Written on July 27th, 2008 by Graham
James Asks:
What else might we be able to use Entrecard credits on in the future?
Answer
In short: everything. First we’re going to roll out a full suite of virtual goods. I can’t say too much exactly about what type of virtual goods we’ll see, but they will be fun, useful, entertaining, and cool. Second, once we fix the shop system and better protect buyers, we’re going to allow almost everyone to be a seller instantly, and sell all sorts of blogging related products and services. When the final stage of the Entrecard economy is complete, you’ll be able to use Credits with major webhosts and web retailers. In order for this to happen, the economy needs to be stable to the point where credits can be liquidated quickly and consistently for a fair value. So we have a bit of work cut out for ourselves, with more than a few tricks up our sleeves.
Kikamz Asks:
How long have you been blogging? And why “ENTRECARD”? This word has become like an icon for thousands of bloggers out there. It might even become officially a word!
Answer
I’ve been blogging for three years, and I’ve been publishing all my life. I started underground newspapers both in Highschool and in College. I used to treat blogs as a soapbox to stand up and voice my frustration about anything and everything, from politics to corporations to girlfriends and life. Then, somewhere around a year ago, I realized that blogs were the future of the internet, and the future of media itself. I began taking them a lot more seriously.
As for why “Entrecard”, it starts with the root “Entre” which means, literally “to undertake”. An Entrepreneur is literally “one who undertakes” and so in the literal sense of the word, every blogger in an Entrepreneur. You’re an Entrecard member because you’ve decided to undertake blogging.
The “card” comes into play because I originally envisioned Entrecard as the “blogger’s business card” that you can leave people just like you would leave a real business card. It sort of evolved away from that business card concept, but I still love the name.
Sam Freedom Asks:
What is the next thing you need to happen in order to propel you to that next level of your Entrecard vision… so much so that it kind of eats away at you, or burns deep within you, making you think of it at various times throughout the day until it comes to fruition?
Answer
Basically, the next step is to raise funding. We’re a whole lot closer than anyone probably realizes, and it just comes down to hammering out a fair valuation and hitching up with a VC firm that I trust, hold faith in, and above all feel will bring the maximum value to the company. With the next round of funding, we will hire three additional full time developers that can execute my vision within a much more rapid time frame. With the funding we will also be plugging in enough servers to make response times lightning fast. So getting the capital we need to fuel our growth, and then executing all the stuff we’ve cooked up.
Alfred Asks:
What is your take on Lee Doyle’s U drop I follow movement? I recently investigated them and found only 20% of them returning my drop within a 48 hr period. Isnt this bad for the credibility of Entrecard and EC bloggers?
Answer
The U drop I Follow is an ideal, and embodies a fair bit of what Entrecard stands for. We’re all about helping each other out, and part of that is that if you take the time to visit me, I’ll take the time to visit you. Unfortunately, there are more than a few people who do not uphold this sacred vow. Perhaps at some point in the future, we will officially take over the U Drop I Follow status, and use an algorithm to determine who actually does drop back, and activate a badge on the profile or under the widget for people who opt it.
For now, U Drop I Follow does not reflect on Entrecard, because we technically have no affiliation with it and do not sponsor, endorse, or support it in any way. It is something the community has given life to, and while we would never say “you can’t do this” -especially to something that embodies what we think EC is all about, we can’t fully get behind it until we can fix it.
Alexys Asks:
The Digg campaign was obviously very successful, do you have any plans for another campaign for social networking?
Answer
Yes, I am planning similar campaigns for Mixx, Del.icio.us, Stumble, Yahoo Buzz, and more. The Entrecard community will eventually find the social media outlet that works best for itself as a whole, and the traffic everyone will reap in return will be tremendous.
Magnus Asks:
I get maybe 10 visitors a day from entrecard. What is the cheapest fastest way to get 100 visitors a day from entrecard without running campaigns.
Answer
First, you need to be active. Commenting on the blog and having a presence in the forums will do wonders for your traffic alone, not to mention it will build up your credits. Second, you need to campaign. Dropping some cards in your niche is a must, and using those credits to advertise wisely, on inexpensive blogs in your niche, will go a long way. But you have to dig for them.
Entrecard is not an automatic system, and to get something out, you need to put something in. That being said, niche dropping, a presence in the forum, and buying ads is a sure fire way to go. Remember, you don’t have to buy expensive ads. There are some real bargains out there. Hunt them down.
Ohio Real Estate Asks:
Is SezWho your big financial backer as you mentioned before or just a partnership for both to benefit from?
