Thank You Fearless Followers!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Paid Ads on EntreCard

For months, I have been a dedicated EC dropper. I have enjoyed the community and the many blogs I have discovered. Had it not been for my participation in EC, I may never have discovered blogs like
Secondary Roads
Natural State Hawg
The Marc Chamot Report
Argo's Journey
Pauls Health Blog
Blackholes and Astrostuff
A Valdese Blog
Did I Miss Something

or countless others like them. However, "change" and "new and improved" are not always synonymous for better." Many of my good blogger friends have either disabled their EC adds temporarily or have abandoned EC altogether. I am not one to quit or run under most circumstances, and I find it difficult to throw in the towel even when faced with a seemingly impossible task. However, I am not comfortable with the current "paid ads" situation and so I have decided not to accept paid ads from EC anymore. Those paid ads which I accepted already will be allowed to run their course...there are 46 ads on my list of paid ads. That's a lot of ad time, and I can't begin to imagine how long they will take to expire.

Once the paid ads expire, anyone who purchases an ad on this blog will receive 100% exposure. My hope is that the administrators at EC will find a more acceptable system that provides a win win situation for everyone.

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions....


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23 comments:

  1. MomstartApril 10, 2009 at 4:15 PM

    I totally agree with you, I actually went and canceled all of mine because they don't seem to ever fall off, i also am rejecting all incoming ones. I hate this new system

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  2. DelilahApril 10, 2009 at 4:32 PM

    Count me in. I'm not in it for the revenue and I would rather have a following of faithful readers and newly discovered readers. I enjoy dropping and discovering new places, and think those of us who fall into that category deserve the 100% exposure on each other's blogs.

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  3. Patricia RockwellApril 10, 2009 at 4:38 PM

    I am taking more of a "wait and see" attitude because I remember all the flack that occurred recently over "Sez-Who" and it seemed to just fade away. For the moment, I am accepting non-offensive (to me) paid ads, but I am not presently buying ads (with EC credits or paid). When I see (maybe in a couple of weeks) how all this will play out, then I will decide what to do.

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  4. Reflections Magazine editorApril 10, 2009 at 4:42 PM

    Thank you ladies for responding. I think Delilah just put her finger on it. I don't blog, read or write for the money...money is not my passion or my goal. The money is always secondary, a cherry on top and a bonus for what I want or love to do in life. My involvement in EC has been so rewarding and when I drop or purchase a "points ad" I do it out of respect and admiration for the blog and the blogger. It is my way of saying thank you. I don't approve all "points ads" so when I do approve an ad, again, I respect the blog and the blogger. Right now I feel I have let my "points advertisers" down...I don't like how that makes me feel.

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  5. Reflections Magazine editorApril 10, 2009 at 4:47 PM

    Patricia...good points. I have continued to buy point ads...but I am being selective and careful. I have accumulated a lot of points and would hate to see them go to waste if I decide to leave abruptly. I have noticed that many folks are not and probably will not buy points ads for a while. In the end, the number of drops will dwindle, I believe. Maybe I am wrong, over reacting or just tired and need to move on to other projects I have been putting off. Who knows... :>)

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  6. Reflections Magazine editorApril 10, 2009 at 5:48 PM

    FOLLOW UP I've noticed that ads that I have rejected recently are showing up on my widget...NOW I AM REALLY BOTHERED. OK the gloves are on...

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  7. BKApril 11, 2009 at 5:41 AM

    I shared your thought. I have only once approved two paid ads accidentally and canceled them immediately. Advertisers who had bought ads using their credits before deserve 100% and nothing less. There is a bug in EC system that we have to watch out though, it was stated that paid ads will start to run automatically, if left in the queue for more than 24 hours(this means that whether we approve the paid ads or not, it will start running after 24 hours by default).

    I checked my dashboard everyday, except when I am sleeping and I had found on several occasions that paid ads appeared in my widget even without my approval and even when the ads were in my dashboard for less than 24 hours. Very sneaky but I want to believe that the bug is in the system and not planned by EC to be that way. Else whatever they put down black and white in the FAQ is void.

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  8. MelissaApril 11, 2009 at 7:15 AM

    For me, I am accepting paid ads that are in my category, and to blogs. That cut the ads way back. Plus I have noticed that my ads that I purchased with credits, appear to be running 48 hours rather than 24 so I feel I am getting close to 100 percent. Entrecard has been free, for me for almost a year, I do not see why giving back a little to help the company is so bad.

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  9. Secondary RoadsApril 11, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    Thanks, and how would I have found you my Fearless Friend if not for EC?
    I've stopped accepting ads, and only those purchased with EC credits will continue to run. I am rejecting all of the [new] paid ads.
    Like you and Delilah, it's not about money. For me, it is about communicating and finding new, interesting and fun friends.
    Like Patricia, I'm taking that "wait-and-see" attitude. For now it seems to be a surreal world.
    -- Chuck

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  10. Reflections Magazine editorApril 11, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    BK

    I too am hopeful that whatever kinks exist that they will soon be worked out and I will be able to make a more solid decision.

    Melissa

    You brought up excellent points and to some extent I understand you, but as I have mentioned in other posts and on the EC forum, this must be a win win situation for all parties involved. I will continue to wait and see how things develop, but for now..no more paid ads accepted after the ones running expire and I probably will does as Patricia and stop purchasing "point ads" too. I will also limit my dropping to my existing EC droppers (those who have remained loyal to this blog day after day for weeks,months and in some rare cases over a year.

