Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook

Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

Posts Tagged Entrecard

Today.com Banning Entrecard Widgets

Mar 24

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Blogger, Google, blogs, web hosting, websites | 17 Comments

Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.

Some of my favorite blogs are with the Today.com network, and they make up a good percentage of my Entrecard friends and droppers. Entrecard is rather unstable these days, deciding one day to commence monumental changes to the community (like forcing bloggers to accept advertisers on the widgets), and the next, completely turning around. It’s extremely difficult to keep track of where Entrecard stands at any given moment. This instability makes it a very unpleasant experience.

The redeeming factor for Entrecard has been its bloggers. It has been a wonderful place to discover new blogs, new friends, and improve traffic. I’ve loved my particpation in the network for this.

I do still intend on keeping my membership, until the day comes where the Entrecard people decide to implement advertisers ad-hoc, or charge me for the service. That will be going too far.

Back to teh Today.com blog: I’ve been saying for a very long time now that if you haven’t considered getting your own domain and your own webhosting, there is NO time like the present. I was a Blogger blogger, but quit in 2008, after hearing rumors of Google deleting blog content. I now own most of my domains and host all my blogs with Hostgator, whose service has been SUPERB. Please know that clicking on that link and creating an account with Hostgator helps me earn money– I get $50 for the affiliate referral! It would be great if you would consider me if you decide to order a Hostgator account. And I do mean it when I say they are the best around.

As a blogger, if you have any questions about my experience, or desire to hear my reviews or tips, please feel free to email me or leave a comment here with your question. I am no “pro” tech, but I’ve assisted a large number of people with obtaining domain names, getting web hosting, transferring blogs from one host to another, and solving MySQL database problems and such. I’m happy to help others.

My sympathies to the bloggers at Today.com. But it is expected– Today.com and other free blogging platforms essentially have control over the content on their servers. They reserve the right to ban networks that they feel threaten or thwart their policy. This is why it is best, if you are a serious blogger, to part ways with the controlling companies and get your OWN blog.

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The Entrecard Toolbar

Aug 4

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in blogs, browsers, free stuff, marketing | Comments off

I don’t have Entrecard on this blog, but I do have it for my five other blogs, lol! I can only drop SO many cards, ya know? But because this is a computer blog, and because I do like Entrecard and what it has done for blogging, I like to mention it here from time to time.

The latest development is perhaps one of their best since the inception of the Entrecard idea– the toolbar. It’s new, and it needs a little work (the biggest complaint is that the user cannot sort their Inbox between blogs they have dropped on versus blogs they have not). And the toolbar is only available to Firefox users, which discounts some folks out. Like me, as I use Opera for Entrecards.

Nonetheless, I think it is a fine toolbar. I really like the way you can now instantly add a Favorite blog to your Favorites list. In the past, this was quite the arduous task. I like this aspect best of all.

Entrecard is a great idea. Changes have made it more hierarchical, however. What I mean by that is– a blogger could once climb to the very top of the popular list by dedicated dropping. This earned you more credits and you could advertise quite readily on the “famous” blogs like John Chow. Now, since the alteration of the credit system, you really need to purchase credits, because no amount of dropping is going to get you much advertising. It’s a real pity. But I get decent EC traffic and I’m grateful for it. And I have made countless friends, encountered cats, dogs, health food nuts, artists, moms, Christians, homeschoolers, and more, and have learned so much from being a part of the community. It’s been worth it, even if the EC credit inflation is slightly crippling.

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Blog Directories for Your Site

Jul 10

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Internet, blogs, marketing | Comments off

Need some help getting your blog noticed? Check out this great post. It is done by Amy, and is a pretty good list of blog directories and blogrolls that you can join for exposure.

I have had very good success with Blog Catalog. The people at that community are quite active, and the administrators have done an excellent job of moderating the blogs and making the site very user-friendly. I do get traffic from them.

By by far, the best traffic generator is Entrecard. If you haven’t joined and want to see an explosion in traffic, I recommend them. The system works best if you visit other blogs and “drop your card” on their widget. Many will reciprocate. However, if you don’t have a lot of time to visit other Entrecard blogs, then you probably won’t see a great deal of traffic. It’s a very active community. I have found some great blogs and made some wonderful friends through Entrecard. And I have found that there are blogs on everything! From peanut butter (yes, there’s a peanut butter blog!) to knitting to pool toys. Those are the extremes– most blogs are niche or mommy blogs. I’m enjoying my experience with Entrecard.

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A Review of A Hand Me Down Life Blog

May 5

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in blog reviews | 2 Comments

Thanks to Entrecards, I’m becoming very familiar with the multitudes of bloggers out there! I’ve visited A Hand Me Down Life several times dropping Entrecards, and have become familiar with it before I even considered reviewing it.

The very first thing that I notice is the dark colors of the blog. I have to wonder if this theme reflects Sue’s  blogger personality. The theme is a little drab, although it has a FANTASTIC Javascript capability with the Archive page. I wish all themes had that! But the theme is dry and uninteresting. Also, some of the sidebar content spills out into the background, and it looks sloppy.

The Twitters are at the top, then the search bar, categories, and the recent posts. Then there is some colorful content (the MyBlogLog widget, blogroll, Entrecard widget, etc). The Energy PopMeter splays out beyond the sidebar. The button and badges are unevenly spaced. I use Firefox browser, so perhaps this is a browser issue…. but the blog gives the immediate impression of a poorly-designed theme and not much effort. It looks unprofessional.

However, Sue, don’t lose heart! These things are very easily remedied. It is the CONTENT of a blog that really matters. The posts are thoughtful, and some are downright fun. I LOVED seeing the rubber claws for the cats, lol! (Wouldn’t the cats eat them off?!) and I loved the Nippy Deviled Eggs recipe, mmm. Plus, a week ago I’d read the post I’ve Always Wanted to Start My Own Militia, and thought it was a wonderfully creative way to write that opp. So there’s a ton of creativity just bursting to come out, but unless a reader is very persistent, it’s hard to get past that boring theme and delve deeper. The theme functions well; I suppose Sue could even keep the basic theme and tweak it. A lot. If she knows coding. A new header, a wider sidebar or small widgets, a different background, better title fonts… it can be done, if ya know how and have the time. But then again, there are loads of themes out there that would require less work…

Another few things– there’s no little button for an RSS Feed. That’s a very important feature on a blog now. And it needs more personality, like Flickr photos, or ??? or something. This is a personal blog, so it needs more things that make it personal. Consider adding some content that will let the reader know more about you and your likes and dislikes. I’d sure like to know more!

I look forward to seeing this blog develop. It’s still relatively young, so there’s a lot of growing space. And I’ll be back tomorrow, to drop my Entrecard and read the latest post!

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