Doing and receiving blog reviews is a great way to generate traffic for your site.  One of my favorite bloggers (Make Money Online) has asked his readers to join him in a review swap.  The hope is that my readers become his readers and his readers mine.  Below is my review of his blog.  This is my first blog review, so bear with me.

He’ll be reviewing my other blog (The Bullshit Stalker).

Almost ever day, I see this little baby’s picture.  Yes, I found Make Money Online through Entrecard and I did begin frequenting his site because of it.  But there are two reasons that I have stuck with the Noob.  He posts regularly (practically every day) and he has very good content.  Okay, there is a third reason, he posts pictures of beautiful women, but the web is full of these.  I’m going to discuss each of these but in reverse order.

The Girl Pictures
Each post is accompanied by a picture of one or more beautiful women.  These are tasteful pictures.  A mix of famous and otherwise.  Yes, they are completely off topic, but this might just be an effective strategy for  the Entrecard bounce.  I’m not sure it would work for me, but he has nailed it.

The Content
While the topic of Make Money Online isn’t for everyone, I do have to say that the blog is much deeper than that.  Most of his posts are about blogging in general.  They are well written and come from his personal experience.

In a since, the Noob is a blogger that just finished the leg of the trip I’m attempting to take.  I’ve learned so much from him.  His comments are spot on and I value the opportunity to learn about blogging from him.

Posting Volume
I’ve been struggling with this topic for a while now.  There is a huge commitment involved in keeping a blog going.  When the initial rush of the new blog goes away, will you have the energy to carry it on?  What frequency of posting do your readers want.

I suspect like me, the Noob gets a large percentage of his traffic from Entrecard.  Many of us on Entrecard hate the volume of dead blogs on the system.  We’re visiting many blogs on a daily basis and finding the same content that was there for weeks or months is very discouraging.  I’m on Entrecard not just to promote my blog, but to learn.  As a result, blogs like Make Money Online are my favorites.  I know he’ll have some new tidbit for me almost every day.  I really appreciate that.

As many of you may have heard, Randy Pausch has passed.  The best hour and twenty minutes you could spend would be to watch his “Last Lecture:

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

I will probably watch this several times.  There are so many great lessons in this lecture.

Enjoy!

I was reading some blogs as I bopped around doing some Entrecard dropping (yes, I do read the blogs that interest me).  And I came across a blog post by Alan LeStourgeon at Affiliate Confessions entited: Taking the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. There is nothing like a challenge to get my blood pumping (although I should be sleeping right now).

I’m going to do just that.  I’m comitting to post at least one entry per day for the next 30 days.  But I’ll be doing it on the new site/blog I’m doing, The Bullshit Awards Blog.  I will track the results as I go.

I should see a marked increase in traffic for a few reasons.  We’re in alpha testing of the site, and I should be ready to start beta testing in a couple of weeks.  I’ve set up a ton of ads through Entrecard that are starting to hit in the next few days.  Also, I’ll be going through the 30 day challenge, which I expect to improve my Internet marketing skills.  The culmination of all of these things should mean big things for the blog.

So, go on over and check it out!

I was watching a very young child and his father in a swimming pool today.  The child, with his water wings was being toted through the pool to the infinity edge.  Over the edge was a great view that I’d been enjoying myself.  The father held the child up, but instead of looking at the view we saw, the boy was fascinated with the water splashing down over the edge.  The father continued to enjoy his view and the child his.

Obviously, children have a very different view of the world than adults do.  Experts on childproofing houses/apartments encourage parents to get down low, crawl around and see what the child does.  As this child grows up, he’ll strive to see things from a different view.  Most children go from crawling to standing, going places they couldn’t when they were younger, and following the cycle of life to adulthood.

Why do we insist on stopping there?  Why don’t we continue that journey after we’ve grown up?

I’m also reminded of a time when I was a toddler (No, I don’t remember it, but I still have the scars from it).  I reached up for a pot and poured boiling water down on myself.  Since from my vantage point I didn’t know the pot was full of boiling water, I paid the consequences.  We also do this to ourselves as adults, doing and saying things that we don’t fully understand, but pretending or believing we do.

Do you take time out to look at things from other perspectives?  I mean, really stop.  And really try to break down all of your preconceptions?

