interEviews

InterEviews.  No that is not a spelling error.  I hope that I would know how to spell the word interview.  Through countless hours of research, thesis writing, crowdsourcing, Binging, Googling, and meditation with Buddhist monks, I have come to the conclusion that this is in fact the term that I would like to coin from here on out.

So what exactly are interEviews?  InterEviews are a journalistic approach at analyzing wireless devices through the wisdom of the crowd.  Essentially they are interview reviews.  Right now the internet is flooded with reviews of all sorts.  On one end of the spectrum we have the crowdsourced reviews that everyone and anyone can compose.  The great thing about this type of review is that there is a greater chance that thousands of users will start to show similar experiences with their devices.  However, the downside is that you can have a loss of credibility.  Too many times have I seen people go on to social media to complain about a product rather than to praise it.  Then again if they do praise the device, then they are labeled as “fanboys” or corporate shills.  Constructively criticising ceases to exist en masse with these types of reviews.  Basically anonymous users’ opinions are met with more skepticism than assurance.

On the flip side we have certain websites that have professionals who review gadgets for the public.  These people tend to have a greater understanding of the industry and can really critique a device objectively.  The one thing that seems to not make sense though is when arbitrary numbers are assigned to the quality of the device.  What I am talking about is when you have a professional review of a device and it ends with a rating like “4/5, 95%, 8/10” of some sort for either the camera, processor, UI, etc.  These numbers to me don’t really mean anything.  In terms of spec wars I guess they do.  For real world people though I feel like it doesn’t meet their needs.  They see a good number and then choose what they think is “the best phone” instead of choosing one that fits their lifestyle.

Say you’re an athlete and go work out several times a week in the weightroom and want to listen to music.  Are you really going to want to buy that Samsung Galaxy Note 5 that is touted as one of the best devices to date?  No.  Why?  Well you are going to want a smaller device that you could easily put in your pocket or comfortably wear on an armband.  The Moto X and an iPhone really shine in this department.  You could buy an MP3 player, but come on it’s 2016, most of us should be using an all-in-one device by this point.  This is just an example of why I think it’s important to really figure out who the user is.

This is where I come in.  I’m trying to find a middle ground between the crowdsourced madness and the experts.  I figure going up to random people and asking them what they think about their device like a journalist would, gives a user-generated review more authenticity.  To add to the authenticity, I also plan to take pictures of those peoples’ devices along with the date.  I want to show others that these are real people using these devices everyday and not made up characters.  I know I won’t get the amount of data that a site like Yelp or RateMyProfessor would get, but I hope that the data I do get is a lot more meaningful.  I guess I will have to talk to a lot of people too!

Within interEviews I also ask for the users’ favorite and least favorite thing about their device.  I think this gives more transparency because I want them to tell me about the flaws.  It also shows off the main selling point for the device.  I hope that over time as I interEview more and more people, we will start to see trends about particular devices.  I want people to come to their own conclusions off of my conversations with people.  Again, it’s going back to what this site is all about.  People.  More specifically helping people.

Finally, at the end of every interEview, I hyperlink to the appropriate Swappa.com page because sometimes things can go wrong in life and you need a replacement device without spending a fortune.  Or maybe you are just one of those people who like to constantly try out a “new” device every so often and don’t care that it is from a previous owner.  I just like Swappa because it is so much simpler than eBay and you know that the phone you purchase will activate without any problems. I’m kind of done with eBay right now and Craigslist can be sketchy at times.  It’s just an overall great website and I would like to spread the word about them!

I hope this serves you well.  I just enjoy going up to people and talking to them about their devices.  It’s “relaxation time” for me in a way.  The nice thing about these is that (so far) I have yet to be turned down from asking someone for an interEview.  Why would this be?  I’m going to assume because it’s not some controversial social issue or a political affiliation that people are willing to talk to me and associate their name with quotes that they provide me with.  Yes they are just phones, tablets, wearable tech.  It’s not the end of the world, they don’t have to worry about family members being upset with their opinions, or being fired from jobs.  THEY ARE JUST BITS OF SILICON.  These bits of silicon though have such an important role in our lives now that a website like this even needs to exist!  So thank you for taking the time to read this.  I know this was anything but quick as my name implies.  I won’t apologize.  I regret nothing.

:D