To Razer with Love

Have you ever followed a brand for so long that you began to romanticize its products, even though you have never laid eyes on one of their products, let alone had one of them sitting in front of you?

For me, Razer is exactly that company. I don’t know what it is. Something about the way their products look and how loyal they are to their customers makes me a big fan of them.

Late last year I contacted Razer in the hopes that we could establish some sort of relationship. I was hoping that I could get my hands on their products, test them out for an extended period of time, and then write a series of articles about them. I wanted to approach their products in a way that had never been done before. I didn’t just want to write one article about each product and then move on when the new model hit the market. On the contrary, my goal was to have these products for a long time and tell the story of my journey with them.

Although Razer was initially receptive to the idea, they asked a few more questions and the whole thing fell apart. I don’t fault them for any of this. If anything, the fact that these discussions took place at all is a testament to their dedication to the public they serve. It was presumptuous of me to contact them in the first place. Rather than brushing off my request like many other companies have done in the past, they took the time to talk to me individually and explain why they were saying no. I’m sure they have these discussions with content creators a thousand times a day and the one they had with me was nothing more than a drop in the bucket. It meant a lot to me and it motivated me to work on my content and build my following in the hopes that I would be able to prove myself as a worthy ambassador.

Since our original conversations, I feel like I have made great progress towards becoming a better content creator. I have not written as much about technology as I would like, but I’ve written the kind of content I want to write. I still want to write about technology because I love it more than anything; however, I didn’t want to do it unless I did it right. The role that technology has played in my life has been so tremendous it’s almost like writing about it is like I’m writing to someone I love. I didn’t want to write about it and have it fall short or come off half hearted and weak. I felt like I had to put the whole thing on the backburner until I got to the point where I could do it the right way.

This journey brings me back to this article and the reason why I decided to start this blog. I batted all sorts of concepts around as to how I could write about technology and avoid tromping over the same ground so many other content creators have walked. That’s where I came up with the concept of treating each post as a love letter to the company or piece of technology that it was addressing. The pieces would not follow the same structure people expect to see from technology content. Instead, they would be me gushing and pouring out my heart about what the technology means and why I love it so much.

In the process of planning what gadget or company I would write about first, Razer instantly popped into my head. I was brought back to last year and the feelings of disappointment and hope I felt when my discussions with them collapsed. Everything begin to pour out of me which became the structure of the article you’re reading now. In this article, I plan to put as much as I can on the page about Razer until I have nothing more to say. If you read some of it, I appreciate your decision to spend some time with me. If you decide to click off, I understand. Come back soon. I plan to fill this blog with all sorts of other technology related nonsense.

Unearthing the Gamer in Me

There was a time in my life when I spent a considerable amount of each day playing computer and console games. It was an activity I enjoyed along with my brothers and father. I thought that I would play games for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, personal stuff got in the way and I decided that games weren’t for me. Years past, I got married to someone who didn’t think too kindly about gaming and the entire matter seemed to be put to bed. I had some good memories about gaming and I was happy about going forward with my entire existence as a gamer being in the past. That was until I came across Razer.

With the technology I currently have, gaming of any sort is more of a delusion than a potential reality. The computer I’m writing this article on could manage flash games and not much else. I’m fine with that. The idea of being able to turn on some of these newest games becomes appealing when I take a look at Razer’s products. I click on each of their laptops, desktops, and even their smartphones and the feelings I had from so many years ago begin to flood back. Though the audience that Razer goes for is the gamer crowd, I believe they have considerable appeal to people who might be interested in gaming on a casual basis.

In my original pitch to them, I discussed how I wanted to present Razer’s products to people who might not otherwise consider gaming machines. They were not receptive to this plan, which was understandable considering the people to which they cater. Other technology content creators approach things the same way when they talk about gaming devices. Their entire way of presenting these products involves talking to the gamers out there, leaving everyone else on the outside looking in. I am not a person who wants to create content this way. I am aware that certain products appeal to certain people; however, I also dislike alienating people who might read my content.

When you talk about a product in a way that makes it seem like you’re talking to one group of people, you create the impression that anyone else who might decide to see what’s going on is eavesdropping. I don’t get why things are done this way, especially when it comes to products as multifaceted as the ones coming from Razer. Any product that allows esports professionals to compete at the highest levels is capable of accomplishing so many other things. I wish content creators would consider all users and what each and every person who’s consuming their content might get out of the products they’re covering.

I’m not saying I’m the person who’s going to prove that Razer has considerable crossover potential in all segments of the technology marketplace. What I am is someone who’s going to work as hard as they possibly can to explain technology in a way that everyone can understand. Whether it’s a tricked out laptop that looks more like a tank than something you could use on a daily basis or your run-of-the-mill entry level product, I will tell you why it’s great and what it can do for you, no matter who you are.

