Product reviews in the birding press? (1 Viewer)

[NAB]

This has been niggling me for a while, I’m quite a big fan of RBA’s Bird Alert Pro app for the iPhone and Android, I’d go as far as to say its ground breaking and really does take instant bird information to the next level (Important to point out that I have no links to RBA other than my subscription). What’s annoying me is the Birdwatch Magazine to which I also subscribe has completely ignored and failed to give its readership a review of the product (the mag is normally big on new product reviews). I contacted them to ask why but received no reply, and I can now only assume they have failed to review this excellent product due to the advertising they receive from Bird Guides (RBA competitor) who write up the rarity roundup for the mag each month.

Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but potentially this shows just how biased the birding press can be when it comes to reviewing new products, and how existing advertising revenues can have such a big influence?

 

[BrightonBirder]

Do you not think that his is common? Revenues are generated by ads and magazines do not want to upset the advertiser.

In a similar vein I find that many book reviews are not honest, in fact they are often glowing when an ad for the book is near by. What about the magazine that writes articles based on the month's advertisers and their product?

 

[Swissboy]

...... What about the magazine that writes articles based on the month's advertisers and their product?

Or what seems to be a review, but obviously written by one of the autors, and the book has not even been published. :eek!:

 

[jedigrant]

Sometimes I wonder about a review, but for the most part I've found reviews in the birding mags I read to be pretty honest. Especially Birding. And I have a lot of respect for the guy who now does reviews for Bird Watcher's Digest, so I trust that he's writing his honest opinion.

But this is one reason I've never sought sponsors for my site. I don't want the temptation, and I don't want to give the impression that my reviews were bought.

 

[manston86]

I think if you're after independent reviews it's generally better just having a search on the Internet. There's loads of reviews out there done by members of the general public that (presumably) have no links to authors, businesses, websites etc.
Had a quick search and found a nice link for a review to the RBA App here... http://www.birdersmarket.com/acatalog/UK_Bird_News_May_2012.html#a14893

Note: I'd just like to say that the website has a link to rbnUK tweets which I only realised after searching for App reviews, and I am in no way affiliated to birdersmarket.com

 

[Alf King]

In general ALL of the reviews in the birding mags are useless if you are looking for some guidance in making a purchase of any kind. Although I suppose that you could say that if any review is mildly critical then the product must really be rubbish.

 

[Swissboy]

In general ALL of the reviews in the birding mags are useless if you are looking for some guidance in making a purchase of any kind. Although I suppose that you could say that if any review is mildly critical then the product must really be rubbish.

I have come to appreciate the reviews found in places like Amazon. At least once there is a fair number with, hopefully, somewhat controversial ones as well.
And if I encounter the same reviewer again whose previous reviews I found helpful, I think I get a fairly decent picture of what to expect. The same holds, of course, for reviewers who have their own web sites. (A mighty "Thank You" to Grant here!)

And as I have come to see the usefulness of others' opinions, I feel obligated to add my share when I think I have something to add, particularly when I'm not happy with what others had written. I'm fully aware of the subjective component that goes into such reviews. In my case, I am less critical with a FG for an area that has got little FG cover so far, for example.

 

[jedigrant]

Thanks Robert, and you're very welcome.

I agree about the Amazon reviews. I use them all the time for all kinds of products. But one of the problems is the relative lack of user reviews for bird books. It seems to be getting better with some recent releases, but is still often a problem and was one of my reasons for starting my own site.

 

[dogfish]

In general ALL of the reviews in the birding mags are useless if you are looking for some guidance in making a purchase of any kind. Although I suppose that you could say that if any review is mildly critical then the product must really be rubbish.

Agree. What the reader really needs is a comparative review (like Kimmo's much-missed Alula reports) that puts the new bins/scope up against its rivals at a particular price point and attempts to say which is best in various areas. Just reviewing top of the range optics and saying how 'bright' and 'clear' they are is worthless.

I assume the mags don't do this because the 'losing' optics company would take its advertising elsewhere.

Sean

 

[fugl]

I assume the mags don't do this because the 'losing' optics company would take its advertising elsewhere.

Agreed, that has to be the reason. It would be better if the magazines stayed away from the subject altogether if they're not prepared to do it right.

 

[Swissboy]

Agreed, that has to be the reason. It would be better if the magazines stayed away from the subject altogether if they're not prepared to do it right.

They could still do a product overwiew to give people an idea what's available. It's not everybody's favorite pastime to keep track all the time.

 

[jedigrant]

I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the various optics roundups, but I do seem to recall some that do give numeric scores (based on a bunch of different objective and subjective scores). I think these were in Bird Watcher's Digest, though I'm not positive.

 

[Mysticete]

can't speaking for optics, but I think a lot of it is also trying to keep up with the current publications. There are enough bird/birder/naturalist books that come out nowadays that magazines are in a constant race to review, that it is easy for certain products to be set aside and not reviewed, especially as reviews of products done a year or so after the fact might be kind of pointless.

 

[NAB]

One type of review a lot of birders would like to see is high end optics side by side i.e Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski 8 x 42's in a single review.

This will never happen though, as the 3 optics companies mentioned all take out at least 2 full page advertisements in the main mags, and if you happen to p*ss one off, that's a lot of lost revenue for a mag!