Lab Is Closed...

It is with great regret that I must take a break from writing this blog. I have several personal matters to attend to, which will consume the vast majority of the time I used to spend writing it. As of now, I hope to return to blogging, in one form or another, in January of 2010.

I want to thank my readers and commentors for their friendship and insights. So that none of you will worry, please understand that my health is good. I just need to devote my full attention to these "off-stage" matters.

My intention is to leave the previously written posts up, for those who may not have yet read them.Entrecard advertisers: please be aware that I am taking no new ads. Any ads that I have already agreed to use will be presented as scheduled. I intend to leave the EC widget up, but EC may remove it because of no new posts.

Again, with regrets, I declare INTERMISSION. Smoke 'em if you got 'em...

-Mike Riley

Another Fine Mess

Once a person reaches a certain age - it varies from person to person, but it's usually somewhere in the 40's - he or she begins to realize there are certain constants, things that happen on a regular basis. These constants can be expected, the same way one expects the change of seasons. Other examples include:

- the late-season collapse of [insert your favorite hard-luck team's name here] - for me it's the Buffalo Sabres. You likely have your own choice;

- the unavailability of the outfit you want/need to wear to an event - never fails. And, of course,

- Entrecard shooting itself in the foot - as certain as death and taxes. You know, I don't really enjoy being critical about EC. But its moves are usually ham-handed at best, and downright idiotic at worst. Take the latest announcement from Graham & Co.: offering, for those unable [or unwilling] to visit sites and acquire EC credits "the hard way" [Heaven forbid someone actually have to read a post once in a while!], the option of gathering credits by either purchase or "completing offers" [The purchase option doesn't bother me; if people want to buy EC credits to advertise, well and good. They know what they're buying, and what they're spending]. But "completing offers"? Sounds like the scam certain "apps" on Facebook [and other social sites that offer games] run. Here's how it works: the ad for the credits [or points or whatever] tells you the offer is free, if you do what they tell you to. In practice, this involves you being forced to sign up for one or more "programs" offered by businesses. At best, you'll end up with scads of spam, trying to sell you something [now do you see why people have more than one e-mail address?]; at worst, you're stuck trying to meet a series of conditions that can cost many times more than the value of the item you're getting for free.

Why would a networking site do it? Well, if Entrecard is like most sites that do, they get money for each person who gets involved in the process, as well as their cut of credits actually sold. A percentage of the money made on each person in the process also goes to whomever put the offers together. In the case of EC, they are working with a company called Gambit. Since I kept getting "error" message when I tried to use the link provided to the new service [note to EC: the whips aren't working. Have you considered kindness? It works wonders...], I cut straight to the "middleman"; Gambit. If you're interested, click on the "take the tour" option on the front page. Based on the the sites they note working with, and the "example" of their system, it's likely you've seen this before [I must play the right games on Facebook; almost all of them have a set-up like this, presumably created by Gambit]. I have no reason to believe that Gambit is an inherently dishonest company. But I am a bit troubled by the fact that social networking sites [FB, EC, etc], especially since both Facebook and Entrecard have a large number of pre-adult members, would do business with a service which offers a program built around questionable ethics.

As I said earlier, I don't object to Entrecard selling its credits. I do have serious doubts about the program offered through EC by Gambit. I'd like to think that Entrecard management may have doubts, also. Are desperate times leading to desperate measures?

-Mike Riley

Random Thoughts Are Better Than No Thoughts At All

Oh, wow. There are still people here? I thought this had become a permanent study hall. Sorry I abandoned you for so long. Part of the problem is that I don't feel particularly expert at blogging tips anymore. Whether your interest is better writing, better visuals, better monitization [is that even a word?], or some combination thereof, there seems to be someone out there writing frequently and consistently [sounds like saying the same thing twice to me; that said, the same post quotes what I think is a good rule: "Don't talk unless you can improve the silence". And if it only were silence!] on the topic, or topics, in question. In the past, I've linked to articles or sites I thought useful; lately, there seem to be so many of them that I don't know what's good or bad anymore. At the end of the day, though [cliches; avoid 'em like the plague], I think the same things that make any type of writing good make blog posts good:

-simple, clear writing is best. And this comes from your ol' buddy, Dr. Verbose! Seriously, the clearer and more easily the idea flows, the easier it is for the person at the other end of Said Communication to get the message. And, as the immortal Wedding Event known as the Hokey-Pokey teaches us, "that's what it's all about".

