A rare Sunday newsletter that promises not to be preachy.
It's a bummer when I have to sit at my desk on a Saturday, but it was for a good cause. This week was bonkers. We're ramping up for the start of the new school year, and unfortunately, all fires seem to start around this time—literally if you're in California.
It took me a while to conjure up what our hardware reviews will look like at Android Faithful, but I can fortunately point you to the site's first written review. There will be more elements to it in the future, like an extracted video of our review segment from the show, links to follow-up content, and highlights from other reviews. But that involves a workflow I haven't implemented yet, and I wanted to get the writing down first. Frankly, that's the most challenging part, and why it took me so long to publish anything. I have been trained to write in a specific format, in rote form, up to a certain word count, while also ensuring I mention key phrases and hardware specifications for whatever reason. (I think it was SEO, but who knows anymore with AI's scraping of content.)
My vision for Android Faithful is to create a hangout space for users and fans of the platform, rather than a review site where you come to make your purchasing decisions. The site is here so that Ron, Jason, Mishaal, Huyen, and I can write a thing or two as the news hits and we're using all this hardware and software that Google and its partners put out. The idea is to add to the conversation rather than try to compete with what everyone else is already saying. That's the difference between our little operation and, say, a Really Big Site. We are not here to make a boss happy and proud over page hits, bounce rates, and advertising revenue (although we are figuring that part out, because there are bills to pay). We are here to chat with you and explore this evolving world of consumer technology together, sharing our gripes and commiserations along the way. It's an extension of the podcast you love enough to have supported us this far.
I hope that my Galaxy Z Fold 7 review gives you a glimpse of what we're trying to accomplish here in this new era at Android Faithful. And I especially appreciate you rolling with the punches. If this were a website in the mid-Nineties, it would have one of those "under construction" signs blinking rapidly at you. All I can ask is that you pardon our dust and my overactive brain. I hope that in the months to come, you will refer to us when seeking a fifth and final opinion on what was once an enthusiast's platform, now an AI platform. We're going to need each other to weather all the oncoming change together. Thanks for being here.
