Reviews are supposed to be biased

If you see a link to a product or service on this blog, it’s not an affiliate link. I earn no kickbacks and accept no compensation from brands in exchange for coverage here. What I’m sharing is an honest, unvarnished personal impression of what it’s like to live with the thing.

But it is not unbiased.

I’m not after objectivity in reviews, and I don’t think you should be either. Reviews are mostly useful in aggregate. If a variety of folks experience something in a particular way, chances are higher that you will too. Individually, they’re all biased—but that’s their best feature.

Think about it: the more objective a review, the more likely it is you could glean its insights from the product’s spec sheet. How an individual does experience a product or service tells you more than an attempt to explain how everyone might experience it.

In other words, your goal shouldn’t be finding the perfect review, but the perfect reviewer. Seeing how it fits into someone else’s life gives you an idea of how it might fit into yours.

You’re after someone whose taste most closely resembles your own. Early on, that means taking some chances on the recommendations of strangers. Over time, you’ll find sources whose perspective on that kind of product aligns with your own. It’s likely different people for different things.

I have no qualms about the use of affiliate links in general, by the way. I’ve experimented with them in the past. But I’m fortunate enough today that I don’t need to look to this blog for income. That being the case, it’s simpler for me to avoid the hassle altogether and focus on being as clear and helpful as I know how to be.

Just thought I should clarify that somewhere as I find myself reviewing products again.