No More Entrecarders!

If you do not know what Entrecard is, it is a system of credit that bloggers gain by visiting other blogs with the same widget and "dropping" a virtual business card. In my opinion, a very cool way of seeing blogs you would have never discovered on your own. Then, with credit gained each time you visit another blog, you can "purchase" adspace on a blog you feel is perfect for your niche, thus creating a great way for a targeted audience to see your blog.

Well, that is over...at least for me. I have decided to delete my account for a couple of reasons. Graham, Entrecard's founder, has decided over the course of a few months to move into a paid-ad system...with real money. In a nutshell, he needs to pay the bills. SO he's asking us to use our blog space and approve paid ads (most of the time, very innapropriate ads) that will show 50% of the time. He says you can still use the EC creds, and approving ads is not required. But when you offer ads at such low rates (.02-.03 cents was the introductory, now it has since doubled), most people were just purchasing ads and "cashing out" their EC points to buy money ads...Confused yet? Yeah, thought you would be.

So my argument (and that of many fellow ECers that feel the same way) is why would ANYONE bother in taking the time to drop on other blogs in the traditional way yo gain creds, if we can just go buy an ad with hard currency? Every since this new system started, droppers are at a standstill, and yet I was receiving about 10-20 pending paid ads that I had to individually reject, only because more than half were ridiculous and not relevant to my blog. So I have decided to stay away from a complex system that has no transparency. To all my ECer's, i'm sorry, and I hope you continue to visit my blog. In an effort of good faith towards my loyal EC droppers, I will allow you to send me your button, which I will display free-of-charge, as long as you allow me to display my button on yours :) It's an even, easy exchange!