You meet HEXUS readers in the most unexpected places
I write this sat in the central section of Edinburgh Waverley train station, waiting for my onward train on the way up to Aberdeen. If you know the station well, it's the cool inner enclave part of the station, just outside Burger King.Sat here enjoying the ambience (pigeons, indoors, shitting on people sat drinking coffee), I feel compelled to share an experience I've recently had with you all. To begin the tale, we need an introduction to my new best friend. 'Steve', as he tells me his name, is a HEXUS reader. He stopped me just outside the station's Boots as I left, having pondered a range of male moisturisers to pretty myself up with. (Ed. oh dear... )
'Nice bag, mate', Steve shouted as I walked past him. Startled, I turn to see Steve pointing at my recently reviewed Pakuma. "Akara laptop bag? Thought they were supposed to hide what you're probably carrying?". I'd written those very things in my review of the Akara, the bag's appeal lying in the fact it doesn't look like a laptop bag at all.
"I read a review of it the other day, thought it was funny to see one in the flesh". My brain does a backflip. Did Steve read my review? If so, that'd be the first time I've met someone that knows my stuff, outside of an obvious meeting of computer enthusiasts or other journo, like a LAN party or press presentation.
"Yeah, I read a review on it the other day too. Some article with an ASUS laptop on HEXUS dot net", I respond. "That's the one!", Steve is excitedly explaining, "that's the article I read. Good website, read it a lot at work".
Hook, line and sinker, my friends. I reach for my wallet, open it up and hand Steve a business card. "Yeah, I read it because I wrote it", my smug inner-self feels compelled to let him know. Steve's face is a picture. We strike up a conversation about HEXUS and he explains that while he's not been reading it for long, about 4 or 5 months, that he really enjoys it. He was excited to see our recent new site and channels, and he thinks we're making good progress.
He's not a forum goer just yet, since he's not sure what part of it he'd fit into, but he enjoys 3D graphics and gaming and those are his main uses of a PC. I ask him if he reads HEXUS.gaming. He does, and while he doesn't always agree with Nick's assessment of a game, he does enjoy how Nick writes and he says it's a good alternative to the print mags he'll maybe buy. All good stuff.
His overriding overall opinion about what we do was, "HEXUS is maybe a bit sterile". His point is that it's mostly hardware evals in a lab, and while that's fine, where's the basic opinion pieces and real-word articles on things like using a laptop out and about, or what it's like to live with a bought PC from somewhere like Mesh, for a long period of time?
Where's the opinion led pieces like Nick's gaming reviews? "Opinions are cool", he says, "if you trust them". You don't always have to back everything up with numbers and hard facts, to do something useful for a tech reader.
'Quick' reviews of PCs are no use to him. He wants sites to write a set of rolling reports on a PC over a year or more, like a diary, so he can get a much better feel for the company and how they'd support him. "I'll see what I can do", I tell him. And I will, it's a cool idea and one I can see happening.
He's seen the customer care forums and he comments that he's more likely to buy from a company that has an outward way of communications on a well known third party's stomping ground, like ours. "It'll hopefully keep them honest", he says. I agree.
We don't chat for much longer, he's off to Glasgow for the day to see some mates, but he'll keep in touch and register on the forums soon. Nice to meet you, Steve!
PD joked with me the other day that saying the Akara was an anonymous way of carrying a laptop would backfire, since I'd tell a few million people the secret. I hate it when PD's right about something.
So as I sit tapping this up, half an hour until my connecting train (my Dad's back in hospital, wish him well for me!), I'll pass along Steve's thoughts to the HEXUS.heirarchy and see what they think.
But what I thought would rock would be to pass on his thoughts to you guys, too. What do you think? What would you like to see us do that we don't? Is Steve right? Want to see a further focus on real-world, long-term, honest opinion-led diaries for certain products, to compliment the labs work we do?
Ponder that, if you please. I'm off, this new found being-recognised-(sort-of)-on-the-street fame has gone to my head. I do need to embrace my inner metrosexual self and get myself a new moisturiser, if people are going to be stopping me to say hello. Yeah, you can laugh now, too. I am. Like a loony. At myself. People are staring.
Time to go.
