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Ok, I have studied this since all heck broke loose a few weeks ago. I finally have decided what to do.
I'm staying with EC because here is what it does for me: it makes things easy for me to visit many of my favorite blogs.
Gone are my days of dropping 300. Today I dropped a few over 100, and think that is about where I'll stay. I visited blogs I like to read. Bloggers I consider friends.
I just saw the cash out amount, and it works out that if I drop 300, and have 300 dropped on me, and get another few hundred through ads, which is what I had been getting when I was in the top few in my group, well, I should be able to make a cool 75 cents a day. That comes out to darn near 15 cents an hour.
Looking at that number makes me realize that I should find other, more productive, uses of my time. I have 4 blogs. I like to write. Writing more makes me better. Dropping, because I read each blog, just takes up so much time. If I become a master dropper, does that build my resume? And dropping without reading just seems pointless. Rather than spend 5 or so hours a day dropping, I'd rather spend an hour, and the rest of my time writing. It's not as if I'm making significant money anyway, and EC's couple dollars a month aren't going to improve my lifestyle.
I'm automatically refusing every paid ad until EC makes a dual widget. It's a question of fairness.
So, if anyone wants to drop on me without my return, thanks. It's not personal.
www.humorbloggers.com
Sunday, April 19, 2009
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32 comments:
that'sa good idea. think i may start doing the same thing. with the exception of this week, i had already cut back, and will return to that next week, but when things calm down, i just may drop on those blogs that i like and those that advertise wth me. seems to be the better deal when all is said and done
That's how I've always used Entrecard. I click on blogs that I think are interesting. I read that post.
If I like them, I click on them again. If not, they are dead to me.
I have gotten more readers via Entrecard, but I'm not trying to make money on my blog, so it doesn't matter how many people read it.
Your solution is the exact solution I came up with as soon as they made this change.
OMG , that amount is pathetic..I'm not so sure that I'm liking their changes..
Write on!! LOL LOL
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I joined Blog Explosion and I'm still figuring out how it works. Sad but true. I can be a slow learner sometimes.
Your Entrecard approach makes sense. Maybe I'll stick with both of them.
I left entrecard Mar 16 because of Graham's rudeness to members in the forums and removed the widgets from all 5 of my blogs. It took 3 weeks of requesting my card be removed from their system and finally last week the last one was removed. I'm glad I had the foresight to remove the widgets entirely because shortly after the paid ads began there were reports of these ads running on blogs despite them not being approved. These reports continue as it appears Graham is manipulating the widgets to run the paid ads anyway. So that is a huge problem for bloggers. The second problem is the blatant racism being displayed by Graham in the forums. The third problem is Graham making posts under another identity in the forums. All of these problems associated with entrecard could actually hurt the reputation of your blog.
The final problem is the chances of entrecard ever paying so much as a penny out is slim to none. Rumour has it on twitter that Graham has already done a runner. If this is true then entrecard will likely cease to exist by the end of the month as it is well known that he does not have the funds to pay his creditors.
BTW, as long as the entrecard site is up you can still find your favourites under browse even if you don't have the widget on your blog. Many of the same bloggers are on Blog Explosion and more are showing up on Adgetize and CMF Ads.
gardengnome1 on twitter
I was rejected by entrecard, which made me very happy,, I had blog fodder. and a reason to make a new badge.. which has been showing up on blogs.. which made me happy...
They said I was not a family focused site...SCREW EM.. I'm family focused in my real life... my blog is my playground.. and I'm naughty on the playground.
I was always the kid that taught the ministers kid how to cuss, drink..and..................well other stuff..
I like your lead on this. We'll see what the future lies for EC as I too have been hearing of other financial problems there.
Yeah I'm with you. That's primarily how I've always used Entrecard anyway (although lately I've been dropping more in the realm of 100 a week, not a day). I don't really see the point in leaving altogether. At worst, you're listed in another blog directory. It's not like you have to pay dues.
I kind of feel the same way. When I first started I was a dropping maniac, but it just got to be too much. Also, most people who return visits just drop and go which really messes with your "bounce rate" if you use Google Analytics. My bounce rate has improved significantly since I stopped dropping so much. Now I just drop when I'm at a blog I'm reading that has an Entrecard.
Also, if you keep your widget above the fold you can get on some of the "above the fold" directories and still get drops that way from people automatically dropping on you from there.
You bring money into something and it ruins it. :(
I'm pretty much in agreement. I used to use BC for my personal directory of favs. Now I use my EC to click on over to my regular reads, and I've found some really good, fun new blogs and bloggers there too.
You know how I feel about things :)
Good for you for writing more. As you know, that was one of my reasons to shed the anvil that was EC for me. I've prepared for departure by bookmarking my favorite sites, something like 100 now. I realize I didn't really have to do that, as I could keep running through my Favorites list in the toolbar. But if EC goes down in flames and closes up shop, I have everyone tucked safely away in my live bookmarks folder in Firefox. I'm covered no matter what happens.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Good idea. I think I may follow in your footsteps, if you don't mind. I promise to try and not step on your toes, or your heels...
I was out of town when the whole EC thing went down. I came home to ads galore that took me about a half an hour to get through. I wasn't sure if something had changed,or I just got that popular over night.
I've started rejecting paid ads too...some of them are soooo ridiculous and I wouldn't want them on my site. Do you think they'll go back to the old way?
