Is Entrecard worth it?
At a recent meeting discussing the redesign of this blog, my partner turned to me and asked, “Are you keeping Entrecard?”
A fair question, and something we ask of every element we place on our blogs. Some widgets work, some don’t. Some ads perform better than others. And so I had to stop and ask myself, is Entrecard working for me?
Notorious list-maker that I am, I drew up a list:
What I like about Entrecard
Discovering new blogs. The top of my list, and the reason I keep returning to Entrecard: I love finding new blogs, the ones that the search engines haven’t indexed yet and the blogerati don’t list on their blogrolls. It’s all about new voices, and there are so many great new voices on Entrecard.
Leaving my “card” at these blogs. I’m not really one for leaving lots of comments, and I like the idea of just “dropping my card” off at a blog I visit. It’s sort of like saying, “I was here. I liked what I saw. Visit me, and you might like what you see.”
The Entrecard Shop. Okay, so I visited it for the first time yesterday, and I’ve yet to make a “purchase”, but there’s honestly a lot of good stuff over there. From custom Shakespearean Sonnets, to critiques on your blog, to blog hosting, to a mix CD, there seems to be something for everyone.
What I don’t like about Entrecard
Dropping cards for the points alone. I can’t say for sure how often this happens, but sometimes I get cards every day from the same person. Do they want to make sure I know of their existence, or are they just building up their points?
Ugly cards. I know that many bloggers aren’t designers, but there are some very ugly cards that I just refuse to approve because of a design clash. Maybe Entrecard can include some pretty templates?
Cards for useless sites. You know what I’m talking about: those spammy sites that call themselves “blogs” just because they’re on blogspot, and have no purpose other than to spam the search engines with badly written, keyword-ridden articles, and make money off Adsense.
And now back to my partner’s question: am I keeping Entrecard? Is it worth it? Reading everything I’ve just written, I have to say… yes. Maybe the system is flawed in certain ways, but right now the blogs I’ve discovered and the people I’ve met through Entrecard make it all worth it.
Do you use Entrecard? How do you feel about it?
Popularity: 47% [?]
22 Jan 08 | 12:33 am | #
my pros and cons are very much along yours. It seems to be a great service right now, and hopefully it will not take a turn for the worst anytime soon. As long as they keep on top of the spam we should be ok.
22 Jan 08 | 8:14 am | #
I kinda agree with you too man. But its nice tho, you get a good amount of traffic.
22 Jan 08 | 5:38 pm | #
I’ve been thinking of signing up with Entrecard… haven’t decided yet. Reading your post has helped me, so thanks!
26 Jan 08 | 1:32 pm | #
I think that everyone would agree with you. The amount of cards which are downright ugly - it’s not doing anyone any favours. I reject most of the text-based cards on principle now. And it is hard to decide if it’s worth it - I don’t know if it drives enough quality traffic to my site to warrant having to add the widget.
Nice blog by the way!
28 Jan 08 | 12:22 am | #
using entrecard is a no brainer for me. Most of the blogs I read have entrecard on them - I think it’s awesome - you get to see who your readers are and what they blogs are, even if they don’t leave any comments. Check your entrecard inbox for my ecard
31 Jan 08 | 6:37 am | #
I like Entrecard. Since I don’t have a lot of money to advertise with and promote my blogs, I can use the next most valuable resource, time, to be able to advertise on some pretty popular sites. And the community can’t be beat! I really like the people I’ve met through the Entrecard community.
23 Feb 08 | 9:53 am | #
Entrecard has given me incentive to go out and find new and interesting blogs (like this one.) And, I hope it gives me some exposure because I am just starting out. So, in that respect, I really like it. But, as you say, I’ve seen some pretty crappy sites out there. I’m hoping one of them will inspire a post.