Small OF Shout out in Hodinkee Article

Bushido · Sep 21, 2016

Just wrapped up reading a pretty entertaining editorial article on Hodinkee:
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/twelve-mistakes-new-watch-guys-make-how-to-avoid-them

Most salient to this thread title as well as speaking volumes of truth quoted below:

"8. Citing One Post On One Forum (Or One Instagram Comment) As Fact
You know who can make a post on a forum and declare themselves an expert? Anyone. Literally anyone on this planet. You know who fact checks them? Nobody. So, citing a single post or thread on a single forum as fact is something that doesn't make too much sense, just practically speaking. You have to remember that the world is full of people trying to take advantage of you, and the man you know only by his avatar could very well be a dealer, or a less-than-honest seller who may have invested heavily in one vertical or another. I've seen people make six-figure decisions based on literally the opinion of one person whose legal name they do not know. Trust experts whose names you know and who you know will be there to support you if something goes wrong – not the random guy on the forum. They are littered with mis- and disinformation, and while forums at times can be fantastic resources for watch lovers (my favorites include Timezone, The Purists, Omega Forums, On The Dash, and VRF), I'd strongly encourage you to consider who exactly is on the other end of the comments that are driving your purchasing decisions. Same thing goes for Instagram comments – a few thousand followers does not an expert make"

*Bold and underline emphasis by me in above quote*

I wanted to link this article as a shout out to all our friendly and helpful resident experts here. You guys help make this forum not only better for us mere enthusiasts but the greater watch community as well. Keep doing what you're doing and know you're appreciated. Cheers!

flyingout · Sep 21, 2016

Nah, the real wisdom:

4. Not Owning (Or Never Owning) An Omega Speedmaster
Come on, how can you call yourself a watch guy and not own a Speedmaster? I'm not saying you have to keep it, but I really think each man or woman that loves watches owes it to him or herself to own a manually-wound, three-register Speedmaster at some point in their lives. It may not be for everybody, but I'd venture to say it is pretty much the most satisfying watch in the world.

MMMD · Sep 21, 2016

Sort of fun, but I think he could have cut out the pet peeves, such as the entries on deployants and Bakelite, and added some more meaningful noob mistakes... first and foremost:
1. Compromising overmuch on condition.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

nurseford25 · Sep 21, 2016

MMMD
Sort of fun, but I think he could have cut out the pet peeves, such as the entries on deployants and Bakelite, and added some more meaningful noob mistakes... first and foremost:
1. Compromising overmuch on condition.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Calling a deployant a deployment clasp is a noob mistake!!

omegastar · Sep 22, 2016

Many experts in many fields who's name I knew have let me down and proved wrong.
It is difficult to gather those likes.

ConElPueblo · Sep 22, 2016

nurseford25
Calling a deployant a deployment clasp is a noob mistake!!

It's also completely irrelevant.

dsio · Sep 22, 2016

One of the reasons I'm glad to have so many people willing to call people out on statements as there are often guys who start to gain a bit of knowledge and confidence that will reply to a new thread stating their thoughts as fact before getting corrected by others.

meganfox17 · Sep 22, 2016

Steve88M3 · Sep 22, 2016

The best was where they call out the clowns who are down on Rolex.

Entertaining article for sure.

GuiltyBoomerang · Sep 22, 2016

Bushido
"8. Citing One Post On One Forum (Or One Instagram Comment) As Fact
...while forums at times can be fantastic resources for watch lovers (my favorites include Timezone, The Purists, Omega Forums, On The Dash, and VRF), I'd strongly encourage you to consider who exactly is on the other end of the comments that are driving your purchasing decisions.

Well...

peatnick
Asking $350 for this modest example

GregH
Attention forum newbies that have been posting watches!
@peatnick is a great guy to work with and has a watch for you!
Good luck!

I wonder who convinced me there...

ScubaPro · Sep 22, 2016

13. Assuming that Hodinkee has a clue about anything. They've even had typos in headlines, and sell the products (at ludicrous prices) they're supposed to be objective about. They know much about marketing, but nothing about basic journalism (or even composition). But who cares, right? They have a valid "business model."

dsio · Sep 22, 2016

Have to say I disagree there, and not just because we were mentioned in the article, Fratello Hodinkee and Calibre11 are among the only watch journalists I enjoy reading and while not every single article on every one of them interests me there are always plenty that do. Typos happen everywhere, I just accidentally put "snoopy" in the title of this thread instead of CK2998 because I had a brainfart and confused my Speedmaster LE's.

