When publishing blog or Road Test report, do you know your audience ?

I definitely agree. You need to concentrate on what your audience cares about, not what you want to say.

I'll give an example.A friend and I were doing a presentation to a few develops and testers about Docker and ho wit could be used for building and testing software. My very knowledgeable friend described how Linux has file system overlays, etc. When I took over I just said "it's like a virtual machine, but lightweight and only the bits you need". He was absolutely right but I realised that the people listening didn't care. The wanted the simpler (if less accurate) explanation.

I feel the same applies to road tests. You need to work out what your audience wants to know - and they are likely to not all care about the same things or the same level or detail. Maybe they want to know "is this easy to use". Mabye they want to know if it fits their requirements.

Anyway my point is - don't just document what you did, try to answer the questions you think people would be asking.

I definitely agree. You need to concentrate on what your audience cares about, not what you want to say.

I'll give an example.A friend and I were doing a presentation to a few develops and testers about Docker and ho wit could be used for building and testing software. My very knowledgeable friend described how Linux has file system overlays, etc. When I took over I just said "it's like a virtual machine, but lightweight and only the bits you need". He was absolutely right but I realised that the people listening didn't care. The wanted the simpler (if less accurate) explanation.

I feel the same applies to road tests. You need to work out what your audience wants to know - and they are likely to not all care about the same things or the same level or detail. Maybe they want to know "is this easy to use". Mabye they want to know if it fits their requirements.

Anyway my point is - don't just document what you did, try to answer the questions you think people would be asking.

And in particular I find that unboxing videos fit firmly in this category. Whilst it might be exciting for the person making the video to open it up see what's in the box, I don't see how it's of any interest to the audience. Opening a cardboard box is the same whether there's some amazing piece of test equipment in there or just a bag of potatoes.

I can think of a couple of occasions where an unboxing video is actually useful to the audience.

Poor product packaging can lead to an increase in broken contents on arrival which can cause major issues when tight deadlines are involved. Overly complicated packaging can lead to wasted time and waste if you are talking large quantities and even injury if it is all welded seam plastic clamshells.   

Are serial numbers and device addresses present on the outside of the packaging and barcode readable. Having to unbox and rebox 100+ devices just to get those details into your asset management system for pre-install prep is a real pain.

It can often reveal what is and isn't included in the package and what format it takes. e.g. is the power adapter an integrated 'wallwart' type plug or is it a captive lead power supply or an IEC inlet.

Is there documentation and an installation CD provided or is it a download or just non-existent. What cables / adapters are provided.

Is the IR remote control commander actually included or is it an extra (or in some cases that model doesn't actually support an IR control irrespective of what the manual / sales blurb stated).

Fair enough. I can see how some of that might be useful in specific circumstances.

I suppose I'm thinking of some road tests where 50% of it is photos of the box in various states of being opened - giving very much a "this is what I did" rather than "this is what you need to know" vibe.

I like unboxing videos where the unboxing process is just an animated backdrop that allows the reviewer to talk about interesting stuff like historical tidbits or anecdotal experience, or the significance of the product, etc. Cardboard boxes and Styrofoam are not interesting and neither is describing how cardboard unfolds, but what the reviewer is saying can still be very interesting. Doing a bunch of talking while presenting a static image of the product is not usually the most effective use of multimedia.

The problem is the vast majority of "unboxing" content is not necessary. Unless something is packed extrodinarly good or exceptionally bad, you do not need to see how a thing was put into a box!

But, because so many people record this step as part of their review process, they feel the need to include it.

Most of the time, it is unnecessary. Which has the unfortunate result that I (and I suspect others) skip it.