Get the most out of EC

Moved

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Hello all,

I have officially moved everything over to my new domain and designed/set it all up.

You can find this blog and my 2 new others at: http://andys-blogs.com

My new page.

Entrecard: The storm has settled

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Finally the storm has settled. Thank goodness. Going from a complete steady straight line of community response to immediately getting a 300-500% increase in feedback, comments, posts, etc. It's very overwhelming to deal with and give professional yet personal, soothing yet honest response to a complete disregard of respect.

The flare ups have been put out, the fire is smoldered and nothing but ashes left.

There are beautiful rays of sunshine shining out from EC right now.

Okay, enough with that silly talk. Yay! Happiness is around. Thanks and Blessing comments are being posted, etc. We can now breathe a sigh of relief.

During all of this madness we have gotten considerably behind. I cannot believe the huge surge of new users we received over the weekend just because of this insane madness. Totally not expected.

I noticed on my other blog (http://wowlawlblog.blogspot.com)

That I somehow obtained a pop-up installed on my blog... I have no clue as to where this came from and I remember a particular instance with a user while working the tech support tickets that I helped with removing a redirect. There seems to be a lot of this going on right now so, I decided to send said member a message and I had totally forgot that she had said she would write a post about me and EC.

It took one very distressed email from me, tedious template tweaking, bouncing of emails between Entrecard and me plus a whole lot of whining and crying to my blog buddies before I finally received the much awaited Love Letter from EC!
Click here to read more >>

I was really happy to read this and remember this situation and thought I should really share it.

Entrecard: Cleaning up entrecard contest (worth 24,500 credits)

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:48:00 +0000

The latest from entrecard:

Cleaning up Entrecard Contest!

The purpose of this contest is to get those bad blogs lingering around with Terms of Service or Blog Quality Standards violations out of entrecard. Before we get started as to how you will enter and how the winner will be chosen and how the winner(s) will be rewarded... You must dust off the old Terms of Service and Blog Quality Standards of Entrecard. Please read them before continuing if you are not previously familiar. To enter this contest you must:

Be an entrecard member.
Be familiar with the Blog Quality Standards and the Terms of Service.
Know how to report a user for a terms of service offense.

Now, lets go through this shall we. 1. http://www.entrecard.com - Register (If you not already a user) a. Get approved (If you are not already approved) 2. Click the 'Blog Quality Standards' link above. 3. First you must find a blog that has something wrong. a. In the case of auto-audio, not english, no recent content, etc. you would find their widget, and click the entrecard logo (will take you to their profile page) located on their profile page you will find thisAnd enter in the reason. This can be in the form of rule number, or your worded version of the violation. 4. Here is where it gets tricky. If you do not find a widget. Now, the best way to report a blog without a widget is to back track to their profile page. (If that is how you got there) however, if they have dropped on you and the only way to go is to follow the link to their site from your inbox, you must hover and wait for a name. (This will only work in the inbox rss feed on top of your dashboard. ) Then write down the title, and go to the campaign page, search for the blog's title, go to their profile page and report them for 'No Widget'. Please before you send any reports. The 'feedback' function will not be counted. The valid entries must be Terms of Service reports. (Theres a huge difference) So, what determines a 'Valid Entry'? A valid entry is an offense that is persecutable by either "Warning" or a "Deletion". How will you be scored? Every 'Warning' counts as 1 point and Every 'Deletion' counts as 2 points. The winners will be rewarded by the following in the order of highest points:

10,000 Entrecard Credits
5,000 Entrecard Credits
2,500 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits
1,000 Entrecard Credits

The contest will begin : Thursday, March 12th, 2009 The winners will be announced and rewarded: Thursday, March 19th, 2009. Entries for the contest are only valid 3/12/09-3/19/09. Any and all reports of which are incorrect or spam entries will not be counted. The winner will be decided by totalling each user's points as mentioned above. Sponsored by:

The moderation team

Andy T - WoW Lawl Blog

Beth T - Ramblings of an undisturbed mind

Matt - RaginRev

Shaunalynn - The art and science of parenting

The goal of this contest is to raise awareness of the reporting abilities, raise awareness of the blog quality standards, and help us help you help the community as a whole. Thank you and good luck.

Entrecard: Market Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:40:00 +0000

For going over the other features included in entrecard...

