reviews are biased. I’m not justifying my purchases to anyone but I simply cannot claim to be unbiased when reviewing my own gear.

However, this does not mean I won’t be honest. If something, or some aspect, sucks I’ll say it. If I find a better way to do things, I’ll do it and tell you about it. My goal is to tell you about the features that are important and appeal to me. They’re the sort of details I sift through 20 page reviews to find. Anyone can regurgitate the manufacturer’s spec list so I’m not going to do that.

Now, if this signals to you that I’m suddenly being paid to review things, you’re a moron. Like I already said, I’m only reviewing things I’ve bought for myself. Obviously my reviews are going to be generally positive… would you buy something that objectively sucks and keep it? I bought and kept it; clearly I’m going to like it. If there’s anything I don’t like about it, I will be shining a light on it.

Regarding sales and service, if I run into a problem and choose to detail the resolution, I’m doing so from your perspective; I have no fame, following or relationship to use as leverage.

The goal of my reviews is to identify potential pitfalls to avoid the expense of experimentation. It’s not my goal to tell you what to buy; my desire is to expose aspects of an item only an owner would notice. There can be things that you’re blind to upon purchase, features and issues that can make or break it for you, and this jeopardy goes up exponentially as the price increases, especially if bought used.

This is my choice to be an advocate and to avoid being an “influencer.”