-plan before you write. I'm not saying outline the whole thing up front [most of us wrote the outline for our papers in school after we completed the assignment]. I am saying have at least an idea in your mind of where you're going [usually from Point A to Point B; by the way, what are Points A and B? And why should we care about them?].

-respect your audience: use proper spelling and grammar. Yeah, we're almost all of us a bit weak on points of grammar. But in this era of SpellCheck there is simply no excuse to mis-spell the words you choose. If you don't respect your words enough to use them properly, why should your reader respect them enough to read them?

Another reason that I've lost the fire that I once had for blogging tips is that I'm tired of Entrecard! There, I've said it. Everyone who drops here that hasn't received a reciprocal drop in recent days now knows why. Frequently in this blog, I've taken on the role of EC Whipping Boy. No, not the victim of scorn from the 125 X 125 crew; more the part of the person wielding the cat o'nine tails [in my own defense, I was only critical of those things that I felt needed criticism. Indeed, I was cautiously optimistic about EC selling ads in its ubiquitous widgets. The firestorm that blew up and out over the short-lived policy of not allowing paid-ad refusals was much ado over nothing: Since bloggers, by right of creation, own their blogs, of course they would have the right of refusal]. I stayed on the sidelines during the whole "must register to use Forums" controversy because, one, I almost never read them, and two, the whole EC Forum section has been so controversial as long as I can remember, it seems useless to tackle any one issue.

What else is making headlines on the 'Net? Facebook? As a time-killer extraordinaire, it's a little marvel [my favorite apps are, in no particular order, Street Racing, Metropolis, Vampire Wars, Mafia Wars, and the one that lets you "suck your friends' Lollipops"]. I enjoy taking a quiz or two, usually the ones that challenge my memory of 60's and 70's cartoon shows. And it is without question the best way to realize just how many people you went to school with that you don't remember anymore. But, when all's said and done, it's just as useful [mostly not at all] as Twitter. If you're a celebrity, trying to promote your agenda by sending out little messages to a large group of "followers", I get it. But for the average person, who cares? You're going shopping. Who cares? You're having dinner with friends [obviously, ones you think more highly of than the ones who are getting the "tweets", since you're having dinner with them]. That's nice. Who cares? (As for those souls who feel compelled to share information concerning their bodily functions, you have my honest sympathy. But not a bit of my interest.)

Don't get me wrong. I haven't yet given up on this space, and will post to it whenever something seems necessary to say. But you probably won't see a lot here, at least for the foreseeable future. Check in periodically [unless you're here daily, dropping, dropping, dropping those EC cards]. I'll show up just when you least expect it. And I'll probably yammer critically on something I know nothing about. It's what I do best...

-Mike Riley

The NEW "New Entrcard Economy"

Friends, I have bad news to report; the ladies at BadGalsRadio are pissed. Then again, I can see their point. They declare their anger in this post, a fundamental blast against the Entrecard "drop and run" technique. To be fair, EC does not endorse "d 'n' r", nor do they encourage it. Then again, in a system which allows, no, requires the acquisition of vast numbers of EC credits [which can then be used to advertise on the most popular EC blogs], what did they expect would happen?

To be fair, Graham and Co. have tried several ways to get droppers to linger and comment. Limiting the number of drops per blog in theory should give EC'ers the time to leave a comment or two [of course, serious 'Carders simply started multiple blogs, then shifted credits around as needed]. SezWho seemed to be a step in the right direction, but went nowhere [technical issues at the launch didn't help]. Comment contests were nice, but only for the host blogs [and, if memory serves me right, most of the comments were, at best, "Great blog! Hi..."; at worst, they were an excuse for link requests and monitization offers (obviously people who, again, weren't even reading the blogs).]. Nothing seems to work.

Another issue BadGals is aggravated by is this weekend's announcement by EC that, starting very soon, it will sell advertising on blogs, reducing [in theory; see below] the maximum number of ad impressions to 50 % in some cases [if paid ads run on specific blogs]. As EC's in-house J. Arthur Crank, you'd think I'd be bothered by the whole thing myself. Truthfully, though, I'm rather blase about it. Of course Entrecard needs to find a revenue stream to support itself; selling advertising is a reasonable way for the company to do so [with tens of thousands of users, it certainly has an audience]. And, for the vast majority of EC blogs, nothing will change. Let me explain: enterprises spending money on advertising will want the biggest "bang for their buck" [or Euro, Australian Dollar, or, well, you get the idea]. There is already a whole sub-industry on the Internet concerning keywords, ideal ad placement, etc. "Real-world" advertisers already have experts advising them on where to spend a shrinking advertising budget. EC ad buyers will almost certainly want to purchase space on the most popular blogs, within their field of interest. Sure, there will likely be some experimental "mass buys", wherein an advertiser will consider buying space on a large number of blogs within a category. But I expect these to be few and far between.