Talking about things in this manner might make it seem like I am going out of my way to trash certain content creators without having the guts to call out those creators by name. On the contrary, I support the right of every content creator to talk about exactly what they want to talk about in the way they want to talk about it. I have had people who have tried to tell me how I should create content and it’s the worst. It doesn’t matter if I disagree with what another creator is saying. I don’t have the right to stomp on to their territory and tell them they’re somehow less then as a content creator.

I love content creators that make it their mission to tell the world about technology. More people need to be doing it because there are so many wonderful things on the market already and the stuff that’s coming down the pipeline is mind blowing. I’m merely saying how I would approach things with a company like Razer. I would talk about what their products could do from a gaming perspective, but I would also delve deeper into what they could accomplish for the average user. Someone who might not know about technology deserves to have you tell them how they would get their most out of their Razer Phone 2 or Razer Blade Stealth 13. I will do everything in my power to make sure that they see exactly why I believe Razer is such a great company.

Presenting a Disclaimer

In the interest of transparency, as part of every article I write, especially these longer form, gushy mushy types, I want to come right out and say that I am not writing this article as part of any relationship I have with Razer. The content contained within this article consists of solely my opinions and thoughts and has not been viewed or altered in any way by any individual from Razer or elsewhere. I go the extra mile to make sure that I am objective as a content creator. If I were to establish a relationship with Razer or any other company, I would do it with the understanding that I would be honest about them and their products. I would also expect that they would give me the same honesty in return. In my mind, this is the only way relationships between companies and content creators should run.

I love Razer, which again might seem strange because my only exposure to their products is consuming content from other people who have put them through the ringer. I think that my love for this company comes from all the time I have spent covering coffee and the companies that produce it. I observed how each company treated their customers, not just their dedication to the quality of their products. I found that my opinion of the companies who made it a point to treat members of the public well was much higher than the companies who looked at the people who contacted them as though they were nothing more than flies interrupting them during dinner time.

Razer is one of those companies that treats their current and potential customers so well that they have a following of people who are first in line to buy their new releases and make it a point to defend them to detractors. Finding a company that has that kind of brand loyalty is rare unless you look at the titans of the industry that are mentioned in every conversation about tech before the little guys. I like companies who respect people who are fans of theirs and want to go out of their way to make products that please them. I don’t look at Razer as a company that makes products solely for gamers. I look at it as a company for the people and by the people.

Sitting on the Outside Looking In

Though I hope this article will make some sort of difference in my relationship with Razer, I know that won’t be anything more than a drop in the bucket. My following pales in comparison to the people who are first to release reviews of Razer’s newest products. Razer can be both respectful to content creators and mindful to their bottom line at the same time. If they lended products to everyone who said something nice about them, they would have to shut their doors because they wouldn't;’t make any money. That’s the last thing I want to have happen.

I want whatever relationship I end up establishing with Razer to be both good for me and Razer as well. I do not approach the task of creating content about particular companies lightly. I am aware about the role that creators play in influencing the masses how to think about certain companies and the products they produce. My status as a smaller creator is still one that I need to take seriously because the next person who reads one of my articles might be a potential Razer customer. If I were to dissuade them from buying one of Razer’s products, I would be doing Razer a disservice and that’s not what I want.

That being said, if my experience with a Razer product necessitated a negative article, I would have to present it in the most respectful, constructive way possible. The anonymity that’s given to people sitting by their keyboards is too often misused for destructive purposes. A person might think that they could go out of their way to trash a company in the most brutal way possible and feel good about it when they were done. Sure they might get away with such a thing. At what cost though? It doesn’t do any good to destroy a company in your content regardless of what they have done to you or the experience that you had using their products. There’s a right way to go about saying something fell short without being malicious.

Any time you fantasize about something that you have never had you build up your idea of it in your mind. The idea becomes so unrealistic that you feel nothing but disappointment when you get your hands on the thing that has been haunting your dreams for so long. I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen if and when I am able to use something from Razer. You never know though. I am someone who’s open minded while also maintaining the most realistic standards imaginable. A product has to be able to do what I want to do without letting me down. There’s no such thing as a perfect product. In the event I were to find a limitation in a product, I would not write that product off because of said limitation. I would just know where to draw the line and never cross it so I could continue to have an enjoyable experience.

Realizing Unrequited Love Isn't All Bad

Many of us have either loved someone and not had that person love us back or know someone who went through this kind of heartache at one point in their lives. It’s an inevitable part of life when you make it a point to give of yourself so freely. You will either have someone who will take you as you are and love you anyway or you will have someone who will rebuff your advances and head elsewhere. Does this mean you pack up your things and throw your hands up in a mixture of disgust and defeat? No. No it does not. It should motivate you to love that much harder the next time, knowing that when someone decides that they want to be in your corner it will make the past let downs fade into memory.

