On the one hand, I agree with Eve, Richard & Nic. Yes, it does appear that you are a Nokia “buzz agent”. It does question your credibility. And even though you may not think so, having a trip sponsored by Nokia will influence your attitude.

But then, on the other hand, I’ve recently become more & more aware of the blogger/journalist conundrum. Your right to write about whatever you like is yours & you of all people would know what the repercussions of expressing your opinion online are. There’s a chance that bloggers may be held accountable to some sort of government body that monitors online written content & I don’t like the sound of that idea. I DO believe that any writer that expresses his/her opinion about non-fiction should be held accountable, but I don’t like the idea of regulation.

And the point is, you are a Nokia fan & you have made that very clear in this post. I myself have only owned Nokia phones & plan to do so in the future. If anyone asked, I’d recommend a Nokia – mostly because they’re the first & only phones I’ve used. The next one with be Nokia … & if they offered me the same deal as you, I’d be very happy. Heck, considering that I’d like a new phone I’m going to ask YOU for your opinion because you know them better than most of my friends would. So in that regard, I’m pretty glad that you’re so opinionated, it means I get ‘expert’ advice.

Is your credibility *really* at stake? I … don’t think so. I mean, you write about Nokia. There’s no good reason why shouldn’t & your blog is not about mobile phone reviews either. It’s about you & your opinion. And as for your credibility as an expert of web law in South Africa … well, this has nothing to do with that. So what if you are passionate about Nokia & write a completely biased post – it’s your right as a fan!

I’m sure if any other manufacturer asked you to do an honest review, you would – based purely on your reputation, I don’t think you’d be nasty or critical on purpose.

In closing, from the impression I get from this blog, it’s about you & your interests, not necessarily about your professional opinion or your company’s vision. You’re clearly more interested in using a Nokia phone more than any other, so much so that you’re a fan & find the time (how?) to blog about it. Some people will FIND YOU because of your interest, MANY people will disagree. Are you going to let your ‘readers’ (who can unsubscribe with a click anyway) dictate to you what your opinion is, or are you going to allow others to be attracted by your ideas & thoughts? Because you’re never going to liked by everybody anyway, no matter how much you try. I’m sure that there many be many people who are disagreeing with me *right now* & think I’m totally wrong about this, but you know what? When they get to meet me & see what I can do, they’ll still respect me (hopefully). Who cares? It’s not like they’re clients anyway.

“Life is not about being liked, it’s about being effective.” – Joel Bauer

IMHO,
– @Marcel_Perform