Since most of my readers are fellow bloggers, I’ll move on in that direction with this.  If you’re blogging from one perspective all the time then you’re not giving the full picture, or getting it.  Your blogging is less for it.  As a blogger, a communicator, it is critical that you consider the opposing views and make your post relevant to all potential readers.

Yes, taking a hard stance, inciting a bit of controversy will sell a post, but at what cost?

The best blogs, the ones that grow to more than just a “personal weblog” are those that break out of the single mind perspective.  If you don’t take time (from time to time) to break down your own walls, how can you ever hope to do the same for someone else?

If you are an Entrecarder (and even if you’re not), you’re going to want to pay attention to this!

Firefox 3 Rocks!

It is way faster than its predecessor and IE. How much faster? In my nonscientific testing, it is performing 3 - 6 times faster. What does that mean for you? It means you’re loading sites faster, getting to the good stuff faster, and yes, dropping your Entrecards faster.

It also does a much better job of managing your browsing history. As you type in web addresses, it offers potential matches from your past viewing history. Sweet! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve struggled to find a site I visited earlier and forgot to bookmark. This is another huge timesaver!

All of the plugins I was using on the old Firefox appear to work on this one. So, now I have a faster, better Internet experience. All for a free download!

So, whether you’re an Entrecarder or not. You’re going to want Firefox 3.

Fantasy Baseball is holding what has turned out to be the biggest Entrecard contest ever. Okay, I’m kicking myself for not being a Sponsor, but now I get to enter! Yay for me!

I could really use the 10,000 credits, or the month on ImpNERD. I don’t enter many contests. Why not? Because I don’t consider myself lucky. But, I want to support the cause and with my jet lag, I really couldn’t think of anything better to write.

The announcement for the contest was made on the Entrecard Blog. So, rather than regurgitate all of the sorted details here, I’ll let you check that out for yourself. But, being in the spirit of actually winning this thing. Here are the sponsors of the contest (Copy and Paste).

SPONSORS

Fantasy Baseball - 10,000ec — You can trade in 10,000ec for, like, Graham’s car or something.

Q3-n - 5000ec — Q3-n is selling their 1950s dinette furniture to finance this contest. They say, “You’re welcome.”

Øblog - 4000ec — Wow! 4000ec is going for like $30 on the Entrecard market. Thanks, Weird Oh.

Evil Woobie - 3000ec — Hey, maybe she’s not so evil after all! Or is she? You make the call!

Turnip of Power - 1001ec — He was going to go with 1000 then he found an extra credit in his couch. Thanks, Turnip!

Celebrity Pictures - 1000ec — Credits were acquired through legal means. Supposedly.

Evil Entrecard Kid! - 1000ec — Entrecard trivia: Evil Woobie and Evil Entrecard Kid are not related. Yet.

Modern Glam - 1000ec — With the 1000ec, perhaps you’ll buy an imaginary 1000ec pashmina and hang it around your virtual neck.

Dot Com Mogul - 1000ec — With this 1000ec, you might be able to buy back Q3-n’s dinette furniture.

Blabberwocky - 1000ec — It’s a play on Jabberwocky.

Looking For Scoop - 1000ec — Nothing says “I can buy one popular ad” like 1000ec.

Eyespi20.com - 1000ec — And she’ll teach you how she does that weird signature thing. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, look at her site.

Travelin’ Show - 1000ec — Message from the year 2012: Macy’s is now taking credits and a 1000 gets you one earring.

The Hypnotist - 1000ec — She will put you under a spell. Recognize!

Diet Pulpit - 1000ec — You can buy a lot of imaginary rice cakes with 1000ec. Side note, imaginary rice cakes taste better than real ones.

The Realtor - 500ec — You want insight. Listen to her write. It’s like magic beans growing in the backyard of your brain.

Romelo - 500ec — Romelo, Romelo, wherefore art thou 500ec?

WebATBP.com - 500ec — With gas prices soaring, it won’t be too long before 500ec goes for 501ec.

Inspire Emotion - 500ec — Almost pay for your favorite 512ec ad!

Sue Doe-Nim - 500ec — She’ll probably give you the credits then mock you for wanting them. That’s right — bonus!

Thailand Land of Smiles - 500ec — Actually, that’s 500 smiles.

FitnessLifeClub - 500ec — You’ll have to promise not to blow these credits on any fattening foods.

Lisa Cooking - 500ec — Surprise the whole family with 500 Entrecard credits.

