In my online/tech life, I have had lots of opportunities to review products. At first, it seems like a great thing – get a free toy and play with it. All you have to do is write about it and then send it back. For those of you who are not in the tech-field, this may sound like a great thing. It's not.
Getting something to review means you have to disrupt your daily routine. Then you have to log your impressions as you go on. Don't forget to take lots of pictures because people like pictures. After the review period, you get to make sense of your notes and put together a coherent review so people can decide whether they should drop their hard earned money on whatever gadget.
Then there's the sending back process. In my case, the nearest FedEx store is about a half-hour away. UPS stores are quite easily accessible where I am, though. Here's a tip for anyone who plans on review products: ask for a prepaid shipping label via PDF to move things along a lot easier.
</end review rant>