What is Entrecard to You Anyway?!?

Ok here’s when Evil Woobie gets fed up with the “junk traffic from Entrecard” posts I read about in other threads. First off, a disclaimer: of course, i respect your opinions. And everyone’s invited to share, just because this is what blogging is all about right?

This post by jessie (hello link love! hehe) and the ensuing comments got me riled up. It seems that people have equated Entrecard with card dropping and statistics of drops and credits, and all but missed the entire point of increasing traffic in a blog. And I quote:

• “In Entrecard, the concept of economic power rules the game. He who has more credits (wealth) can buy more ads. He who has less, has to work his butt off to get to the top of the ladder. This is done by actually clicking and visiting the websites of previously registered users. In other words, you don?t get extra credits and ads on your own site will not increase in value if you don?t work like a click robot (if you really want to get to the top the quick way).”
• “other bloggers seem to be ?forced? to click on your site, bringing you extra traffic for a simple economic reason – to earn extra credits. This goes to show that you will be visited not because of your blog?s content but because of extra credits they will earn from visiting your blog and dropping their business cards onto your ad box.”
• One comment said “but still the main reason on why some people join entrecard is for the traffic and not the friendship, i guess”
• yet another one said “it?s up to the blogger to prioritize, i.e., to increase his traffic or improve his blog contents, my take on things is simple. Improve traffic in whatever means you can but DO NOT forget to improve quality of contents. Well, that?s just me? Some may not feel the same way but I could only care less. Content will always be on top of my list.”

And here’s the comment I left there (and why you’re here to flame me)
1. You?re forgetting one single most important thing in traffic: Recommendation by eyeballs.

You get to see other blogs within your niche. Honestly, I got linked to by PR5-10 blogs, and even got tagged with a meme from a blog that I never knew existed. If I have to take 100 ?just-drop? traffic before I get linked by a PR-5 up blog, it?s ok. Traffic is traffic, and traffic here doesn?t mean cars. These are people who can read. So make them.

2.Karma.

Give some to receive some. How hard is it to drop a card, scan the blog and say ?hey, she talks about the same things I talk about? and leave a comment? Your comment is saved, she follows you to your blog and if she likes what she sees, she comments there too. If you?re polite to her and your blog is in a language she understands, she might even link you. Again, if I have to wade through thousands of ?junk traffic? to gain one real blogging friend who shares my interest, I?m ok with it.

3. ?To choose to increase traffic OR improve blog contents? doesn?t even make sense at all.

If you get traffic, it means people are coming in. If people are coming in, you start asking yourself if they like what they see. Is your header presentable, is your theme loading easily, are your ads a turn-off? etc?. And most of all, since you know that at least one or 2 of these hundreds who come by scan your titles, will you write about something that?s stupid? Of course not, because you’ll be thinking of the demographics of your new readers (what turns them off and what doesn’t).

If you have hoards of visitors at home, won’t you at least clean your house to make it presentable? Won’t you at least take a bath so your guests won’t think you stink? This issue of content vs. traffic isn?t even worth the argument.

Lastly….

Unless you password protect your posts and spend your day reading them while telling yourself “What a cool post I just made!”, your posts will be viewed by others, regardless if they’re just passing by to drop their cards or they clicked your link at Entrecard because you belong to the same category (you DID notice that the blogs are separated by categories there, didn’t you?). And, unless people are blindfolded or with eyes shut when they “just drop” their cards, they will still see your blog title, your photos, your ads and your blog’s design!

If you understand the concept of a central market, or even a bazaar (tiangge), you will get what Entrecard is all about. Those who have more can afford the better locations in the market, those who have less are at the back. Those who want to get to the main areas where the most people are passing by must put effort into earning a lot to afford the top spots.

The main difference from a real life market is that, the “sellers” themselves go around to check out the wares of other “sellers”, and those in the front row have the option to recommend you to their customers so that those customers may also visit the other seller.

• Like “hey man, i ran out of truffles for selling, but you can visit my friend at the back, he sells good truffles too”

If you cannot make Entrecard work for you, help you improve your craft and at least gain you some loyal visitors, then you’re better off with Blog Rush. Really. It’s an opportunity to sell yourself, so do it. As for the question of how long Entrecard will last? Probably as long as there are some people who get what it’s all about.

Nuff said. (until the next comment comes, at least)