Well, the truth is, it was as much a surprise for me as probably for any of the other selected people. I know that's not what you want to hear but up until I received the email, I was sure I wouldn't get in. Mostly because I assumed there would be a lot of applicants and honestly, I was okay with that. I think that's the way to go into this, expectations not too high but most importantly, the way I went into this is probably my personal 'secret'. So let's go.
How it started
When I got the first email from OnePlus a few weeks ago about the Lab being back, I have to say I looked it over, thought about it for a while and went on with my workday. Not because I wasn't interested, I loved seeing this come back again but I actually thought, there will be at least hundreds of people entering, why should I bother. And yes, I really thought hundreds, can you imagine what I thought when I saw the actual number.. but back to the point. I started thinking about what it had said on the OnePlus Lab application page about writing a review and that's when I realized I would send in my application.
Why I started
I have a YouTube channel, it's not big yet but who knows, anyways my point is, when I saw that application I started thinking of the reasons I started that channel.
I knew I loved watching, reading and talking about smartphones and other mobile tech for years already, I just hadn't done anything with it. I watched YouTube video reviews for hours at a time, loving the fact people were making content about things I loved to talk about. I read articles and reviews on multiple websites just to learn more and at some point I decided to try it out for myself. Although it took me a while, I got into it. I found my way of filming, talking and although I'm not saying I'm great or good at all, I know I have a lot more to learn, I just love to do it! Slowly I also started sharing my opinion in the written word, small reviews on mostly Dutch review websites. I had read a lot of them so I knew what people wanted to hear about phones like categories and functions / specifications. Of course naming just what a phone can do and what hardware is being used is not even close to enough. So what is?
What I wrote
Well, I won't tell you actually what I wrote on my application since it's personal and because it would sort of feel like cheating. Like I said it's not enough to just name specs and be done with it. What I did was point out my own experiences both good AND bad, because a good review always has a few things that are not completely to your liking or just could be better. I really tried to make the reader understand how I felt about the things I mentioned. Not just naming a function but expressing what effect it had on the phone and, very important, myself. Also yes I do mentioned some of the specs but I stayed away from just naming what the phone can do and moving on. The reader can check a spec sheet if they want to know that. Maybe what helped was the fact I already loved talking about this so much. I actually wrote this application in about an hour from start to finish, after that I polished it here and there but the fact was I just layed out a few points I wanted to mention and build my application around them. I started typing and basically just like this post, after a while a had a full blown article. I send it and that was it.
My secret
Well, if you've waited 'till now to read this section you might be surprised or disappointed. I don't actually have a physical secret to share but what I think could have been a contributing factor is the fact I love it. Like I've mentioned a few times throughout this post, I just love talking about smartphones and mobile tech. I am not the person who will check your clothes, shoes or something like that when you walk in a room. I am the person when you walk into the room, the first chance I get, I will look at your phone. I love them, I try to know as much about them as possible, not because I have to but because I want to. That is how I went into this application, I didn't expect to win, absolutely not actually. I wrote the application because it was about something I loved, something I used every day so I knew what kind of effect it had on me and I knew I could illustrate this to the reader. I wrote it because it came naturally and I have a passion for the subject. Maybe that is my secret after all, my passion.
Hope this was helpful, good luck to everyone and don't give up before you try! You might surprise yourself. I know I did.
Oh and should you be curious, both my YouTube and Instagram are @missmobiletech
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