Entrecard Expanding To Include Website Owners: A Step In The Right Direction?
Posted by
eli
on 1/20/10• Categorized as Consulting
Entrecard does it again!
Entrecard has announced on its blog that it is expanding its user base to regular website owners. It will no longer be limited to bloggers, but its user base will soon include people with regular websites – not just blog sites. 
It will offer the same benefits to regular website owners, as it does to its present users who are all bloggers.
Entrecard management think that in opening up its network, bloggers can network not only with their fellow blogger-users but with the website owners as well.
Cindy Ung of Entrecard assures the present blogger-users that:
“We understand your concerns about this expansion, but we can assure you that there will be no disruption to our current blogger network which all of you are on. We have created a new “site type” in our sign up form. From now on, anyone who signs up will have the option to classify his or her site as a “blog” or a “website.”
“Over the next few months, we will be adding more search features so our users can distinguish between “blogs” and “website” in your drops.”
Entrecard said that by opening up to regular websites (and not just blogs), it hopes to open more doors and allow the members to network with more users.
In addition, in opening up to regular website owners, Entrecard believes that it is headed in the right direction.
My comments:
1. Entrecard management did not solicit inputs from its user-members for this new plan. That’s why comments are closed on its blog, as usual.
2. Entrecard management does not listen to unsolicited advice, no matter how brilliant, doable and feasible. Management said that it has a business format, whatever that is.
3. Entrecard needs the money, the reason why it wants to include website owners whose sites are primarily business-oriented and, therefore, driven mainly by the profit motive, as distinguished from the bloggers.
This explains why one of the present Entrecard in-house sponsor ads says: “Advertise your business.”
4. It is still premature to speculate what will happen next, since Entrecard’s plan is not yet on the implementation stage. However, it appears that website owners, to expose their businesses, can drop cards on blogs and vice-versa.
5. Therefore, whether or not Entrecard’s expansion to include website owners is a step in the right direction remains to be seen.
I never bother to read their stupid blog anymore since they closed comments…it’s not really a blog is it? A blog is interactive; by closing comments so they don’t have to read anything members say means they are not the least bit interested in what anyone thinks. By closing the forums, they’ve taken away our ability to communicate in groups, to discuss things, and to help each other. I hate what they’ve done. I hate the blog being closed, the forum being closed, the paid ads that we have no say over, and now this! Webpages and blogs together make no sense. They, webpages can surely benefit as they can visit our pages, leave comments which leaves a link to their page….EC can benefit from $$$ from webpages, we…the bloggers can not benefit. It’s of no value to us to have a webpage visit us and leave non related comments with a link to their page. I will do as I currently do when whiteteeth leaves a comment on my travel blog. I will delete it.
I am not happy about this. I’m also not happy with the sneaking way they’re trying to do it….once again, there was no emailing to members explaining, there is nothing in the announcement area, and they know most don’t bother to look at their stupid closed blog anylonger.
Thank you for posting
Sandy
It makes little difference any more if someone drops on “me” because I get no benefit from it. I get increased traffic, but no EC reward for that. Nevertheless, I will probably sign up a couple of web sites, to see how that works. (unless you have to pay for them… I’ll check it out)
Hi Eli,
i saw already some days ago in the campaigns that you can choose between “any”, “blogs” and “websites” but at that time i didn’t know what for it was built or if EntreCard already had some pure websites included in their network.
It’s the question if a company should focus on this kind of traffic and if it’s useful to spend several hours in dropping 300 cards to get their website seen in our inbox. In this case it’s no more a hobby (to drop cards) but a real cost factor for the company if they have to use their employees for this kind of work.
Another question for the companies would be, do they get a second or third visit from us when we know after the first time it’s a website and not a blog.
Seems more like they want to show the business websites that it might be easier for them to pay 25$ than clicking 2 or more hours to get a return visit (without much value, in my opinion).
addition:
It might be worth to place some ads on these new websites as some of them might get traffic from other sources and you could brand your blog for one day
I think,
EC has own policy for limited input from users. They may hear what we thought it better, but is it better too for the sustainability of EC business?
I don’t what happen inside the EC management. But let’s see what happen on the new step they launch on the expanding of website owners.
thanks for your sharing
We added our directory as a means to give more visibility to our blog category, while opening up the doors as an asset for a different niche.
Hi,
This is just another coffin nail. Mixing blogs (dynamic changing sites) and regular non-changing static sites is a disaster waiting to happen. Static sites don’t change and unless the serve a very specific purpose, they will only bring the blogs down (not the EC has much left anymore worth seeing).
Few days ago, I already noticed the option to select either “blogs” or “websites” or “any”. It actually shocked me to find out that regular websites are already part of Entrecard. I am partly not agreeable to this. However, if placing adverts on this ‘regular websites’ could drive more traffic to my blog and as well provide profit, then why not? Let’s see the outcome with this new thing.
What will EC management offer to website owners? Ad views and impressions? EC management said in their reply to my unsolicited advice that click-throughs by members are not among their objective. If that is so, website owners will only be short-changed if they advertise at EC network.
I also seldom click the advertised site when I visit a blog in the EC network. All I do is click “Drop” and go. There’s no incentive to click an advertised site so why do it? I really wonder how website owners could benefit on this new scheme of Entrecard.
I don’t see the real difference between dropping on websites and dropping on blogs in some ways. If the website isn’t very dynamic, regular droppers will probably soon learn it and avoid it, unless they’re just mass drop and going, in which case they’ll still earn a point.
On the other side of the coin, more sites, websites or otherwise, in the system may mean more visitors dropping on blogs etc, so it could mean more traffic to your blog. We’ll see how it pans out, but generally I’m in favor of it. I’ve already added one of my websites, and plan on adding a couple others too.
It would probably be nicer if they made a differentiation between them though. Maybe website widget is orange or something. Also allow bloggers not to accept ads from websites by default, though they can reject them now anyway of course.
So why do they expect so much from bloggers, regular posts for instance and nothing from websites? They should have a completely separate network for sites, Entrecard is turning into a traffic exchange site.
I don’t think EC cares who adds a site anymore or what is on the site. I’ve noticed quite a lot of crappy blogs out there lately. When you turn a site in for a TOS violation it just stays there. It almost seems as if EC is just trying to increase their numbers not their quality.
I have quit usingn entrecard for traffic. Traffic doen’s convert well. But still their button is on my blog.
I actually see this change as a positive. I use EC to drive traffic to my blogs and to interact with other bloggers. I think this will drive more traffic to our blogs and at the same time allow us to advertise on sites which may be of similar interests. I think it’s just a wait and see right now.
This move would suggest Entrecard is taking the “business” model to more of a manual traffic exchange and less a blog community.
I thought they might go this route, but I had hoped otherwise.
Hope this finds you well.
Sincerely,
Mike