JunkieYard Dot Com - 500ec — If you put these credits in a 401K, in 45 years you’ll have enough credits for a free e-card.

Movie Reviews - 500ec — You can’t buy a movie ticket with Entrecard credits. Yet. (Graham twirls his mustache. Contemplating world domination.)

PRIZES THAT ARE NOT CREDITS (BUT STILL WONDERFUL):

Aerten Art - She’s donating a painting. Seriously. Go look at her site and tell me you wouldn’t want a painting. Now. We’ll wait.

ImpNERD - 125×125 ad for a month — Let’s see, ImpNERD usually sells advertising for 256ec/day. You get this for a month. Um, yeah, you want this.

PoemsofQuotes - A cheesy poem about the winner’s topic — Win this and then ask them to rhyme something with, “Orange.”

Eyespi20.com - A custom made 125×125 card. Some of you need this. You know who you are.

Diet Pulpit - One week ad spot right below the banner and a personal greeting from Lady Rose saying, “Congratulations!”

JunkieYard Dot Com - Three blogroll links. Okay, the thing is, you can’t just get these. They’re prizes only won here.

The Hypnotist - A Hypnotic Audio - I don’t think this will simply be trance music. I could be wrong.

I needed a logo for my new site. I had the concept in my head, but I had three issues:

1. I can’t draw and I couldn’t find clip art or stock photos that fit.
2. I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to this project.
3. My budget is constrained.

Still, this was a very important part of the overall site. Logos tie the site to the marketing. A well done logo sets you apart by forming a memory bond with your customers/readers.

I probed around my networks (Entrecard, Twitter, Eaglepost, etc.) but still couldn’t find someone willing or able to draw a logo. So, I turned to Elance.com.

I posted my project with a brief description of the character and formats I needed. I paid $15 to have my project highlighted (Although you don’t have to do this, for me it was worth it to get noticed in a relatively short time). In no time, I had my first bid, ending up with a dozen high quality bids to evaluate.

The evaluation phase was extremely difficult. All of the artists who bidded were excellent. They each provided examples and I could view their portfolios and websites for more examples of their work.

I finally settled on one bidder who offered the best price/quality. He happened to be in India (I had received bids from all over the globe). We established a formal agreement through the site and I funded an escrow account.

The project commenced.

All of the communication during the project was done through the Elance private messages. As agreed, the artist prepared and delivered the logo files.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my first experience w/Elance. Most of the minor nits and hickups during the project were due to my learning curve. I’m currently engaging a writer through the service (going fabulously) and expect I will be going back to the well frequently.

For those who have the day off, enjoy the long weekend!

I’ll start with this: The premise and design of Entrecard is brilliant. Graham Langdon has developed a great tool for promoting a blog and discovering other blogs. It has drawn a solid cadre of very experienced bloggers, from whom I’ve learned a great deal.

I’ve written about Entrecard a few times, so I’ll avoid doing yet another overview. What I’ve discovered is that the core concept of visit and drop has a fundamental flaw. This flaw is partially to blame for the higher normal bounce rate, but is more clearly felt on the forums with a regular, unanswered question.

Why visit a blog that doesn’t have any new content?

Entrecard users drop to earn credits and many of us return the favor by visiting their blogs and dropping back. We work our inboxes, often visiting sites that haven’t been posted to in weeks. Are they bloggers or droppers?

There have been a few “cultural movements” in the history of Entrecard that have distinctly highlighted this flaw. I’ll spend a bit of time discussing each one:

UDropIFollow
Initially, I thought this was a very good approach to Entrecard. Because I couldn’t fully commit to dropping on my droppers each day, I didn’t don the badge. But I didn’t try to work my inbox diligently.

I recently did a very unscientific experiment. I visited and dropped on the self-proclaimed founder of the UDropIFollow movement, Lee Doyle. I dropped using bot of the blogs I have at Entrecard. I did this for eight consecutive days. How many drops did that get me from Lee Doyle? Zero.

Wait? You mean the founder of the movement can’t or isn’t walking the walk? No, he isn’t. But maybe he was away? He was on the Entrecard forums regularly during the time I was doing this experiment. Maybe he gets more than 300 drops each day? Perhaps, but I did run this with two blog accounts for eight days. In the not so tactful language of my other blog, UDropIFollow is bullshit!

