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Start of the article: "My priority at CES every year is to find futuristic new technology that I can get excited about. But even at a tech show as large as CES,
by database_lost 7y ago
Start of the article: "My priority at CES every year is to find futuristic new technology that I can get excited about. But even at a tech show as large as CES, this can be surprisingly difficult. If I’m very lucky [...]"
End of the article: "Bosch covered our costs for attending CES 2020."
- derision 7y agoDoes that change the fact that this is futuristic new technology?
- pessimizer 7y agoThe more relevant question is whether that changes the likelihood that this is a futuristic, new, working technology.
- derision 7y agoWell working is a qualifier that you added, not the author. Maybe he's only interested in things that explore innovative ideas rather than a functional product.
- vanderZwan 7y agoieee.org tends to be like that. Still has interesting articles from time to time though
- quelltext 7y agoAlso: "After making a minor nuisance of myself, Bosch agreed to give me a private demo" I mean it's possible they paid for him (and others) and still didn't allow him to get a demo... but it's unlikely. Also, I feel like IEEE can afford to pay the attendance costs for a reporter. So, this is really just promoted content/an ad. Which is fine and it's even fine to wait until the end to tell us I think but not if the article body tries to paint a different, organic picture. This wasn't at all necessary for the content but simply there to detract from the paid promo nature of the piece.
- keanzu 7y agoI wondered this myself but I searched the IEEE website and it appears that there are several stories about various Bosch technologies so it is possible that Bosch was expecting this writer to cover their other stuff and wasn't planning to demo this particular item. Given that Bosch is looking for a commercial partner and not to sell direct to the public they might have had the glasses to show to possible partners and not reporters.
- bonestamp2 7y agoThis was my assumption too... they have plenty of consumer products currently for sale that they're probably much more interested in promoting.
- techslave 7y agosure. anything is possible.
- shkkmo 7y agoI don't know if the article was edited, but this is what the article now shows at the end: > Robert Bosch LLC provided travel support for us to attend CES 2020. Bosch Sensortec, responsible for the Smartglasses Light Drive, was not aware of nor involved with the travel support. So it seems like you are correct. The article could have been much more clear about this though.
- have_faith 7y agoAren't you generally supposed to disclose things up front? not after the submarine has launched.
- kempbellt 7y agoPreferably. If you want to create a more trustworthy rapport with your audience so they don't feel manipulated. Sneaky disclosures kill any interest I have in a product/company.
- cambalache 7y agoIndeed. I was fooled. I went back after reading OP comment now I have a bad after-taste.
- uptown 7y agoYeah, they really Bosched this one...
- yingw787 7y agoYeah, that's a big no-no for credibility. At least for me, I have to trust a stranger before I could ever convert on a pitch, and stating any financial obligations or fiduciary duties or conflicts of interest upfront or early on is far better than tacking it on later. Case in point, I'm not even going to read this article after reading this comment.
- TomMarius 7y agoIs it that unlikely that Bosch has sponsored a story written by an unaffiliated writer?
- yingw787 7y agoI don't understand your implication. Are you saying that an unaffiliated writer who is sponsored one time by Bosch wouldn't have an inclination of positive bias towards his financial benefactor, as opposed to a PR / marketing person on staff?
- TomMarius 7y agoThey wouldn't if they wrote the story before Bosch noticed it and decided to sponsor it as an article. Seems like good PR practice to me.
- Allower 7y agoHow about you actually quote it?! >Robert Bosch LLC provided travel support for us to attend CES 2020. Bosch Sensortec, responsible for the Smartglasses Light Drive, was not aware of nor involved with the travel support.
- wmeredith 7y agoHoly shit. The parent comment is as disingenuous as the implication they’re putting the author of the article. It earned a very rare HN downvote from me.
- jakobegger 7y agoLooks like they changed the disclosure at some point. The original version of the article is here: http://archive.is/QCmA6 http://archive.is/QCmA6
- database_lost 7y agoThank you! I tried using internet archive but somehow it wasn't loading the page properly. I was going a bit insane, but remembered it's just the internet and moved on.
- quelltext 7y agoI can confirm that the article was edited. It said exactly what the parent comment wrote when I read it. This IMHO makes it even worse. The article should clarify that they updated this description.
- database_lost 7y agoI quoted what was on the page when I read it. They changed it at least twice, the last time I checked it said something about Bosch Sensortec, and I had to Google it to see if they were related to the glasses. They since apparently added that in as well.