Company Blog

Come on everyone, let’s hear from you.  Of all the commercials running on TV right now (keep ‘em reasonably recent), infomercial or otherwise, which ones are the absolutely most annoying to you?  Which ones send your hand rushing to the MUTE button on the remote faster than any other?  Which ones reflexively make you thrust your fingers in your years, clamp your eyes shut, start singing and possibly becoming nauseous?  Possibilities:

a. The singing loser dude and his band on Freecreditreport.com

b. Any local whiplash, ambulance chasing law firm

c. Any local car dealer starring the owner, his family members, and/or employees

d. The Viagra band

e. Anything with Billy Mays in it

Any of these or others you’ve seen?

You’ve heard the old saying: “Opinions are like (an explicative used to refer to the last point of the digestive system, hereafter noted as AHs), everyone’s got one.”

However, while this notion may be physiologically true, when it comes to rendering opinions about As Seen On TV products, especially via online review websites (but not this one, of course, which doesn’t feature opinions, only “see for yourself” videos), a disproportionately high number of the people posting those opinions not only have AHs, but in many cases are AHs. This is what creates what is statistically known as the Disproportionally High Negative Sample (DHNS).

Think about it. When you buy a new product, whether that be at a store, online, or ordered via telephone, or even receive one as a gift, when you get that product, you rightfully expect it to do what it said it could do. And if it does it, you’re not surprised, because your expectation was that products should do what their vendors claim they can do. That’s how the vast majority of people think, and that’s normal.

Thus, it is exceedingly rare that someone loves a new product so much that they bother to take the time to go online and tell everyone else about it at various product review sites. It happens, sure, but the point is that it’s more rare than common. This is why a lot of positive praise you see on product review websites is either the purveyors of those products shilling for them, or what is statistically known as the Disproportionately Low Positive Sample (DLPS).

On the other hand, the world is full of AHs who like nothing more than to complain, bitch, piss & moan. For some people, pleasing them defies the laws of physics. Not going to happen. And they take each and every occasion possible to give voice to their displeasure and distain in any and all venues they can find—ergo, your DHNS. And this really is unfair to a lot of perfectly fine products.

For example, if a vendor of a product sells 100,000 units, and 99,998 of the people who bought one had no problem with it, and yet two AHs couldn’t figure it out, and they get pissed off, and go online to vent their spleens, and then people like you come along who are curious about that product, and you read a review that only has two entries posted, and both of those comments are negative—what conclusion do you come to about that particular product? You may be inclined to think it probably sucks, just like the two AHs said, but at the same time you’re oblivious to the 99,998 people who are currently enjoying that product. Who loses out on that deal? Not just that product’s vendor, but you!

So, obviously, if you can actually see a product in action for yourself—as you can here at ASOTVI (www.asotv.info)—that’s best case, but if you bother to simply read about products and just go to one of many consumer opinions websites, then in order to be fair and objective, you need to always keep in mind that a lot of the good that could be said about a product is very likely missing, and a lot of the bad you find just might be the byproduct of AHs (said byproduct being commonly rendered as yet another explicative).

Bob Gelinas here - As also an internationally published novelist for over 15 years, as well as a publisher and editor-in-chief of a small trade publishing company, ArcheBooks Publishing (www.archebooks.com), I know little bit about writing and storytelling and communicating effectively.  And one of the fundmental lessons I teach young writers about creating commercially viable work is the art of how to “Show Not Tell.”

What that means in literature is that stories are much more vivid and entertaining if dialogue and action are used more to tell the story than just 3rd person narrative.  “So what?” You ask, “What does that have to do with reviewing As Seen On TV products?”

Answer: Simple - The Power of Showing versus just Telling.  Many product review sites will “tell” you what they think, what other consumers think, what the vendors themselves want you to think, and also what disgrunteled users may want you to think, whether any of it might be true or not, partially true, whatever.  It’s like the old joke of the guy who gets caught in bed with another woman by his wife, and after his vehement denials of anything inappropriate going on challenges her with: “So who are you going to believe?  Me or your lying eyes?”

Your eyes and ears don’t lie.

If you’re bothering to look up and read a review on a product, it’s probably because you have some interest in it, perhaps are even considering buying it, but don’t want get ripped off and waste your money.  So what’s better? - reading what a lot of strangers have said, with no way to know if what you’re reading can be trusted; or seeing for yourself.

Haven’t you thought about a lot of products: “If I could only really see this thing for myself, not performing its thing in a perfect commercial, but honestly and close up, then I could get a better idea if I really wanted one or not.”  That’s the point.  That’s what ASOTVI is all about - not just to “tell”  you what we observed about a product’s functionality, but to let the objective eye of a video camera “show” you what it does, regardless of what we or anyone else has to say.  And then you can make your own decision.

There something new at ASOTVI.  Now, on each Product Review page, located on the right, you’ll se a new button entitled, “Email A Friend.”

This new button allows you to easily share that specific review page with someone you know who you feel might appreciate the information.  Is the page you’re reading for a product someone might be interested in?  Is it something someone is thinking of buying but perhaps should think twice?

Well, now you can share the knowledge you find here at ASOTVI with a simple click of a button.  Just enter the emaill address of who you want to recieve the tip, and we take care of the rest.  Try it!