Lets start with the market. (This has replaced "Shop")

Note: The market is still in beta. There are still undeveloped areas. These areas are not limited to but, include the ability for a moderator to "Quick Fix" an accidental mistake. Like the most common mistake I have been asked to help a user with is the "Mediation" status.
Heres the outline of the guide:

Creating a listing.
Managing your sales.
Making a purchase.

1. When going to the market for the first time... You will see this screen:

Now, we begin by creating a listing. The first link on the right "Add a listing".

Title
Description
Category
Delivery Details
Price
Stock
Small Image (Requirments are: Image must be a JPEG/JPG or PNG file 64 by 64 pixels in size)
Profile Image (Requirements are: Image must be a JPEG/JPG or PNG file 300 by 200 pixels in size)

Thats the hard part. Now, you wait for the item to sell.

Unfortunately along with the other items that are undeveloped you currently have no way of setting it up so you receive emails when items are sold, etc. So, you will have to check every so often.
Note: The ability to remove a listing is limited to Moderators. A user must send in a ticket either via http://help.entrecard.com or via the User's Dashboard feedback form.

2. Managing your sales. There are currently 4 statuses a sale can be in.

"New" - In this status the market shows that someone wants to buy your item. And you can either choose to Accept their purchase request or decline it.
After you have clicked accept, its status will change to "In progress". This is where you will deliver the item/service/publish advertisment, etc.
After you have delivered, you are presented with 3 options.
When you click delivered, The status is now "Delivered". This is another time to wait for the buyer to verify that the service has been delivered.
Once both the seller and the buyer have verified it has been delivered the status will once again change to "Completed"

3. Making a purchase is rather easy.

Browse the categories, staff favorites, top sellers, most popular items and find what you would like to purchase. Click purchase and fill out the "Delivery Details" and your good to go. Much like the selling aspect, you will have to check back manually to see if they have marked it as "Delivered".

Note: The Entrecard Market uses an "Escrow" system. The way this works is, when a buyer clicks the "Purchase" button. The credits are automatically debited from the buyer's credit balance and held until the transaction has reached the "Completed" status where the credits are then applied a 12.5% tax and transferred to the seller's credit balance.

Entrecard: Getting Started

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Now, that you have all of the equiptment to be successful on entrecard next up is some tips and tricks on getting the popularity you want.

First off, what is your category?

My category was gaming. This is a broad category and my blog was about mmorpgs. (massive multiplayer online role playing games) So, I went through and found the mmorpg blogs. Or more specifically the World of Warcraft blogs and added them to my favorites. Compiling a small list of sites that you plan to drop your card on daily is a useful tool so continue receiving drops. This is debateable as some opinions may say "Dont advertise on like sites. What if they like the other more?" I didn't even let this cross my mind. Its a useless reason no to do something in my opinion. However take it case by case. If you don't receive any drops back from a couple... Just remove them from your favorites.

Also, a great technique is to drop regularly on the top 10-30 of your category. Save up for adverts and target the blogs to advertise on accordingly.

This is when the toolbar comes in extremely helpful. Because you can switch between what your dropping on, easily add and remove favorites and easily purchase adverts.

Finally, always drop back. I use my "Drops Inbox" tab on the dashboard as my drop list to start off with. I drop on everyone from the last couple of days. Here are a few neat features provided on this page.

All of the images to the right of the date are from that date. Until you get to the next date.
This drop down box is very handy. It allows you to change which cards are showing. You have 3 choices.

- Cards you've dropped on: This is pretty self explanatory. It shows only the cards you have dropped on.
- Cards you haven't dropped on: This is my most recommended setting for dropping back. You can easily weed out the blogs you've already gone to and dropped on.

Okay, lets move on to more features of entrecard.

Entrecard: The Basics Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:37:00 +0000

You now have the necessary tools to begin. I will only go into a short explanation of the toolbar but, first what web browser are you using? In my experience the best browser to gain the most out of entrecard would have to be Firefox.

I have a couple of reasons and must-haves for using firefox.

It processes tabs very well. And when dropping on 300 blogs per day(the daily limit) it is an indespensable asset. (Also check out linky.)
The entrecard toolbar.