It isn’t enforceable. It isn’t sustainable. And it misses the true value of Entrecard. I considered carrying on the experiment a bit longer, or extending it to other bloggers, but other cultural movements at Entrecard woke me up.

Entrecard Bans Quick Drop Sites
When you’re dropping just to earn credits, quick drop sites rock! You get your credit they get their credit. Quick and easy just like a hand job in the alley. If credits are all you want, then Entrecard isn’t for you.

The ban and subsequent removal of the quick drop sites will do a lot to improve the quality at Entrecard. I applaud Graham and the crew’s efforts on this. I’m only now understanding this well enough to appreciate the ban.

Comment Bomb!
What if we collectively visited a blog with fresh, good content, read the post, dropped an Entrecard, and then wrote a comment? Novel idea? Not really. That is how I imagine Entrecard was initially envisioned. The results of the comment bomb were magnificent and energizing.

I felt a spark of home emerge. What had become a chore with a hint of addiction, now had a much more pleasant aroma. A glow of promise where 300 drops per account wasn’t a goal, but was a commitment to the community.

Digg Community of Entrecard
Graham next posed the suggestion that we form a collective Digg by Entrecarders. I had always seen Digg as a big tool for a small blog, unwieldy and cumbersome. But as a collective, we could do something cool. We aren’t one small blog, we are a network of thousands of blogs. The forums and comment bomb had made us a community. I now had over 250 friends on Digg (in a single day). With careful management (Digg will ban you for violating their TOS) this could be very powerful.

Then the shouting started. The incessant shouting! “Look here!” “Please, Digg this!” I taught my daughter that if she begged me for something she wouldn’t get it. It goes the same for me with Digg. Why on Earth should I Digg a post that consists solely of a YouTube video the blogger didn’t make?

So here we are. What did we learn?

Dropping for the sake of dropping isn’t productive and degrades the Entrecard community. While the premise of UDropIFollow is noble, in practice it isn’t working. There is a community here, but mining the value of that takes focus.

To make Entrecard matter, we as a network have to start where all great Internet media does, excellent content. We need a constant stream of blog posts that entertain and/or educate.

How do we do that? I don’t know if a technical solution exists. It starts with the users. We have to stop rewarding stale blogs.

Here is my approach:

1. If you drop on me, or get my attention on the forums or on Twitter, I will subscribe to your RSS feed.
2. Through my RSS reader (Bloglines), I will drop from at least one of my blog accounts on the blogs that have new posts.
3. If you have written a good post, I’ll Digg, Stumble, Reddit, etc. If the Entrecard community is behind you, it is likely I will be too.
4. At least once per month, I will post a “featured” (i.e., relevant) blog posts I found and enjoyed, with full backlinks.

Entertain and/or educate me and I’ll pay you back.

I moved my Entrecard widget to the sidebar “above the fold” because I believe in the Entrecard community.  I hope you’ll join me in pushing mediocrity out of the system.  Are you a blogger or a dropper?

It started with an Entrecard Forum post by Entrecard founder Graham Langdon. The premise was simple. What if we all made a concerted effort to post a comment on a particular blog post. This being done as a way of gaining exposure for the commenter and “rewarding” the blogger for their commitment to the Entrecard community. The name was subsequently changed to Comment Rush to avoid any negative vibe from the group action. The intent was not to do this for damage, but rather for positive reasons.

They made a great first choice with Ken Armstrong. His blog post, Music and Driving, was brilliant! Ken’s wonderful writing and well developed blog post took all of us to a place we were familiar with, despite our differences and distances. The Comment Rush produced 165 comments (as of this writing) on this single blog post. It was a very uplifting experience for all of us.

From this, Graham came back to recommend that we form a Digg friendship pact. The outpouring of support for this idea is amazing. We’ve had over 100 people join. The network is building fast (in some cases faster than Digg will let me add friends). You’re welcome to join me there at http://digg.com/users/bsawards and see all of the “new friends” I have!

This got me to thinking. If I want to Drop and Digg my new contacts, what easier way than to subscribe to their RSS feed? I will use Bloglines, but you can use what ever reader you want. I’ll be able to see new blog entries when they arrive. Do my Drop and Digg right there.

You can subscribe to my RSS Feed right here: The Bullshit Awards Blog.

Leave your feed details in the comments of this blog post and I will add your RSS feed to my Bloglines account and will be a regular Dropper and Digger on you. Thank you!