All Camera Rumors Are Marketing Material

Drew Ott

Drew Ott

Wish I were banned.
Whenever somebody hears a leaked announcement, or they say that a tradeshow camera rep told them a secret that a new camera might be full frame or 4K or covered in gold, that's just marketing. All of these leaks are faked by corporate marketing departments.

Marketers know how to create buzz and hype for random cameras, and how to keep us spending. We are the customer, and we congregate on forums like this.

When you discuss cameras on this website, you should do so with the understanding that you might be talking to a secret salesman.

It's like propaganda.

There's direct propaganda-- sponsored advertisements, or sponsored posts. That's acceptable to me, because we at least know it when we see it.

There's covert propaganda-- this would be fake accounts (Drew Ott from Texas who is obsessed with a certain brand of camera), or faked "leaks" and pretend "insider information" that is actually just marketing tricks. This is unacceptable.

Then there's sociological propaganda-- Sociological propaganda can be intentional or unintentional. In general this kind of propaganda refers to the creation of values within a culture. On camera forums, the sociological propaganda that is the most damaging would be the consumer culture of always wanting to buy the newest best thing.

Keep your eyes peeled and don't be a sucker.
 
If you have accusations against anyone in particular, perhaps you should make them directly. Innuendo and implication can be just as insidious as what you describe.

An example: I have made statements about the new Leica SL, that I find it interesting and that I observed that it displayed very low sensor noise.

I have received no compensation for this. I am not a stooge or spokesperson for Leica or any of its dealers.

Everyone knows that I represent a company that manufactures a monitor/recorder that can capture the signal this camera can output. Our product is not the only one that can do that. The likelihood that there will be a significant volume of sales of this camera that will then also lead to a significant volume of our product sold is rather miniscule.

My comments are what they are: genuine, and my personal opinion. I make other comments and statements about various products and on sundry topics on this forum as well, all without any form of personal or professional benefit. When I do make a post that is in discussion of my company's product or of a connected technology then I try to make it quite clear as to my affiliation. And as always it is right there in my signature with every post.

I do not disagree that there have been "propaganda" posts on this and other forums in the past, in some of the same ways you have mentioned. A few years back a new tripod company tried to promote itself here with some of the most painfully obvious false posts one could imagine, and a certain individual with a vested interest in denigrating a new type of lighting fixture created fake accounts to attack myself and others (and got himself banned from this forum rather quickly).

But to make generalized statements that make it seem that pretty much all posts on this forum are "marketing" does an injustice to those that participate on DVXUSER. And apparently you equate the term "marketing" with "hype" or even "lying," which it does not have to be. In my book, good marketing means getting your message out to, well, your market. It's not tricking them or lying to them or otherwise doing something untoward. It is disseminating information and offer perspective that can help people to make informed decisions. The product must speak for itself but good marketing lends it a voice, and that is all.

So unless yu have some examples I would ask that you name them directly, rather than cast a shadow on us all.
 
Howdy Mitch. First, I'm not talking about you.

Here's a thread that is a really really obvious example of what I'm talking about: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?332697-Ray-Roman-workshop

There's nothing wrong with honest marketing. Producers have to communicate with consumers.

I do not disagree that there have been "propaganda" posts on this and other forums in the past, in some of the same ways you have mentioned. A few years back a new tripod company tried to promote itself here with some of the most painfully obvious false posts one could imagine, and a certain individual with a vested interest in denigrating a new type of lighting fixture created fake accounts to attack myself and others (and got himself banned from this forum rather quickly).
Click to expand...

So it happens. And surely there are posters that aren't quite as painfully obvious as those guys. I didn't mean to point fingers at everyone. I meant to imply that probably less than 1% of posts would qualify as "propaganda." Not a majority by any stretch.

Anyway, I'm also just having a bit of fun with my writing style. "Keep your eyes peeled and don't be a sucker."

When people catch wind of some secret camera rumor, it hijacks their focus and makes them feel like they are privy to some special insider information. It robs them of their purpose and causes them to get distracted. When that secret camera rumor, was not an actual "leak" but a faked press release, or a whisper campaign intentionally started by a public relations company, that is wrong. That's what people need to watch out for. I stand by that.
 
Drew Ott said:
When people catch wind of some secret camera rumor, it hijacks their focus and makes them feel like they are privy to some special insider information. It robs them of their purpose and causes them to get distracted. When that secret camera rumor, was not an actual "leak" but a faked press release, or a whisper campaign intentionally started by a public relations company, that is wrong. That's what people need to watch out for. I stand by that.
Click to expand...
You're leaving out another category -- the liar who just wants to feel "powerful". The guy who wants to prove that everyone else is an idiot, and that he's superior to them, that he can make them dance with his every word. We had an example of this with the T2i 4K hack, some guy got the entire internet wound up and all twisting in expectation, and then his big reveal was - a Rickroll.

I have zero use for the rumor sites. They have repeatedly been shown to be just plain wrong, and the reasoning is obvious -- they can only get their information from three possible sources:
1) The company themselves (who would only do so as a marketing initiative, and as such, it's not actually a "rumor", it's a press release)
2) A company "insider" -- someone who is willing to violate their confidentiality agreements, someone who obviously cannot be trusted to keep a company secret. In other words, someone who is of questionable character to begin with.
3) Made-up bullcrap from some idiot who wants to make the internet dance.

There are no other possible sources. Either someone is speculating (which is factually useless, even if by random chance they end up right), or they are marketing, or there's option 3 - someone who actually does know some inside information. I think this is the source people are hoping for, without understanding that -- if someone is speaking against their own employer's wishes and violating their confidentiality agreements, then they've already demonstrated they cannot be trusted with a secret. How much trust do you really want to put on that type of person's word?

No matter how you slice it -- the rumor sites and chasing rumors is utterly worthless and futile. Even if a blind pig occasionally finds an acorn, is it worth it?
 
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