Apparently, according to an Engadget post today, they got their Apple delay news wrong yesterday.
I think there are two things about Engadget that I’d like to comment on:
- It’s acting like it is a reporter (which given today’s television news isn’t necessarily a claim I’d want to make), when I thnk it should go with an angle of being a group of geeky enthusiast bloggers.
- It seems to have become increasingly verbose in each post – not many bullet point specs present – which makes it time consuming to read; more so than it should be. I just want to see the facts (especially about product reveals and solid availability) rather than creative monologue/opinion. I know this gives it style (and makes it ‘Engaging’), but it just feels like it’s getting in the way now.
What is Engadget – a review site, a rumour site, a technology commentary site, a gadget launch site?
The apparent statement that Engadget workers can’t have stocks in companies that are reported on is interesting. If Engadget has so much power (in a way that would seem to have precipitated this post today after their apparent mistake) that their commentary can affects markets (and potentially attract investigation), then perhaps it needs to be diluted or dis-integrated in some way. Perhaps they should just go with the facts, and become more of a central gadget product/service release feed specifically sponsored by the manufacturers, perhaps with a (stock-clean) reviewing service as a separate entity.
Except for the verbosity, I actually take Engadget as a decent news/rumour feeds for gadget enthusiasts. I feel though that the line between news and rumour is somewhat for the reader to decide, rather than relying on potentially reported hearsay. If I see something I like on there, I’m happy that they let me know, but I also go and look for the official product/service page, since without that, it’s not obvious how I can purchase something to add to my horde.
With power does come some responsibility, which one can choose either to deflect (perhaps with disclaimers, footnotes or just a clear standing) or absorb (possibly to build fame, credibility or loyalty) along with the consequences that comes with it. What will Engadget become (if anything different) and how will it weigh the responsibilities?
Colinizer 
I actually disagree with your first comment – I think Engadget should consider itself a news outlet with reporters writing the posts. As yesterday’s events prove, they have considerable clout. I don’t get tech news from CNN or Reuters, I get it from Engadget, TechCrunch, and others.
That said, they don’t need to be a “classical” news outlet. They have an opportunity to rewrite what it means to break the news, and I think they should do so.
I find there’s a level of ‘attitude’ (of some kind) in the postings that makes them more verbose. If at least they’d make each post with ‘rumour’, ‘product availability’, ‘article’, etc., it would make it much easier to skim through.
[…] Filed under: Sheep, Gadgets, Culture, Blogging — colinizer @ 16:26 In a previous post I discussed how Engadget appears to be getting more verbose with its posts, making it slower to […]