Birth of an Evangelist
Over the past week, I’ve surprised myself by morphing into a living case study for the marketing books, an unpaid Word-of-Mouth agent, a Gladwell-style “salesman.”
I have gone out of my way to tell the world about a product I’m in love with: I subscribed to a premiere product review website, just so I could write a glowing review; I’ve posted comments about the product in various blogs (at least 3 that I can remember, in the past couple of days); I’ve even Twittered it.
I’ve evangelized to soccer moms & dads, parents at regattas, etc. I’ve lost maybe 1 productive hour of work, and many more in my personal life, tooling around with this product; learning its ins-and-outs. (And yes, I’ve annoyed my family and co-workers by taking too many pictures of them.)
And now I’m blogging about it.
This is not like me. At all.
But I just love my Nikon D40. If you’re looking for an ergonomic, easy-to-use upgrade from point-and-shoot digicams to a Digital SLR, go buy one.
(In the meantime, meet Marco, our new kitten, in the photo accompanying this post. This photo was among the first 5 that I took with the new camera. Check out the detail on that li’l paw. Out of the box. No fiddling around with f-stops, etc. Click the picture for a full-size look, via Flickr.)
Meanwhile, I am almost as fascinated by my own transformation. Not the switch from “clueless” to “shutterbug,” but by the transformation to “product evangelist.” Why am I willing to go out of my way to help out Nikon? How long will this heady delight over a simply-great product last?
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Comments
Todd,
I'd like to get your thoughts on Nikon's blogger outreach program.
Personally, I think too many bloggers involved in the program worry too much about the ethics of the situation. I say if they send you a camera and you like it, why not blog about it? Just be sure to tell your readers that Nikon sent it to you a free camera.
Cheers!
Posted by: Michael Morton | May 2, 2007 10:43 AM
Michael - I have heard tangential reports about the Nikon's blogger outreach, but didn't dive deep into the issues.
There has been a lot written about how-to deal with bloggers and free product (MS, Nikon, et al.) I tend to agree with Rohit Bhargava's point of view, found here:
http://snipurl.com/1j373
Posted by: Todd Defren | May 2, 2007 10:49 AM
Hi Todd,
I'm in the market for an SLR. I always used a traditional SLR before my wife bought a compact digital, and am thinking its time to graduate to a digital SLR.
But I am totally overwhelmed by the choice. I guess personal recommendation based on experience probably the best aide to decision making.
How did you settle on the D40?
Thanks,
Stephen
Posted by: Stephen Waddington | May 3, 2007 04:05 AM
Hi Stephen -
First I went to BestBuy to see what was available locally. Talked to the reps there to get their recommendations. (Be sure to find a smart one!) ;)
Went home, checked CNET reviews (both the official CNET review and, much more helpful, the USER reviews) on the 3 dSLRs that had been recommended by BestBuy staffers.
Then, importantly, I went to Flickr to check out photos tagged as having been taken from each of the choices. D40 pics, plus the other features (ease of use, ergonomics), won the day. Check out: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nikon/d40/
Since you are handy with a traditional SLR, you may be ready for a more sophisticated model like the Nikon D80. For me, it was about being able to take great photos with minimal experience (in fact, I failed photography in H.S.; it was my senior-year blow-off class!), and, I wanted a dSLR that wasn't too big to lug around.
VERY happy with the D40. I'd recommend getting the telephoto lens, though, if you decide to get one. The zoom capability that comes with the base kit is fairly weak.
Check out Darren Rowse's digital photo blog, too. Good stuff there:
http://snipurl.com/1j7f0
Posted by: Todd Defren | May 3, 2007 09:35 AM
Another Nikon fan here, only I picked up the D70 a couple of years ago now. The clarity of photos is just amazing. I warn you though, stay away from the photography message boards or else you'll find yourself coveting all the various lens you can buy.
Posted by: Becky Caudill | May 7, 2007 11:50 PM