Back in March, this site ran three "Think Tank" posts on EntreCard's plans to allow members to buy and sell EC credits. At the time I predicted, among other things, that 'Carders would soon be offering ad agency-like services [ad creation, purchases on relevant sites, etc] to potential advertisers. History, to date anyway, has shown I didn't have a clue as to what would really happen [go back in the March archives, to get an idea of how far off I turned out to be. If you're not that heavily interested, just understand that 99 % of what I had to say, while reasonably well thought out, was, to reference the Sex Pistols, bollocks]
Still, even a blind pig hits a truffle now and then. Case in point: the EntreCard to your right. Its sponsor is Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. For the last few years, they've been building their new home, and want to throw an appropriate dedication service to commemorate its completion. Keeping this short, they're asking 'Carders for donations of EC credits, which they then plan to sell on the EC market to defray the cost of their service. It's not completely new, of course [nothing under the sun is]. The original version used to be done by non-profit groups across America [and in other countries as well, for all I know]. "Money-off" coupons in the US used to [and still may] have a cash value. It was usually some ridiculously low rate, like 1/20th of a US cent (the whole thing was the result of some obscure law. If you're really interested, Google the matter, and leave a "Comment" with your findings). Boy Scouts, church groups, animal shelters [you get the idea] used to collect as many coupons as they could, then cash them in. I'd like to think someone at the church remembered the old technique, then updated it for the new century. Then again, perhaps someone invented it fresh. Either way, it's an example of out-of-the-box thinking. That may be the only point made in my original EC posts that lives beyond the original entries. Bottom line: if you do what everyone else does, you'll have way too much competition. Find your own space in the forest. Then open the best pop stand you can operate...[if you carry Diet Pepsi, I'll be there]
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