Android bloggers

For me, by far the worse aspect of the Android ecosystem is the community of bloggers surrounding it.

On one end of the spectrum, you have the professionals.  These folks are technically proficient, so their sites are at least partially useful.  But being professionals, they absolutely need to attract (and maintain) a large readership.  What that usually translates into is an extreme focus on only the latest and greatest devices.  When you constantly remind people that they are behind the times (even if their phone is brand new), it messes with them psychologically.  They will perpetually lust for gizmos which are out of their reach, and so they will constantly revisit these sites to get their fix.  When people get into this gadget frenzy, they forget that the bloggers themselves live in a tech writer bubble that in no way reflects the habits of the average user.  They get demo units and early access; they often have a new primary phone every month (or every other week!).

I find that these professional sites a great resource when you're in the market for a new phone, but once you find the right one, there's no good reason to come back.  You're not going to find much in the way of tips and tricks for your new hardware, and after a couple of months, you might not even get timely news in regards to OS updates.

On the other side, you have the amateur/barely professional bloggers.  These sites are run by writers whose bylines state that they've had an Android phone for a year or less.  They refuse to do anything resembling journalism.  Their news pieces are instead culled from rumors, speculation, and bullshit.

To give you an example, do a search for news on the 4.0.4 software update for the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus.  It's been mysteriously absent for months, and no one's sure what's happening, or when it will arrive as an Over the Air update.  But if you do a Google news search, you'll find tons of Android sites stating that the update is already out on OTA.  Their proof?  Other shitty Android sites, who in turned linked to yet another.  Follow the trail far enough, and you'll realize that there was never any concrete evidence supporting these claims.  It appears as if the entire community is linking to each other in a neverending circle of BS.

Staying with the Nexus, the other typical news piece announces that the update is available directly from Google, and is ready to be installed manually.  You just need to make sure you unlock your phone.  And root it.  Or maybe you don't need to root it.  Who knows, because everyone gives a different set of instructions on how to apply it (and their comments sections are filled with people asking why it isn't working).  Most of these sites have no idea what they're talking about, and I find myself uncomfortable trusting anything they provide, be it news, tips, or a download link.

It's unfortunate, because it means that a lot of the potential inherent in the platform will be inaccessible to a huge number of users who simply don't want to be given the runaround.  Whenever I see someone express their fears of rooting their phone, I completely understand where they're coming from.  With some of these sites, it would be akin to driving your sedan into a shady chop shop for repairs.