Pimp your Blog II: Entrecard, Blogcatalog, and MyBlogLog

Sorry kids, there’s no picture in today’s post. I’ve just been playing with three blog pimping services Entrecard, Blogcatalog, and MyBloglog.

Entrecard is a widgetified version of the old Link Exchange that they used to have in the 90’s. You provide a graphic and they use it to build you this widget which you paste into your site. Then people visit your site and they “drop their card” on your widget. You get credits for this. You can “drop your card” on other people’s widgets too. And you can “sell” the space on your widget to somebody else and get credits that way. Blogcatalog is a social network that’s focused on blogging. They have forums, friends, shoutboxes, etc. Oh yes and LOTS AND LOTS of widgets. MyBloglog and blogcatalog are very similar. They also allow you to list your id’s on other well known social networks such as Digg,

Entrecard and blogcatalog generate a lot of thrashing–people wanting to pimp their “friends” list or buy “advertising” on your blog. You could spend all day keeping up with this. You could spend so much time pimping your blog that you don’t have time to write in it. So you take a step back and get back to writing in your blog. Which, of course, is distracting you from your day job in the first place.

Can anyone say “saturation?” The majority of the blogs out there are not that great, even with brilliant professional layouts, they still need to have to have something worthwhile to say, and have the skill to say it succinctly. I don’t trust the great unwashed to pick the best writing at all, especially on the web–Epinions, (started in 1999) with it’s crazy web of trust and hat and stamping system saw to it that gushy repetitive prose was ranked highly, while clear, terse and to-the-point writing was penalized.

I don’t devote a lot of effort to the communities. I am not self-absorbed enough to really believe there are that many people out of the 6 BILLION on the planet who give a rat’s about what I think or what I do.   From what I can tell, the majority of visitors are either looking for specific information, trying to pick somebody up,  or seeking a very degenerate “lowest common denonimator” form of entertainment.

I hate to be a spoilsport but only a very very few people are gonna get rich off their blogs. It’s the same old hope springs eternal. Before blogs, every little three-chord wonder on the guitar had hopes of being the next Van Halen. Now you don’t even have to practice a guitar or deal with a band — just spew forth and they will come. Hear that faint popping noise? That’s the sound of bursting bubbles. REALITY CHECK: There just isn’t enough money floating around for everyone who posts up a crude picture and tells their friends about it to automatically end up with princely incomes. Sorry, but there JUST ISN’T. Think about it.

1 comment to Pimp your Blog II: Entrecard, Blogcatalog, and MyBlogLog

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