The toolbar is available at the link below. Please note the following::
The toolbar only works with Firefox 3. This will not work with other web browsers.
You must have an Entrecard account, the toolbar provides no functionality otherwise.
The toolbar should be compatible with Firefox on all operating systems, Windows, Mac and Linux
Under NO circumstances should you download the toolbar from any other source than Entrecard itself. Using modifications by third parties may result in the theft of your account information.
The Entrecard toolbar does not keep track of any browsing habits or information other than that directly relevant to your Entrecard operations. If there is no widget on a page, the toolbar will pay no attention to it.

Okay, now that the toolbar is out of the way.

What is an entrecard credit?
How do you earn them?
What does "U DROP I DROP BACK" mean?

1. The Entrecard Credit(ec) is a virtual currency generated by "dropping" your card on other widgets.When you see this on a widget other than your own and you click the word "Drop".

2. How to earn them.

When you drop a card, 2 things happen simultaneously. 1. You receive 1 ec. (For dropping a card) 2. The person you dropped on receives 1 ec. (For you dropping on them)

These are not debited from you or the user. This virtual currency is generated by the action and applied to your account. You are limited to dropping 300 cards per day and you are limited to dropping one card per widget. You may not drop on yourself.

3. This common phrase is referring to the act of "Dropping Back." When someone drops their card on your widget, they appear in your inbox. Therefor your inbox is where you can view who has dropped onto your widget. This is the easiest way to drop a card back on someone who has not dropped on you as, their image links to their Entrecard Profile page. Which inturn has a link to their blog which you can visit and drop your card.

Entrecard: The Basics Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Okay, now that you are approved theres a few things you need to do before you get started.

Decide on a profile image
Add the entrecard widget to your page
Join the forums

1. This can be easy but, it could be very difficult to decide on.

The requirements are:

It must be a JPEG/JPG or PNG image file.
It must be exactly 125x125 pixels.

These requirements are only necessary for those choosing to upload their own personalized profile image. This is TRULY recommended. Even though the entrecard site generated ones may be your style you want to stand out and you want your 125x125 block to catch someones eye when placed in a large group. This is key advertising anywhere, but especially entrecard.

I recommend fireworks, photoshop, or even paint to use as image editing and creation.

Keep in mind this is your first branding tool. They will get to know you and your blog first through this small little square.

2. Adding the entrecard widget to your blog.

I would recommend doing this before you've put deep thought into your profile image. This is your link between you and the entrecard community. We will get into details on how you will be using it in the next post. However, you need to know how to place it.

If on your dashboard you have a red box that states your widget isn't there... Click the "Get Code" button. Copy, and paste the code for the selected widget on your blog. Go back to your dashboard and click "Check Now". If after 10-30 minutes it hasn't disappeared. Submit a ticket via the Feedback form close to the bottom of your dashboard page.
If on your dashboard you do not see a red box, In most cases this means the system has recognized a widget already on your blog. If this is the case, then remove the widget from your site and click the 2nd link to the right in the navigation bar at the top, Click get code. And Install accordingly.
When choosing where to place your widget on your blog. Here are some helpful hints:

If a user has to scroll down to find the widget there is a chance they will just leave and not drop a card or, they will drop and leave without viewing any other content.
The same goes for placing the widget amongst a ton of other 125x125 ads.
The same goes for "hiding the widget" down at the bottom of the page, or otherwise hiding it.
The higher priority you show by placing it higher on your page the higher chance prospective advertisers will want to advertise also.

3. The forums

Personally I love forums. Its a nice calm relaxing way to discuss topics, ask for help, help people, etc. The forum log-in is different from your entrecard log-in.

Go to: http://forums.entrecard.com
Register Accordingly
You do not have to use your blog name as a user name.
I'd recommend first adding your blog's title with link to your signature
And also to your "homepage url" under the User CP -> Edit Details form.
Now, Create a thread introducing yourself here: Introductions
If you need help, feel free to start a thread in the Community Support. Otherwise place a support ticket within http://help.entrecard.com (Yet another registration)

Okay, lets move onto The Basics Part III.

Entrecard: The Basics Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Andy / Jawsome) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:11:00 +0000

In this post I will cover the basics.