That’s how I look at my back and forth with Razer. Analyzing one’s relationship with a company that exists to provide customers with products as though it were a relationship between two human beings might seem silly. I guess in this instance I am the silliest person known to man. I consider myself schmaltzy and sentimental. Anytime I look at anything I jump into it with my whole heart and mind in an effort to involve my entire being with that thing. I find that when I approach things any other way the resulting content is weak.

This goes back to the concept of this blog as a depository of my love letters to technology. Love letters can be either lovey dovey or gut wrenching. They can be anything you want them to be because you’re the one who’s creating them. Are you going to go halfway when you’re trying to pour your heart out to someone you love? Of course you won’t. You will dig deep until every fiber of your being is spilled out on the page for them to see. More often than not their reaction to your sentiments means little. The true joy comes in your ability to get your feelings on the page.

It is my dream to start a relationship with a company like Razer and it will remain my dream until I am able to make such a thing a reality. Until then, I will tell the world why I love companies like theirs. They might read it. They might not. They might respond to it. They might not. None of this matters because the purpose of these posts is not for me to shamelessly bow down to them. They get that enough. I am nothing more than another voice in the crowd singing their praises. These posts are my means of telling the audience who might read them why they should go with a company like Razer. Very few people might read the entirety of a post this long. If they do, they will know why Razer is great and the products they make are even better.

Figuring Out Next Steps

As with any love letter, you’re left in a position to figure out what you’re going to next depending on the response of the recipient. If it goes well and you accomplish your mission, you move forward with that person and have a very happy life together. If it falls apart or they don’t respond, you have to determine if it’s time to pack it in and move onto the next one or find a different way of reaching out to them. When it comes to Razer, I will end up finding other ways to reach out to them. I will do research on all of their products, making a point to revisit these posts if I feel like I have something new to say or enough time has passed since the last time I talked about a certain product. I will not simply post something about a Razer product and leave that post to become outdated and problematic. I will stick with in and make sure that the current version of what i’m saying about their products is the most accurate and helpful.

Creating content is a hard task for someone who is as sentimental as I am. I spend so much time writing these pieces and the thing that I want to accomplish with them is so clear. In the event that my goal for a certain post is not realized, I get stuck in a rut, not wanting to move on until I make whatever I want to have happen actually happen. I realize that this way of thinking might work with other types of content. It’s not going to work with technology though. The world of technology does not leave room for people to be weepy and sentimental. That doesn’t mean I will let this article rest the moment I post it.

My plans for the promotion of this article are elaborate to say the least. People are often annoyed with how much I push my content. I will promote a piece of content for a month, knowing full well that the date the content posted will never change. I do this because I don’t look at my content as disposable blog posts that are meant to waste away in obscurity. I see it as being no different than what a filmmaker does. Art is art. The fact that a filmmaker does their work in a visual medium is irrelevant. They create pictures on the screen. I create pictures on the page.

My indefinite promotion efforts are also the result of my awareness of the limited appeal of a piece of content that’s this long. Longer pieces require people to sit down and invest their time. This piece will not get the crowd that I like to call the hummingbirds of the internet. These are the people who flit from page to page, consuming little bits of content without resting and digging into anything on more than a surface level. I would never take away from the hummingbirds. I am one of them from time to time. Being a hummingbird myself, I know the types of content that make them flit to the next feeder.

Talking about a piece of content for a day and moving on once the sun rises again is not a good way to get anyone’s attention, especially not a company like Razer. It’s my mission to have to so many people look at this content that Razer will have no choice to restart discussions and add me to their team. As those words escaped my fingertips, I begin to see their craziness. I don’t care though. I hate it when smaller content creators think that they don’t matter because they are small. Big content creators started at the bottom too. They didn’t wake up one morning with the eyes of the world on them. They had to move and shake until the amount of eyes that were looking their way went from a little to a lot.

I am not a big content creator. I have said that already. My size should not diminish the strength of my sentiments or the value of my perspective. I have been creating content for a long time and feel like what I put out is capable of standing with the best of them. The size of a person’s audience is not a good measure of the quality of the content they create. I could go off on a tangent listing creators who have big audiences and why I feel like their content does not live up to my idea of quality. Where’s the fun in that? As you read those words, you’re formulating a list of creators you don’t like and that accomplishes my objective without me having to do all the heavy lifting. 

As a small creator, I am not going to be the one that helps Razer move product with nothing more than my words. I wish this were the case, but I feel like it’s not going to be that way for a long time. In my position, I can’t help but look at the creators above me with a feeling of envy. I envy their ability to have the products they need to tell stories to their audience. I wish there was some sort of way to make it so every content creator was able to get this kind of access. Again, I know that it would be impossible for Razer to fill every request that came across their desk. A guy can dream though.