Crotchety, since I work full time and I have become extremely involved in charity as well as my sanity blog Entrecard made it very easy for me to say I quit. I have been there from the very beginning and I have had enough. I visit all my faves through my bookmark list and I am actually looking forward to not having the pressure of recip'ing all my drops. I love ya man!
I am relatively new to entrecard and never got up to 300 a day. At most maybe 50. I go to blogs I like to read and actually READ them. I am not accepting paid ads any longer either. I have cancelled quite a few paid ads.
When I saw that $1 per thousand I laughed out loud.
@ Mystery Man: Do what works best. I noticed a lot of EC bloggers doing the same thing.
@ SpeakDog: That is waht I used to do, but I wanted to see if I could become a top blog. I got as high as second in my catagory.
@ Dani: Totally a sad amount.
@ Marie: I need to look at BlogExplosion and some other sites I heard about.
@ Mom's. I know the widgets will stay for a while. But I wonder how long EC will be around.
@ The Queen: EC was helpful, but it's not the be all end all.
@ Self: I heard of that, too. We'll see, I guess. If they fall, it will be quickly.
@ Shawn: Exactly. It can't hurt.
@ Wendy: It was always about the numbers game, to me. Sure, I had a lot who dropped and ran, but I developed some readers.
@ Tiggy: Usually
@ Don: It is convenient.
@ Kathy: You have a good Sunday, too. I am starting to think that very soon, we'll wake up to no EC.
@ Mary: No problem
@ Thinkin: Graham did a lot of damage to a system everyone liked. It is possible, but I expect someone else to fill the void.
@ Etta: I've been around for a year, so I guess I'm an old timer, too. I'll find plenty to do, though.
@ Pricilla: That amount just pushed me over the edge. Made me realize how silly it is.
I've never dropped that much and as the weather grows nicer, I'll be dropping much less. Like you, I will only be visiting the favs--I'm honored that I was on your drop list! I blog to write and to read other's blogs and that is what I'll continue to do.
@ Lin: And as soon as I get my lazy butt to it, I'm putting you on my blogroll.
:)
I am such a slacker.
I've come to the same conclusion but I'm also debating leaving. Before I leave (if I do) I'm subscribing to the blogs I enjoy most and following them on twitter if they're on twitter.
"...Today I dropped a few over 100, and think that is about where I'll stay..." That's about how much I can drop per day. I don't know how others do 300 but I enjoy reading fellow bloggers' stories and commenting on their stories. Yesterday, I had to do the mindless dropping which put me to sleep after I did it. I went hiking all day and by the time I sat down in front of my laptop, I had 45 minutes left before the day ended to drop. So I clicked clicked clicked, dropped dropped dropped. Oy vey. I'd never do that again.
Good for you. Fairness is not is what is happening right now. Stick to your guns Crotchety. :)
Crotchety,
That's exactly what I use EntreCard for, since I hate dropping.
A few months ago, I was gonna stop doing EntreCard, but my wife talked me out of it.
So I decided instead of it being all or nothing, I would simply keep the EC widget on my blog, and drop on occasion when I wanted to visit blogs.
Paul
Eat Well. Live Well.
PurpleGreenPops.com
I think that's a great idea. I only drop a few each day -- no where close to 100. I just drop on the ones I actually read. But, I'm also not approving paid ads as a rule.
@ Pussreboots: I've been trying to get into Twitter. And I have signed up on most blogs if they have the widget.
@ Carl: I was doing the 300 for a few months. It took a lot of time.
@ Sandee: I will
@ Paul: That seems to be the way to go, rather than dropping it altogether.
@ Sherry: I read every one I drop on. I'm trying to comment more since I'm doing less dropping.
What is Entrecard?
Should I know this?
same here thats all I'm using it for. A place to find the blogs I like
Well, Crotchety old bean, I've started to reconsider all things Entrecard, too. I've not been thrilled with getting traffic through there for some time as I seem to drop, drop, drop, drop cards and then drop, drop, drop some more and for what? A few, lightening quick visits that ruin my bounce rate.
On the other hand, I've run into some great bloggers through the site and that has provided months of entertainment.
Still, dropping has started to interfere severely with posting rambling bits of nonsense, which is why I started a blog in the first place. I'll still drop cards here and there, but the 300 a day I was maintaining for awhile is out of the question.
I'm looking for alternative ways to get some traffic and not have to work like a dog for it. Any suggestions?
seems that the whold entrecard system is down today...so dropping in comment form. :)
I actually thought that Go-Go on the Entrecard widget meant my confuser had been infarcted with some numbnuts virus the first time I saw it a couple of weeks ago.
Seems like I only joined a month or so ago and stayed with Entrecard when Today.com decided not to pay for any of the traffic and I needed the write-off. I'm getting enough traffic from second amendment body count addicts. And my economic stimulus package.
My strategy is simple. I drop on sites that show up on the first page of my inbox, advertisers, and the blogs I read that have the widget on them.
I'd rather spend my quality time bringing on the bomb, drinking, and doing drugs. :-)
I am not accepting paid ads anymore either. I also like the dual widget idea. You seem to have dealt quite well with many of the issues surrounding EC that I too have been struggling with. I may just follow your lead....
I not too concerned about the paid ads and I've accepted a few, mostly from sites I recognise. Unfortunately the ads I've rejected also show on my blog :-(
I assumed everyone would pay half as many credits for EC ads to allow for only getting half of the impressions.
What I'm not happy about is the locking of the forums. It's bad for Entrecard and it's bad for the community. I used to be an active member but I'm no longer welcome.
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