One point I disagree with the BadGals on; those blogs that are chosen by "money" advertisers will receive compensation, at least to the degree they are willing to sell acquired credits back to EC [I'm assuming "selling credits back" is not mandatory; it shouldn't be. None of this should be mandatory...]. Will EC get the lion's share of the compensation? Of course it will; it created the mass of audience, and it's handling the sales of space.

One point I agree with BG on; there should be no penalty for rejecting advertising. In the above paragraph I said, I think rightly, that EC created the "mass of audience". It did so by creating the social network that is Entrecard. But the most popular blogs within EC are responsible for creating their own following. Just as a radio or TV station, newspaper or magazine can choose to turn down advertising not consistent with its philosophy, EC blogs should be free to refuse advertising they are for any reason uncomfortable with, without penalty, save the loss of compensation. We the bloggers own our blogs. It is our toil, tears, and sweat that power them [no matter what Blogger thinks; of course, with their "I power Blogger" buttons, they've shown that they get the message].

Once again, Entrecard is rolling the dice. Unlike some of their previous attempts, I believe this one could lead to a stronger Entrecard framework, which will make the whole network of blogs more secure. Let's see who comes to the table. Let's see who chooses to sell ad space. Let's see who rejects it, and why. Let's be observant, patient, and willing to let this brave new EC world play itself out for a while.

-Mike Riley

Entrecard Market - Am I Missing Something?

I must be the Official Nay - Sayer when it comes to EntreCard. Don't get me wrong. I am glad to have EC as a promotional service for my blogs. Sometimes I can even work up the energy to do reciprocal drops, and do a little reading and commenting. But frequently, when it comes to other services Graham and Co. offer, I just don't get it.

Take the new "Market" section. I've made a couple of visits, and there is an interesting array of goods and services on offer [I even ordered Jenelle's CD, I like new music, and a little gamble that doesn't involve actual cash is fine by me]. Some services, by definition, probably would be of interest only to EC users [EC/website redesigns, for instance]; what I'm not exactly clear on [and I am far from the brightest crayon in the box] is what the seller gets in the exchange. Sure, someone offering goods or services could save the EC credits tendered, then sell them for cash [and does anyone besides me remember when EntreCard, at least informally, discouraged such transactions?]. But most casual EC users are probably not too interested in that extra layer of effort for compensation [and, by the bye, what is the going rate for EC credits, anyway?]. I can see someone wanting to build up credits for advertising or purchases in the Market. But how much advertising or purchases will the average EC'er want to make?

Let's return to Jenelle's offer [I actually have a bit of interest in this one; I'm hoping to market a CD sometime this year]. In exchange for your 1000 credits, you get a recorded CD of original music. Fair enough. But what does she get? Well, to order a CD [and, I'm guessing, anything else], you have to give out an e-mail address. This is in case there are any problems with your order. If the seller gets access to these addresses, s/he has a list of potential purchasers of future items, which could be marketed directly to those on such a list. Remember, unless the seller plans to re-sell the credits, s/he has yet to make any money on the transaction. And, in the case of physical goods, there are expenses related to making, packaging, and mailing the product offered [of course, this is not as important when offering non-hard goods (125x125 cards, guest posts, etc)]. Then again, a few Market offers involve buying ad space for extended periods on specific blogs. Doesn't that go against the whole EC principle of buying ad space on a variety of blogs with credits acquired through drops? [I understand where the Sellers are coming from on that one; I wish I'd thought to do that myself. See "Entrecard Exploited" for an early experiment along these lines]

As I said at the outset, I remain a supporter of the basic principle of

EntreCard; I just wonder where Graham and the other administrators are going with some of these new services.

[Image at right from Kongtechnology.com, via Google]

-Mike Riley

Tactile Sensations

I bet you've been wondering where I've been the last couple of months. Yeah, I'll just bet you're wondering. Right. Well, if you must know, I went out in late October for a sandwich. The next thing I knew, I found myself involved in sensitive negotiations between one S. Claus, and Local 1 of the AF of Elves, concerning overtime payments. As anyone who got Christmas presents can certify, those talks ended successfully. After purchasing and enjoying my meal [ham and provolone, on wheat bread], I safely returned to this locale, and bent to the keyboard...


