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

Economics 101

A confession: I know very little about any theories of economics. I know it when I have to deal with it at the supermarket or at bill-paying time, but, generally speaking, I know about as much about economics as your doorstop [maybe a bit less; the doorstop usually reads your paper before you bring it in]. That said, I suspect the above Calvin and Hobbes cartoon is as good a starting point as any for our discussion.

As to the current US financial crisis, I've got no solutions, or even suggestions. For a quick read on how the whole mess started, I recommend this article; it's one that even I could understand [then again, when your barn is on fire, do you really need to know what knocked over the lantern?]. As for sensible opinions on the whole thing, many of my fellow bloggers are taking it up; something tells me you can't swing a cat on the Blogosphere right now without hitting one. I'd have no idea whose site to visit: read around and find an opinion that makes sense to you.

Speaking of economies, the Entrecard system is frequently referred to as "an economy". But since, for most participants, no money changes hands, I think that's just people making themselves feel good about taking part in the activity. Truthfully, I think of at least the advertising element of the system as "fantasy football"; as a participant, you have 'X' number of credits to work with. You use your credits to advertise your blog on those sites which you believe will bring you the most visitors, as a team manager in FF uses his "payroll" to acquire the best players available. The principal difference is that, in FF, all participants have the same payroll to start with, while EC allows the more ambitious to acquire a larger bankroll.

Of course, those who work hard within the rules should be allowed to prosper. But every successful economy throughout history has had one common element: the existence of a strong and secure middle class. Pick any EC category at random. You'll notice a few sites [based, one assumes, on the merit of the blog represented] trading for two thousand EC credits or more, a small group available for hundreds of credits, and a large group of sites selling ads for 128 credits or less. (I recently read a post on one site, celebrating the fact that the blog had reached the top advertising rate in its category. Legitimate congratulations are in order for that blogger. But, and an important "but" at that, if your product is priced too high for the average participant to buy, these large blocks of credits will pass from hand to hand within the "plutocrat" community.)

To be fair, Entrecard has admitted that the problem exists [go here for a recent EC Forum discussion on the matter]. I'm a little sceptical of the "luxury goods" option; anyone competent in PhotoShop or Gimp can make an EC ad look enough like the "golden ticket" sites to make the distinction meaningless. But 10 out of ten for at least considering the issue. As in the real world, there are no simple solutions. Then again, in an artificial economy, no one is hurt when the wrong manipulations are made.

-Mike Riley

Open Lab: A Little Of This, A Little Of That

What are we now, a little less than a month into the new "liaison" between EntreCard and SezWho? Maybe it's time to take a Polaroid, as it were, of the situation [not to change the subject, by the bye, but did you hear Polaroid is giving up making film, and film cameras? Like most manufacturers, they realize that the marketplace is going digital. But, as someone who's taken one or two risque photos with Polaroids, thereby avoiding sending explicit film to a processor and risking their refusing to print photos (actually happened to an acquaintance or two). Like many people my age, I'm missing my youth]



First thing I've noticed; people don't seem to be jumping on SezWho as much as I expected [this could be tech-related; there are still those demon issues with some platforms, especially Blogger. This site is one of two I still can't get registered. My other two (all four are Blogger, in case you're wondering) are running fine with the SezWho widgets]. Maybe I'm just visiting sites that haven't signed up, but random selection should give me a higher percentage of SW sites. On one hand, bloggers are an independent breed, and will go to a new feature only when they're ready. But I'd suspect Graham and the EC front office might be disappointed with the turn out, what with the strong boost they gave the new hook-up.

Another issue [this one connected, I think, with the concept of SW] is comments vs drops. Look, we all figured that there would still be more "drop and run" types than "commentors". Fair enough. But I've yet to notice any real "bump" in the number of comments I get. Of course, of the two sites I have that are currently working with SW, one is a humor/general blog [probably hard to make comments about, except of the "you suck" or "you rock" variety], and an history blog about Niagara Falls daredevils [again, not too encouraging of comment, although a few people have tried. At any rate, the "rating" stars only show up on the original post, not the "comments". SW needs to fix this for Blogger-users ASAP].Anyone else want to write about their SW experience? Comment at the end of this, or at least leave a link to any posts you've run on the subject.

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Regular readers of these ramblings know I love toys. I'm talking about web-based or downloadable, FREE tools to create images for blogs. In fact, there's a link list for several of them already. Just scroll down the right-hand column until you get to the "Access To Tools" picture. Yes, it was created at one of our link sites. Today, courtesy of the fine folk at Despair.com via Regretful Morning, a program that helps you create parody versions of those "motivational posters" that so many offices and schools have displayed [usually, such posters don't bother me too much. But I always wondered why the "Effort" poster was located outside the Men's room, while the Ladies' room was marked by a poster entitled "Adventure"] Anyway, here's the link: [http://diy.despair.com/motivator.php].

