Entrecard has been around for three months and is booming. Webmasters of all types have joined the ranks of internet business card holders. As Entrecard grows, changes need to be made. The question then is, how should it change?
Complaints
When we look at the complaints of Entrecard, they include:
- High prices for sites with not a lot of visitors/RSS subscribers.
- Too easy to gain credits by dropping 300 cards/day.
- Claims of “gaming” Entrecard, usually related to #2.
What the problems really are:
- The complainers go nowhere near the effort of the “top” Entrecarders in dropped cards.
- The complainers don’t participate in the community. There is a lovely forum, just ready for posters. Oh, and ‘back drops’ are always great as well. Ie; when you drop a card on me, I return the favor. Is it ethical? If you read the blog it is.
- Complainers generally put EC farther down the page. This will result in less chain-drops, sure. But it will also result in less clicks overall.
- Non Entrecarders are less likely to click. OK, so this isn’t necessarily true in some occasions, but others it is. The 127×148 “slim widget” looks much less spammy, so chances are it will receive more clicks by non-ECers.
- No credits for clicks on ads, only for “Drop yours”. So it is likely that blogs which cater to the community will receive more drops, meaning more credits, meaning a higher advertising cost.
The Good about Entrecard
- Free advertising.
- Friendly community.
- Easy way to find new bloggers.
- Credits are somewhat easy to obtain, although time-consuming.
Graham has talked briefly about his plans to change Entrecard for “the better”, but for whose? His stated he plans to use Alexa data, admitting it is incomplete and easily manipulated. However, he failed to mention non-tech sites dismal stats on Alexa. A website with 15,000 visitors/day in the tech field is likely to be in the top 5,000. Other sites with 15,000 visitors are likely to be 50,000+. Thus, when the changes are made websites will be unfairly penalized due to their niche and not their actual traffic.
Graham also mentioned another way of gathering data for Entrecard 2.0 by using RSS statistics. To which I answer, whose RSS statistics? Not everyone uses Feedburner, and Bloglines stats are completely off. Does he want us, as bloggers, to give out our feed count (which many should never do)?
The Futre of Entrecard
The future of Entrecard has two paths. Either: 1) Make the changes with Alexa and RSS subscribers for the determining factor in credit cost, but will credits come as easily? Will everything else be the exact same? Will the community (forum) be as important? If not, even the current community will be something desired. Or 2) Redo the formula to take into account traffic by using Compete data (or gather their own) and continue using existing methods of total card drops and increase the community capabilities by redoing the forum and adding in better communication links.
Written: Feb 14, 2008
Tags: community, entrecard, traffic generation
Tim
February 14, 2008 @ 4:06 pm | Reply
Some interesting things to think about here.
I think they should always at least use their own data for calculating stuff like ad costs. You’re totally right about Alexa rankings being pretty inaccurate. They also can’t really use their own click data, because they themselves claim that click data is not immune to click fraud.
I do also think that the complainers don’t realize that the benefits of the Entrecard system don’t lie within the credits themselves, but in the community it creates. They just want traffic, but that is only one part of the system.
Great post Gary!
grandstan
February 14, 2008 @ 5:12 pm | Reply
Nice work! I enjoyed this as I enjoy Entrecard, that is an useful site, helped me some!
C-Squared
February 14, 2008 @ 8:34 pm | Reply
You forgot:
5) The amount of effort you put in is directly proportional to what you get back.
ShadowKnight
February 15, 2008 @ 12:02 am | Reply
Another thing you missed to those that claim EC traffic is junk is that those same people failed to take the time to actually learn about the system before they joined. Those people are the kind that would claim ignorance to the fact that pulling a trigger would make the gun go bang!
Thurday Reviews Edition 7 | Jean Costa Blog
February 21, 2008 @ 10:32 pm | Reply
[...] The Past, Present and Future of Entrecard - Gary has been with entrecard, since shortly after it’s inception, and he is able to share his insights on how the entrecard system is working. He addresses some of the key issues that have been raised by the complainers, and gives his two cents on it. He also offers his insights on the potential future of entrecard. [...]