To illustrate my take on some of the main ones, I'll use three fictional bloggers, Yoko, Paul and John.
Blogger #1 : Yoko
She believes it is immoral to drop your Entrecard on a blog you have not read thoroughly.
A few days after discovering Entrecard, she quickly invented her own code of ethics as to how she believes the other 4,999 members ought to behave.
She will frequently talk about Entrecard and Entrecarders negatively, (yet her Entrecard widget will remain on her blog.)
Her favourite word is bounce
Blogger #2 : Paul
He makes use of every trick he can think of to get through his drops as quickly as possible.
To make the pages load faster, and reduce the chance of him actually wanting to read something written by somebody else, he disables the automatic loading of images on his browser.
He drops from a prepared list of 300 blogs. He gets through these in an average time of 14 minutes and 37 seconds.
12 of those 300 are other blogs operated by him. The last time he updated any of them was January.
His favourite word is linky.
Blogger #3 John
He passionately believes in building and participating in the Entrecard community. He shares some of the ideologies of Yoko in this respect.
Yet he goes through his drops fairly quickly, often making 300 a day, but not reading 300 blogs.
He does read a lot though. Things often catch his eye as he makes his drops. He also goes back to read the blogs of Entrecarders to whom he has previously befriended and subscribed.
He positively contributes to the community as much as Yoko, so believes there to be no reason why he shouldn't enjoy some extra credits to spend like John.
His favourite word is reciprocate.
I guess it's obvious from what I've written which of the above trio I model my own habits on. I keep having to remind myself that with something like Entrecard, there is no one correct way to go about doing things.
So the Yokos and Johns can keep doing whatever it is they do, and I can try my best to stop ripping the piss.
37 comments:
Apologies to the 4% of my sites visitors who don't know what Entrecard is. I usually try to stay as low-tech and general interest as possible.
I can assure you that normal service (possibly in the form of more trouser pictures!!!!) will be resumed shortly.
Very funny but yet very true. I think it all depends on how much time one has on a particular day. I am a 'John' one day and a 'Paul' on the next.
Yoko is right! I have some doubts against Entrecard.
I like Yoko's glasses.
I suppose I'm very John-like... I'm supposed to be off dropping like a drunken dog, but I stopped to read your blog.
I'm a John and proud of it! (That could sound soooo wrong out of context.)
I've yet to break 200 in a day though I find 100 easy to reach - but I still skim those 100 if there are new posts and comment if I have something to say.
I guess it all depends on what you want out of Entrecard. And I just want more readers for my own blog and to discover other blogs that I otherwise wouldn't have. Like this one. :)
I'm a Paul and could likely be your prototype, which is cool, since I always thought John was a weird duck and Paul was the real draw in the band. Ironically, I didn't come to your site as a result of card dropping, but via the Bloggeries forum. And the turn off the images strategy doesn't mean that one doesn't read the content any less often than when images are on. In fact, turning off images and page colors can highlight the text so that I am more apt to read the most recent post in the 2-5 seconds I am on the site.
I think I'm with arnold too, somewhere between a John and a Paul. (Maybe one of us could be the next pope?)
Haney, you may well be right and Entrecard will just be a flash in the pan. If it goes down though, at least the blogs I have discovered through it will remain.
Aerten, I know what you mean. I skimmed your last post, the narcissist in me spotted my name, and I had to stick around to comment.
Cathereine, I think you're spot on. Entrecard is just another networking tool at the end of the day. Just a very effective one that seems to have captured the imagination of a lot of people.
biz beacon, that's an interesting point of view regarding turning off images that I've not come across before.
Reminds me of the argument about putting the entrecard above or below the fold, and which makes it more likely that a compulsive dropper will read your site.
(The below the folders for making people scroll through the content, the above the folders say that once they do this, they are far less likely to scroll to the top to read it)
I really like your take on the different entrecard personalities. I consider myself to be a John. I like to reap the benefits of the exposure that entrcard provides, but I also enjoy finding new blogs and networking with certain bloggers. Before entrecard, I was not a very social blogger.
Hi Pam,
pics without trousers work too!
I think we all need to know how to be a Paul, because time is are scarcest resource as bloggers,
Yet here I am in Arnold's recipro-group, stopping for a moment to read and comment,
Yes, it has cost me a few hours this Sunday morn, but hey, there is a return on investment
John Bougearel
SuccessfulTradingTips.com
Dropping like a Drunken Dog is funny stuff,
And Catherine, girls can't ever be "John's" and proud of it ~ but us men would be happy to fantasize about turning a decent trick for you :-)Sorry couldn't resist
sly hoax, something you said is as concise a testimonial for entrecard, and as I have seen.