That's all I've got...

-Mike Riley

SayWhat?

Human nature is a funny thing. Sure, most of us, having been raised in the company of other humans, know what we should do in most situations: don't honk the horn at an old person crossing the street, don't take the last piece of pie without asking someone [if you're stupid enough to take it when someone is around], don't launch your sleeping older brother from a recliner by pushing in the foot board [hey, he TOLD me to make sure he got up. And I really did try to wake him by other means first!]. But, no matter how well-behaved we are, an incentive [receive reward/avoid penalty] does tend to make us behave even better.

This brings us, of course, to the new association between EntreCard and SezWho. When I was in high school [Canisius High, Buffalo, NY; Class of '75], I actually took a year of Canadian history. As is often the case in such learning, the subject was not nearly as important as the education I received from its instructor, an old Jesuit named Fr. Greer. To his credit, I believe he felt the same way. One of the aphorisms he dropped on our adolescent minds was, "History happens for two reasons; the good reason, the one we tell our grandchildren and the history books, and the real reason, which is why a human does something". Looking at most of history in that context, it's clear that many wonderful things have been done for very banal reasons. But I digress.

Whatever else people may say, the EntreCard - SezWho affiliation, in this context, is a piece of genius. Graham, in his statement, gave us the good reasons: increased socialization, elevated "conversations" between blogger and reader, a generally higher level of discourse in blogs [since readers are encouraged, through credits based on the quality of their comments, to leave at least reasonably well thought out replies]. No one can, or should, deny that these are things serious bloggers have always wanted. But I believe that the real reason for the new paradigm is to discourage EC'ers from just "dropping and running". Not that there's anything wrong with it.(In the same way, it's said that a 19th-century German leader invented the idea of sewing otherwise useless buttons on the ends of his soldiers' uniform sleeves, to prevent them from wiping their faces and dirtying their coats)

Understand, I'm not against the encouragement of comments. Sometimes it's very frustrating as a blogger to post what you believe to be the best thing you've ever written, only to find that no one seems to have given the proverbial "rat's ass" about it. Allowing other bloggers to vote on the quality of posts and comments is another stroke of brilliance; the more you involve someone in an activity, the more time and effort they will invest in it. It's just human nature.

As to the actual results of all this, I'm not really sure. My mind says that, if EC'ers are reading more blogs [to write acceptable comments], fewer cards will be dropped. Then again, if the comments are highly enough prized by other blog readers [and thus rewarded with credits], the difference may turn out to be a wash. Bloggers will have to decide if their best strategy is to "drop and run", or to write well-thought-out comments [I suspect most bloggers will fall into one or the other category]. The cynic in me wonders [and I apologize for old Mr. Skeptic] if, by slowing the card-dropping-rate, EntreCard is trying to subtly encourage the sale of EC credits [some of which, at least,, EC sells itself]. (That's the downside of human nature: all those real reasons pop up in your head as you think through the new rules. Oh, how I wish Mr. Skeptic would go away!)

A final thought: sites like SezWho [and EC, for that matter] talk about the "socialization" of their locales. I may be old-fashioned, but I still believe that the best way to socialize is to go where large groups of people gather. Introduce yourself. Sooner or later, someone isn't going to think you're unstable, and will introduce themselves back. At least here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's Summertime, people! Get out and get some air, for gosh sakes! There's more to life than the Blogosphere!

-Mike Riley

PS: Please, oh please, oh please vote for this post! I want to be at least a Four-star member by the weekend! Thank You...

Inside (And Outside) The Box: An Entrecard Experiment

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]

-Mike Riley

A Widget Worth Wanting

If you're like most bloggers, you want something to make your blog stand out. Something that makes visiting your site worth the trip. Anthony, the proud host of "Work at Home Wealth" [http://work-at-home-wealth.com/blog/], has come up with a very cool widget for EntreCarders. When someone drops a card on your site, the widget displays a brief summary of the site, along with a click-on link to it. Although the "You Drop, I Link" widget is still in beta, it works very well, as long as you pay attention when you install it.

Anthony has put together two posts on how to install the new device, and, if you follow his instructions carefully, it will work. You can even do some cautious customization [I widened mine to fit its space in the column], making it work better in your particular blog. The big thing to remember is: do NOT drop any semi-colons when you install your personal information {EC ID, etc}. This will all make sense when you read Anthony's posts. Those of us who use Blogger may find that it adds code, which will have to be deleted. And make sure the EC information is accurate [I mistook an "8" for a "B" when I was installing the code for the widget on this site. And yes, it DOES make a difference]!

On a personal note, I want to thank Anthony for helping me get this new feature installed correctly. He seems to be very interested in making sure people who are trying his new device have a good experience with it. If you do have issues, I'm sure he'll help you as well.

