Terence Huynh

I rather lose my access than my integrity

“We got a call from Samsung India saying ‘You can either be a part of this and wear the uniform, or you’ll have to get your own tickets back home and handle your hotel stay from the moment this call ends…

A few minutes later, we got a call from the Samsung India guy who said that our flights on the 6th have been cancelled, and that they’re bringing us back on the 1st instead. But this is only if, and only if, we agreed to wear atleast the samsung branded shirt at the unpacked event, and not blog about any of this incident.

“None of this should leave Berlin. Or Reach India” – Clinton Jeff

It is atrocious that Samsung would bring bloggers and expect them to promote their products. However, it goes to show that some people think if you’re a small blogger, you’re easy to influence and control. And I don’t blame them - unlike the Verge, Engadget and Gizmodo, you have some autonomy. PR do control access, but at least its a mutual arrangement - you cover my thing and take pictures to get hits for your site, 

As a small blogger, I’m lucky to be invited to the same events.

That being said, I have never had issues as outlined by what Samsung did with the PR contacts I’ve dealt with.

But I’ll say this - if I ever get someone attempting to influence my coverage of an event, I will leave. I will return the object, and I will report what happened. Because my integrity is far more important.