"Before entrecard, I was not a very social blogger."
This rings true for me too. I wonder if it is a common phenonemom?
Succesfultradingtips.com - Lot's of gender confusion going on today, I'm Tam not Pam!
Thanks for taking the time to drop by on your way through the 50.
I need to do a little bit more of that myself, I don't think I have commented on many of the sites on the list yet.
Funny and rather true. But at the end of the day, how you handle Entrecard is up to you. I have yet to find someone else's system who works for me.
I am a John, who is blessed to read at the speed of light. It is my greatest asset. I drop and read what I catches my interest. I am not consumed with getting 300 drops, but on most days I easily manage 200. I guess I might feel different if I was blogging for a living.
I guess I'm a John.
That sounds so wrong, LOL.
But I drop & stop if something catches my eye. :-)
Yoko scared me!
all together now:
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
This piece was charming. I recently read The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz and I think you're got them all pegged. you left out Ringo, however (whatever I click on is good) and George (prospecting for sites with complete purity). Still, nice work!
By the way, I'm mostly a John but when I'm tired or rushed I'll be a Paul, and I could never be a Yoko, just on principle.
I like John and Paul. When I first started I was a Yoko.
On the blogs I don't read, I like to think we understand each other. I drop, they return and we both get a little something out of it. I am thankful for those that stop and read me, but don't begrudge those that don't.
I love being a "John" I careless if the Yokos and Pauls from a different angle. Afterall, each person is entitled to his or her opinion. Enjoy
I'm a John wannabe in that I haven't come close to 300 drops yet. I'm near 100 on my best day.
I try to adhere to the You-Drop-I-Follow philosophy, but don't make promises on my site. :) If only I could figure out how to do this faster in a way that will leave me happy.
And BizBeacon, thanks for mentioning turning off the page colors. It didn't occur to me that I could do that. I read at the office sometimes, and hate having all those bright colors advertising that I'm on the Internet. I'm going to give this a try on my office PC.
so am i arnold. today was supposed to be one of my drop days, but this post caught my eye, so I had to comment.
true. i go for the third one.
i read at least one post of every blog i visit, if it catches my attention i can go on reading.
I'm Heather Mills.
That's so funny and true, I wonder if the maximum value of Entrecard will be 5000 advertisers running in an endless loop dropping cards on the same small pool of people.
Guess I'm a John! LOL. Great post!
lol .. thats all I can say!
very astute ..
Thanks for all the comments everyone!
I can understand why so many people blog about blogging.
Almost all the visitors can relate to it, so more people read and comment.
I have to agree with a few others.. before entrecard I wasn't very social either.. I joined entrecard, removed my pay ads and started enjoying the blogs I was visiting every day.. not to mention, enjoying the entrecard community.
I'm a John mostly, I'd say.
I'm a Heather. I want to marry one of you rich Power Droppers and then get all your cards for me.
haha, why are they all beatles related? I only like reading the good blogs.
Ha - Great article. I must be Ringo - I read every one.
entrecard is great, it help me to found new- new blogs, which are interesting that's why i read your post and droping a card and posting comment, chears and happy blogging.
LOL. Very accurate comparison. I think perhaps I might have a multiple personality disorder. Although mostly like John. I prefer to drop around 100 or so per day and leave half a dozen or more comments in my travels than focus on fast dropping. Mind you, some days I only have time to drop 100 quickly. Dropping 300 is pretty much beyond my capabilities right now.
Really funny. I admit to being at least two of the three at ceertain days.
Your post is worth a thousand stumbles
Thankyou again.
archondigital, that reminds me that I need to set up an account with stumble, it's been on my to do list for some time now.
I agree with you. I read at least one or two posts before dropping my card. And I advertise on blogs I like (if I have enough credits). I am not interested in bloggers just zapping by and dropping to get credits. A blog is there to be read. And if someone passes by who is not interested then he should piss off :-)
I try to read at least one or two posts. The problem is that even if I like a blog, time is so constrained I may not get back to it for a while - if ever.
I'm giving entrecard a shot but I'm not holding my breath. I simply don't have the time to go through 300 blogs. Being a "John" would be the best way.
Traffic seeking is fleeting.
A lot of people like Entrecard for a lot of different reasons.
It's probably worth a dabble to see if it can work for you.
Post a Comment