"You Drop, I Link" seems like a great feature to give your EC droppers a "value-added" bonus. Try it here, then, if you like it, click on the above link to get one for yourself.

-Mike Riley

Upping The Ante

Okay. First of all, there is one more post coming in the "EntreCard" series [look for it either later this week or early next]. (Editor's Note: because I started the third EC post as a draft before writing this posting, it actually appears beneath this entry. I'm sure there's some logic to all this, but I'll be Da---- if I understand it. - MR)

After that, I want to get back to this site's true focus; namely, writing and layout tips for the casual [ie, non-commercial] blogger. I've been hoping for submissions from long-time bloggers, tech-heads, you know what I mean. So far, though, the pickings have been non-existent, never mind slim.

Okay. You need a bribe to play. Fair enough. Acknowledging that reward is a primary motivation in human activity, and to celebrate the acceptance of this blog by the good folk at BlogCatalog, I am now offering 250 EntreCard credits for any published posts (They still have to meet the Guidelines posted at the top of the right-hand column of this blog). If you're not a 'Carder, first of all, you should be.

Secondly, I think we can work out some kind of compensation [but not money. I don't have a lot right now, or ever, for that matter].

Go ye and blog...

-Mike Riley

PS: The Chinese character illustrating this post is translated, roughly, as "Wealth". Just thought you'd like to know...

Think Tank: EntreCard And The New Blog-Based Economy (III)

As noted in previous posts in this series, the social/business networking service EntreCard will begin buying/selling EC credits in the near future. This reflects an acknowledgement of a "grey" market in EC credits that already exists. So who'll buy, who'll sell, and, most importantly, who'll make money?

In the short term, anyway, I think this is a seller's market. Those who have credits to spare will off-load them to buyers at the best rate possible. I still think 5 US Cents per credit is as good a starting place as any [I got this figure by looking at rates for the similarly-sized ads of the Wonderwall service].

If you've been an EntreCarder for more than a month or so, try a simple experiment; go to a blog you formerly advertised on. Then check what its current ad rate is. In most cases, you'll find the rates have gone up [in some cases by 100 % or more]. When I first noticed this, my reaction was, "Boy, I must have picked blogs just before they began to peak in value [I always try to buy my EC ads at a low rate] !" But then I thought about it. Nobody is that good at picking blogs to advertise on, or that lucky. Then I realized that inflation was at work. In the days before any new economic system kicks in, the value of the form of exchange frequently rises.

Who'll be buying? People who can market the credits. My personal model is something like that of ad agencies, which in the real world frequently persuade the potential sponsor to advertise, create the advertising, then purchase space to promote it. Who'll want to advertise on EC? At first, anyway, people who are already used to marketing their products or services in that way; I have no crystal ball as to whom, but look around at the ads you see on the Internet now, and I suspect they'll be among the Usual Suspects.

Long term, I'd guess [and it's only a guess] that businesses that are well-known already would be next in line. If EntreCard holds to its "blogs of distinction" philosophy, companies would have to establish blogs to be linked to the EC ads. (If you handle marketing for a national fast-food restaurant chain, for instance, this doesn't sound too complicated. A blog that features "Great Moments In The History Of [your restaurant here], for instance, with an internal banner linked to the REAL commercial they want to present probably would fit within the EC guidelines. Of course, the viewer would have to click on the banner. But a free coupon should make that happen)

After that, the options seem endless. How about regional advertising? If EC can tell you which bloggers are "nearest" to you by location, you can tell an advertiser in your town where to advertise. In fact, I'm sure that people more clever than myself are working out the details of this, and other advertising possibilities, while I type these words.

As I've said throughout these posts, I'm really not interested in exploring any of these possibilities. But the changes that they will inevitably bring to EC intrigue and, to be honest, worry me. I hope we can all stay friends when EVERYONE is playing for money...

Think Tank: EntreCard And The New Blog-Based Economy (II)

[Before I get back to the topic at hand, a quick explanation; I'm not planning on making this a "how to make money blogging" site (as I think Laura might be concerned about, see Comments to previous post). But I've become intrigued with the whole EntreCard phenomenon - collecting/dropping Cards, the seemingly endless (for the moment, anyway) series of contests, the sense of honest friendliness among its members. I truly hope none of that is lost in the New EC World. But I can't see it working out that way.

I am not very good at monitization; the ideas I'm throwing out here are my own, and should therefore be looked at with great suspicion. But if you can make some coin with them, well and good. Please bear with this post, and perhaps one more on the subject. Then we will return to our true goal of making the Blogosphere a better place through SCIENCE! - MR

This post takes the form of an history lesson, or at least one of those clever vignettes you sometimes see promoting The History Channel. I apologize. But it features one of the most intriguing "moments" in the history of North America.

