Influencers You Should Know: William McBee at remove the labels
When you think about influencers in the world of tech a few big names most likely spring to mind. But below that tier of huge tech blogs breaking every new story in the world of consumer electronics and gee whiz gadgetry is a layer of bloggers producing in depth, quality content consisting of personalized news, reviews, speculation and opinion.
One such blogger is William McBee, the man behind remove the labels, a valuable influencer in our Multiloguer database and to whom MSL has been pitching for several years. We caught up with William recently and asked him what motivates him and how agencies can better work with him.
Blogworks: You built a laser so it’s no surprise you started blogging. What got you started? I’m assuming you were active online at message boards and the like before the birth of remove the labels?
McBee: The laser came as a project as a kid. My father and my uncle, who just recently retired from IBM after 40 years of working with them, fostered my inner-tinkerer as a kid, which lead to my love of gadgets, computers and technology that continues today. My first time really doing anything on the Internet was the Sony PSX FAQ that was released way back in 1994 via Usenet when I was at the University of Colorado and I’ve been online since.
remove the labels actually came about because of my love of “removing the warranty labels” and tinkering with everything. As a kid, it meant broken VCRs. As an adult, it meant a blog that I created to point all of my friends and family to since they were always asking me questions about what was new and what was worthwhile in technology all of the time. And somehow, Remove The Labels went from a part-time pet project that I wanted to share only with the aforesaid friends and family to something that was pulling in more views somehow. Not bad for something I originally started in 2004 or so as a way just to get people off of my back.
BW: What are your thoughts on the state of the tech blogosphere?
McB: The tech blogosphere has definitely become interesting. Technology used to give all the “geeks” something to chat about, compare specs and make informed decisions about which was better, which was worse. Now? Things are quite divided but luckily the technology blogosphere has blossomed into where you don’t have to find just one or two places that had “most” of the information. You can find just about any site that covers things that fall into your likes and dislikes and that’s a very good thing. I love how varied the sites are now. Just wish I had more time for it all.
BW: What kinds of things do you like to write about? Any brands you’d particularly like to work with?
McB: I’ve always made it a point to write about things I’d actually use, have used or, above all, I think people around me would use. In these times and days, people want to save money… so I added a Deals section. People want to be more responsible for the next generation, so I started looking into “green” technology. I’m still a gamer after so many years, so I keep up on video games. I’m a programmer, so I definitely keep up with the computer aspect that fuels my career. And I’m secretly a car buff, so I keep an eye on the automotive industry. If anything, I’m just a big consumer that likes to have technology actually add to my daily operations and unfortunately, not all tech does that.
Pertaining to brands, I’m not really all that “brand loyal.” Companies that I respect have churned out a few duds. Thus, my blog. I want to avoid the bad purchases and go only with the good purchases. In the past, companies like Epson, HP and even Best Buy have all changed my mind about their products by showing me their offerings. I’ve never been an Epson fan until the last few years – their printers just blossomed into products I presently keep and recommend to others. I would not have said that 5 years ago. Best Buy, same thing. I used to avoid their Rocketfish and Insignia offerings, until I started to use and review them. And oddly enough, I was contacted through my website about reviewing their products.
BW: How do you prefer to be contacted? What kinds of pitches are an automatic turn off for you?
McB: Contact via e-mail or the website is preferred. As far as pitches come, I’m way too varied to say that I’ve yet to hit one that has instantly turned me off. Even though I’m not “brand loyal”, there are some brands that I’ve honestly stayed away from because it was a general perception their quality was not up to par. But I have to also remain “brand open-minded” because I’ve been proven wrong quite a few times. And the good part about being proven wrong is that I’ve been able to share that learning experience with so many others. But bribes still do work *wink*.
- Date: 04.08.2011
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