I can't actually find it on the new site but this was the article that got me interested in them in the first place, Ben tracked down this guy Bob selling a 5510 on eBay and got the entire story complete with photos: http://hodinkee.squarespace.com/blo...ehind-the-most-talked-about-ebay-listing.html

Up until that point 95% of watch blogs I'd been to were mainly press release journalism but taking that approach and actually writing a story about the owner was different, Ben actually didn't focus on the watch much but instead talked about the owner's life, where it had been, and all the sentimentality wrapped up in that sale and that's what I like about watches, the story not the specs. That was what made me a regular reader of Hodinkee, and that approach of focusing on the history behind watches has kept me going back there.

ELV web · Sep 22, 2016

dsio
Have to say I disagree there, and not just because we were mentioned in the article, Fratello Hodinkee and Calibre11 are among the only watch journalists I enjoy reading and while not every single article on every one of them interests me there are always plenty that do. Typos happen everywhere, I just accidentally put "snoopy" in the title of this thread instead of CK2998 because I had a brainfart and confused my Speedmaster LE's.

I can't actually find it on the new site but this was the article that got me interested in them in the first place, Ben tracked down this guy Bob selling a 5510 on eBay and got the entire story complete with photos: http://hodinkee.squarespace.com/blo...ehind-the-most-talked-about-ebay-listing.html

Up until that point 95% of watch blogs I'd been to were mainly press release journalism but taking that approach and actually writing a story about the owner was different, Ben actually didn't focus on the watch much but instead talked about the owner's life, where it had been, and all the sentimentality wrapped up in that sale and that's what I like about watches, the story not the specs. That was what made me a regular reader of Hodinkee, and that approach of focusing on the history behind watches has kept me going back there.

There are many sour grapes 😜, and it is unfair to think people have a fiduciary duty to serve the world. Everyone has to make a living, there are some exceptions but those are few and far between. I think hodinkee is in the right balance but somehow people seem to want to take a jab at them whenever they seek to make a living too.....

Andy K · Sep 22, 2016

nurseford25
Calling a deployant a deployment clasp is a noob mistake!!

ConElPueblo
It's also completely irrelevant.

Spellcheck and autocorrect are as much to blame as noobs or ignorance on this one. And I agree, quite irrelevant!

ScubaPro · Sep 23, 2016

This is the where we are these days, apparently. If you let really obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes make it to a published version of something, it's clearly not being proofread. And if they can't even get the basics of publishing right, what kind of fact-checking do you think they're doing?

bill5959 · Sep 23, 2016

I've been called on this before but here I go. Hodinkee is in the business of buying access to the rich and famous, watch manufacturers, collectors, etc. without it they don't get the clicks and the money. Having to produce something every day drives your behavior. Are they blatantly dishonest, I don't think so. Do they throw softballs? Oh, yeah. It's good work. Traveling the world tax deductible (I said it again) is a great way to go thru life. People want to believe somebody because, as the wildly stupid saying goes, no one can be an expert on every watch. I would add, within a watch brand. Why not invest in Hodinkee. All those clicks can't be wrong. So my friends, drink the Kool-aid and spend your money. If you think big watch deals will last forever, or be a good investment, think again. Unless you can absorb the body blows at whatever your level of investment, get a 401k. Your spouse will be happier and your kids will have a chance. Ciao

Foo2rama · Sep 23, 2016

Personally I'm sick of people bagging on hodinkee. They get good prices for what they offer so deal with it. Yeah they make mistakes sometimes but who doesn't. They have good reach and a decent content creation team. Congrats to them for getting the money they do on watches.

Archer · Sep 24, 2016

Bushido
You know who can make a post on a forum and declare themselves an expert? Anyone. Literally anyone on this planet. You know who fact checks them? Nobody.

You know who can create a watch blog and declare themselves an expert? Anyone. Literally anyone on this planet. You know who fact checks them? Doesn't matter, because if someone does so and posts it in the comments, those comments get removed...

Pun · Sep 25, 2016

flyingout
Nah, the real wisdom:

4. Not Owning (Or Never Owning) An Omega Speedmaster
Come on, how can you call yourself a watch guy and not own a Speedmaster? I'm not saying you have to keep it, but I really think each man or woman that loves watches owes it to him or herself to own a manually-wound, three-register Speedmaster at some point in their lives. It may not be for everybody, but I'd venture to say it is pretty much the most satisfying watch in the world.

For same reason I bought a TinTin speedmaster Moonwatch. Unless you own one for a month at least, you can't understand the logic behind this statement I believe.

Small OF Shout out in Hodinkee Article

Bushido

flyingout

MMMD

nurseford25

omegastar

ConElPueblo

dsio

meganfox17

Steve88M3

GuiltyBoomerang

ScubaPro

dsio

ELV web

Andy K

ScubaPro

bill5959

Foo2rama

Archer

Pun

Similar threads

A Shout-out to my Watchmaker

Hilarious summary/generalisation of watch brands