Sign Up
Blog Quality Standards
Approval

1. Sign up. To sign up go to http://entrecard.com/signup

Heres some helpful links in deciding if entrecard is for you:

The Tour
The Testimonials

2. Terms of Service and Blog Quality Standards (TOS & BQS)

This is what the administration team will go by when deciding to approve or reject a new user's blog. I will go in and elaborate from a Moderators stand point on how we judge these items.

A note before we continue: We reserve the right to delete any account at any time for any reason. We will delete accounts that represent websites not in English, websites that are generally offensive or pornographic, websites that can be classified as spam, and any website that de-values our network in any way. *(Clearly stated in the Terms and Conditions)*

http://entrecard.com/docs/doku.php?id=blog_quality_standards

Main Rules

No nudity: Entrecard, and its members blogs, are generally family friendly. Blogs with images containing nudity are not permitted. This includes nudity in advertisements. This is rather self explanatory.

English only: Until we develop the infrastructure necessary to facilitate non-English language blogs, English is the only language allowed in Entrecard. This includes any language other than english.

Minimum 5 posts: Blogs with no posts, or less than 5 quality posts written within the last 3 months, will be removed. We do not accept an image with a link as a "Quality Post" there must be quality content to go along with those two.

Content must be original: Reproduced content does not provide the specific qualities we are looking for in the Entrecard network. This includes both sites that use legitimate reprintable content such as “free articles”, abstracts and public domain content as well as illegitimate, illegal content such as stolen content or scraped feeds. Duplicate content, such as posts that appear on two or more blogs belonging to the same person is also unacceptable. This is a well followed rule. We do check any blog that is slightly suspicious of copy-ing activity.

No full-screen ads or popups: Blogs that include full-screen ads or popups will be removed. This includes any popup window that appears when the site has finished loading or when clicking to view an article. It is OK for links to display a popup window if the user clicks a link, e.g. FeedBurner email subscription, but popup ads or forceful messages asking people to subscribe without clicking anything are intrusive and therefore not allowed.

No illegal file downloads: Blogs that link to illegally shared files, such as music, movies or software, will be removed. By “illegal” we mean content that you do not have the right to distribute. Linking to free, legal music and software is permitted. Rapidshare links are definitely included. Illegal files of any sort.

Entrecard widget must be present: Including the widget on your site is a requirement if you wish to participate in Entrecard. This is a must. I recommend putting your entrecard up as soon as possible after receiving an "Approved" email. However, If you currently have a blog and start another and decide to put your widget on both... This is not allowed. If you apply for approval with a widget on the site at hand already it will be rejected immediately.

No redirects: Sites that use a redirect (such as tinyurl links) as the URL on their account will be deleted. This includes if after fully loading your site changes to an Ad or otherwise directs away from the URL listed in your Entrecard Profile.

No duplicate accounts: If you have more than one account for the same blog, the duplicate account will be deleted.

URLs must be valid: Sites with URLs that do not work or are wrongly typed will be deleted. "Page no longer exists" is applicable here also.

No autoplaying audio: This includes music that plays automatically when you visit the page, or short audio ads that come up unannounced. This applies to ANY AUDIO -OR- VIDEO(With sound) that automatically begins without the visitor's consent.

Content must be recent: Sites that have not been updated in 3 months will be removed. A lot of blogs are deleted for this. Please report your blog to the support system to have it deleted if you decide to stop blogging.

Additional Rules

Sites that violate the above guidelines are fairly easy to spot. There are some additional requirements, many of which are subjective.

A1. Sites that are not blogs, e.g. indexes, directories, forums, or stores. Note: In some cases a site may be allowed if it is not a blog. The site must have a blog attached to it that meets the rest of our Blog Quality Standards, and the Entrecard account must link to the blog rather than the site itself.

A2. Sites where more than 50% of the content consists of paid posts, posts with links to online stores, or affiliate links. This quota is a total, so if you write less than 50% of each type of paid content but the overall paid content quota exceeds 50%, that is not permitted. Reviews are OK, but not if every post contains an affiliate link.

That is basically it for the rules.

3. Submitting your blog for approval.

This process can be timely. Entrecard was originally on an automated approval system and has recently transitioned into a human manual approval process. It is first come first serve. As a moderator we follow the unwritten (but understood) policy of taking care of the current users before approving new users.

After approval, you are ready to move on to The Basics Part II.