The photo above needs a little explanation. Imagine a line of humans, moving cautiously across an ice field, climbing up the iceberg-like side of a mountain. This line extends across a massive stretch of ground, in both directions, as far as the eye can see. You are weighed down with over one hundred pounds of food and other supplies, as is everyone else in line. The line moves slowly in cold that reaches well below zero degrees Fahrenheit. You shuffle uncertainly, cautiously searching for drop-offs and gaps in the ice that sits below the snow. It's 1898, and you are trying to get across the principle land route to the hottest gold rush site in a generation; the Klondike region of Canada.

Tens of thousands of men and women abandoned safe, sane lives in the United States, Canada, or other parts of the World. With little or no experience in winter travel [or gold mining, for that matter] , these brave people headed to what is now Canada's Northwest Territory. They slept in tents, or on the cold ground in sleeping bags. When they finally reached the gold fields, the third-largest city on the continent, Dawson, sprung up to supply their needs and wants. This "city" had wood-framed homes, taverns that at least matched the ones in the "outside" world. They had large theatres for plays, and most of the bars had performers brought in from the East. They had banks, to keep the proceeds of lucky miners. They had newspapers to inform the locals what was going on there, and in the outside world.

And yet...within five years, it was almost all gone!

The gold was, for the most part, "played out". Without the draw of riches, many of the region's residents left, for the next gold rush, the next opportunity, the next big thing.

Some stayed on, of course. But they were in the minority.

After the gold rush [that'd make a great song title, wouldn't it?] , many books came out about the Klondike rush [one of the best is Pierre Berton's Klondike. Berton's parents did stay on after the 'rush, and he grew up in the abandoned town]. Most of them pointed out that, while a few prospectors hit big, most of them headed home empty-handed. A few added the observation that those who seemed to do best in the whole era were those who provided goods and services to the miners. Further, the ones who did best within that group frequently were the ones who thought "outside the box". For instance, one salesman somehow transported hundreds of cats to Dawson. No one could figure out why. He grew rich selling his cats to lonely miners who wanted a pet!

Mull over the story of the Klondike over the next few days. I think there may be a lesson or two for EntreCarders [thought I'd forgotten about all that, didn't you?] in the frozen North. We'll talk again soon...

-Mike Riley

Think Tank: EntreCard And The New Blog-Based Economy (I)

The social networking-advertising site EntreCard [of which I am a member] has made great strides since its introduction late last year. There are currently some five thousand members, and current 'Card users have created a fund of 30, 000 EC credits to induce new enrollment. The requirements to join are very simple; a blog "of quality" [a description which, for the most part, actually fits], and a visual "card", which must be 125 x 125 pixels. The program gives users the opportunity to promote their blogs by purchasing "ad space" [for want of a better term] on other member blogs. The purchase medium is EC credits, mainly earned by visiting other EC bloggers' web sites, and clicking on a widget that holds an EC ad. Other ways to acquire credits include winning them in regularly-held drawings, usually sponsored by EC members who have mastered the credit-gathering system [more on this shortly], or through cash-for-credits transactions [EC currently acknowledges the existence of an active "grey" market in credits; the service will soon establish its own credit marketing operation for EC points]. The "grey" market appears to be moderately active, with 'Card credits even turning up on eBay, and several sites devoted to such sales operating openly on EntreCard.

The two principle "systems" by which "Carders" drop are reciprocal dropping [dropping EC cards on sites that have visited yours], and power dropping [using advanced techniques to drop on many sites in a short amount of time]. EntreCard sets a strict limit of 300 cards per day, per blog [a limit many members get around by operating more than one blog. I currently operate two myself, and by no means would I consider myself a power player in the Brave New EC World]. The service says[reasonably, I think] that most people get nowhere near the 300 figure, but admits that some of their active users do reach the limit.

Time for some horseback figuring: for a moment, let's assume that the soon-to-be marketable EC credits sell for five cents apiece [probably somewhat high, but an easy figure to calculate]. A reciprocal dropper like myself will typically drop about 60 cards per day, per site. This works out to three dollars in salable credits available to sell. Not exciting in itself, but consider that the operator of two blogs would, in theory, be able to clear about thirty dollars a week. That would, for instance, cover the cost of high-speed Internet access in many communities, with a little cash left over. But consider if the rate per credit were to rise to twenty-five cents [a figure I predict we may see within the first year of the marketing plan]. The figure per blog rises to fifteen dollars per day, per blog, and seventy-five dollars per week! [little wonder, then, that EntreCard announced this week that it was aware of the existence of software designed to automatically drop cards. It also announced improved security to prevent such ploys, but, with money on the table, it's probably just a matter of time before someone develops an undetectable program to "carpet drop" cards]

So, a pool of potential sellers appears to be in place. But who will be the buyers? What will bring them to EntreCard? How will those transactions be handled? And who will the real money-makers be? I'll try to address those questions in my next posting.

-Mike Riley