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  11. Reflections Magazine editorApril 11, 2009 at 12:35 PM

    Secondary Roads

    I guess a lot of us are in the same boat, but we remain hopeful about the captain and which way the wind will blow us. :>)

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  12. A Valdese BloggerApril 11, 2009 at 1:53 PM

    Thanks for mentioning my blog. I'm in the same boat, and I've been rejecting virtually all paid ads.

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  13. Reflections Magazine editorApril 11, 2009 at 3:31 PM

    Hi Valdese I do enjoy my visits to your blog, your posts and your photographs. My heart is in NC even though I am in Florida most of the year. Here is the problem with the boat: if there are too many passengers in it, it just might sink. :>)

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  14. rainerApril 11, 2009 at 5:46 PM

    Dear fearless blog,

    I agree with your thoughts. I have checked in my settings the option that all paid adds need approval and I approve no paid ads.....

    Happy Blogging

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  15. jApril 11, 2009 at 8:10 PM

    I tend to accept paid ads that are blogs (after visiting the site) and I've also set up a writing to survive ad -- though I do think that the EC credit economy will ultimately be affected for the worse. When I spend what little credits I have (because I am not dropping a lot of cards, hence my logic behind purchasing an ad), I am focusing on my favorites in my category, though I really should buy a Fearless Blog EC spot while I still can! :)

    And money is not the point for me at all. When I was dropping lots of cards I was going a little crazy.

    Here's hoping the comment goes through (sorry I've been such an infrequent commenter, but the word verification does me in on some blogs). OK, it didn't go through (even without word verification!), so now I will cut and paste, go to firefox and try again.

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  16. DonnaApril 12, 2009 at 5:44 AM

    I agree. I am rejecting all paid ads. You can cancel the ones in line. We need a list of those of us not accepting the paid ads.

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  17. lizzieApril 12, 2009 at 7:11 AM

    I have stopped using Entrecard because paid ads continued to appear after I disabled them. I felt that I was being forced to run them! There also seemed to many declined ads where they had previously been accepted on blogs. What a mess!

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  18. Reflections Magazine editorApril 12, 2009 at 9:30 PM

    Jennifer
    Dropping is time consuming, I agree but I have a pretty cool system. I drop on about 150 daily blogs-blogs that drop on me everyday, post comments, place "point" ads and/or that I have followed for a about year now. I am loyal to those who I respect. Dropping may take me 30 minutes if I am not drawn to a particular post on a given day or I read and return later to post a comment. If I am commenting and/or reading I may take an hour or two. (I am not simply dropping...I am learning, participating and sharing in an experience I find valuable.) The day it is no longer valuable or enjoyable, I will stop.

    Hi Donna

    A list is a wonderful idea. I believe someone in the EC Forum started one or something like it. I added my name to the list. If not, I have a list started here already. Thanks for the visit and your feedback.

    Hi Lizzie

    I too feel it is getting a little too crazy and that is why I decided to reject paid adds and gather feedback from others. Some of my good blogger friends have left EC too and that is a shame. I remain hopeful that at some point EC will find a middle ground. I am now following "New Book Blogger" so I hope we can stay in touch. I love what you are doing in that blog,so I hope to return and spend more time there. Thanks for the visit and the feedback.

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  19. ~Zurama Arencibia Nuñez~April 13, 2009 at 2:33 AM

    An award awaits you at "Sunrise in Havana", http://zuramascuba.blogspot.com

    Congratulations!!

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  20. SkyBar FarmApril 13, 2009 at 8:52 AM

    Thank you for mentioning my blog. I too have found many enjoyable and interesting blogs,including yours, through the EC. I did not know what to think with the paid ads at first. I inadvertently approved some and then saw they were taking over my other ads. I went to my advert settings and chose the option of only approving ads relating to my field. That cleared them out. I have not chose to leave EC yet, but I may if many changes keep going down hill.

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  21. Reflections Magazine editorApril 13, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    Hi Skybar
    That's another option for me- allowing only relating to my field- but then I would have to follow the same criteria for the "point" ads and that would not work for me. I support and enjoy many of the political blogs and even other blogs not in my field, so this option might not work for me. However, I could allow only paid ads from blogs I already support and enjoy. Thanks for commenting. By the way, I enjoy your site very much...

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  22. AndreaApril 13, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    Glad I read through the comments here - I was unaware of the bug. I haven't decided what to do about EC yet, so I'm just watching and waiting.

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  23. NardeeismsApril 13, 2009 at 10:33 AM

    Mme. Fearless...As you well know, I also have problems with accepting paid ads. Not that anything is wrong with them...it just happens not to be my particular style. You and I have been reading each other's blogs for well over a year now, and I absolutely must say that, for me your selfless dispensation of wisdom, joy and concern for fellowman; as well the fact that you do it "for free" has been one of the main draws, as well as one of the reasons I keep coming back. I joined Entrecard quite a while back, when I was still in the experimentation stage of blogging. To tell you the truth; I don't really pay attention to it anymore. However, because of this posting, I will give thought to checking out a few blogs that I too, would not have otherwise discovered. In any case, I will visit the links that you have provided. Glad I stopped by...~Nards~

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