As any human can communicate, some things are just better when the sense of touch is involved. Anyone who has ever kissed or caressed another human knows the joy and beauty that touch brings to such an activity. Manufacturers of touch-screen devices are constantly trying to improve the simulation of pressing a letter key or button on their machines, going so far as to add the sound of a "click" when someone inputs on the device [of course, this has its limits; PC Magazine's Sascha Segan registers his complaints in this column].

This love of the tactile frequently shows up in future-based fiction, most notably in the world of Star Trek. In the world of the 22nd or 23rd century [I always forget which one it's set in], virtually everything we currently find in hard copy print today would be available on computer screen, portable device, or whatever technology the inventors of future days can come up. But in the world of Trek, old books are highly prized gifts; Spock presents Captain Kirk with a book [and reading glasses!] in one of the movies, while Captain Picard, among others, receives a book on a special occasion. Certainly part of the attraction is the item's antiquity: I personally would be surprised to find actual printing being done anywhere in the developed world by the end of this current century. But there is also a tactile component to a book or magazine - the heft of the piece of print, the sensation of turning pages, even the odors that sometime are associated with a particular hard copy item [can any of us of a certain age say they truly have forgotten the aroma of freshly-mimeographed pages?]



This all comes up, of course, for a reason: the announcement that the current issue of PC Magazine {January 2009} will be the last printed one. Future copies will be available only in digital, with full text being available to those who subscribe. Given the current economic crisis, I can understand the decision, After all, it reduces costs to make only digital versions [as well as reducing the price to subscribers; an ad at PCMag.com touts the digital price per issue at 62 US Cents. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I will miss the feel of a copy of PC Magazine, the aroma of its glossy page stock. I understand the logic behind the decision, but the realities of it are still disappointing.

Speaking of the new economic realities, bloggers should take to heart the Assassin's Creed; namely, BE PREPARED ! If your blog

host were suddenly to go "belly up", would you be able to move it to a new host site? Have you backed-up your previous posts [given the circumstances, more than one site may be advisable: who knows where bankruptcy may strike?]? (By the way, finding free hosts for your archives isn't difficult; a quick online search, followed by checking the pros and cons of each location, should do the trick) I'm really not trying to be a fear monger, but, watching the imminent collapse of up to one-quarter of US chain stores, and remembering when the "dot com" boom went boom in the 90's, a little preparation seems in order.

But, in the spirit of the season, let's hope [and pray, if appropriate for you] for fiscal recovery in the New Year. I also hope you have much happiness, love, and more than a little fun...

-Mike Riley

New Tools For The Holidays

I've been subscribing to PC Magazine for about two years now, on and off. One of my favorite issues each year [and I've had the good luck to get them both, despite my less-than-perfect subscription record] is the "Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites/ Top 100 Classic Web Sites". The Classics, as you'd assume, are the Usual Suspects [in fact, PC Magazine considered them so standard, they didn't even bother printing them in the magazine; they are available for quick-n-easy download at the web site], but the undiscovered sites included a few useful apps in the rough. In no particular order, here's what I liked:

Jott - Free speech-to-text service that allows you to update your blog, Twitter feed, or to-do list, from any phone. PC Mag said the conversions were "surprisingly accurate".

Oddee - Ya know those weird photos some bloggers seem to be able to lay their hands on? They probably found them here.

Damn Interesting - Slow day for posts? You may just find a launching-pad in this collection of, well, damn interesting factoids.

NationMaster - A storehouse for world data, set up to allow multi-national comparison based on customizable criteria. Who leads the world in chocolate consumption? NationMaster knows...

Searchme and Viewzi - two new ways to search. Searchme uses Apple's Cover Flow interface to present search pages as a series of horizontally-presented previews. You can also create "stacks" for later research. Viewzi combines visual search results from the standard sources, then lets you decide how to present them.

WhatTheFont - See a font you like on someone else's blog or web site? Upload a scan [or submit the site's URL], and WhatTheFont will e-mail you the font's name.

PicApp - A free stock - image service. Type in a topic or name [yes, they do celebrities, too], and it'll provide images for your blog [suggestion: be specific in your topic. I used "tools", and got several shots of a little girl at the beach, with a toy shovel [yes, it's a tool, but...] before coming up with some hand tools. Also, I had difficulties with downloading the photos [that could be some Blogger issue, or the network this computer is connected to. Just be aware of it].

Of course, there are many more sites included in the November '08 issue. Go and do research...

-Mike Riley