Answer
No, absolutely no financial transactions took place between Entrecard and SezWho. We did it because we wanted to increase the quality of our traffic, and the % of droppers who comment, and they ran with it because it made a lot of sense for them.
Chetan Asks:
How was this Entrecard system made?
Answer
This question is kind of vague, and we can’t really go into details. It was my idea, and Phirate built it. From the day I sent Phirate an email with the idea asking him if he could build it, it took exactly 30 days to launch.
Ben Barden Asks:
If you had to place an ad on three blogs currently using Entrecard, which ones would you choose and why? Ad price doesn’t matter, and let’s assume you’re placing an ad for the Entrecard Blog.
Answer
I would look for blogs in my niche. Then I would analyze their compete graph, google trends graph, alexa graph, and make my decision based on the highest rankings within my niche. Or maybe I would install the toolbars for the above mentioned services, so the graphs are displayed automatically when I visit a site.
Jeff Miller Asks:
Is it possible to smooth out the log ins for those of us who have multiple blogs on the same account?
When I link into EC from an email ad alert, if the ad isn’t for the same blog I was switched into the last time I was on the site, it gives me a nasty note and requires me to log in again.
Answer
Yes, we’ll get on it. Chances are we were unaware of the problem. Could you submit a feedback via your support form, and detail what broswer you’re using and exactly what’s happening in as much detail as possible?
Jane Asks:
Do you think the placement of the EC Widget makes a difference ?
Answer
Yes, I think the placement makes a big difference. By placing the widget at the very top of your blog, more people will advertise on your site, they’ll be willing to pay more, they’ll drop more often, and they will feel goodwill towards you for making their life a little easier. Placing the widget at the top is by far the best strategy for so many reasons…
Guardian Angel Asks:
Which do you prefer, many subscribers or many commentators?
Answer
Subscribers aren’t as great as everyone makes them out to be. If you have a lot of subscribers, you have a lot of people reading your blog via email or a reader, but not actually visiting your site. This decreases your pageviews, and ultimately your ability to sell advertising. However, a large number of subscribers is great if you are trying to sell your blog, as well as for providing social proof that your blog is popular. In the end, I would rather have a thousand commenters than a thousand subscribers, any day of the week. Who needs a subscriber if everyone is going to actually visit, give you some pageviews, and leave some comments? Only the most popular blogs in the world get a thousand comments, and to this day I’ve only ever see it happen on the Huffington Post. I have seen infinitely more blogs with a thousand subscribers.
Poet Blogger Asks:
Do you ever wear a tie?
Answer
Yes, when I’m meeting with Venture Capitalists.
Poet Blogger also Asks:
What happens to all the EC credits from people dropping on the EC blog/you dropping on peoples blogs? Do you just delete them or use them as payouts so it won’t hurt the economy, etc?
Answer
Those credits go to a number of places. They might go to help pay out some contests, and I also buy some ads from time to time. Whenever someone writes a note in the forum, or a post on their blog, that they want more people to advertise on them, I always buy an ad 
Tom Asks:
What was the first big purchase you made (or will make if you haven’t) since EC took off?
Answer
A rack of servers.
Marie Asks
1) What is your biggest challenge in starting and managing Entrecard?
2) What is your main strategy for the next 5 years to make Entrecard more relevant in the blogosphere?
Answer
The biggest challenge… hmm this is a really tough one. The single biggest challenge has been to make sure there is always enough money to keep it running and evolving. People take for granted that just because it’s popular, there’s money to fuel the growth. But if you stop and think, we’re a completely free service. Entrecard is by and large a “pre-revenue” company, meaning we’re not making millions yet, and just recently started making enough to pay our servers. That’s ok, because we haven’t rolled out any real monetization strategies yet. But making sure we always have enough capital to keep the lights on has been the biggest challenge. Investors flip flop, bail out at the last minute, give you less than you expect, ask for so much that it’s a dealbreaker… so many roadbumps, and it’s not like I had a personal fortune to run the company off of. My own investment of my entire life savings only took the company to launch and then out a couple months.
Strategy in the next five years… that is an easy one. Entrecard credits will be embedded deeper and deeper into the blogosphere via partnerships and product releases. More commerce will revolve around it. APIs will open up to allow other entrepreneurs to build businesses on top of the credit. And we will always strive to move forward as a resource, a genuine source of great information and tools for anyone trying to build a bigger better blog.
Ederic Asks:
1. When you hear the word “Philippines,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
2. Will non-English blogs eventually be allowed in Entrecard?
Answer
When I hear the word Philippines, the first thing that comes to mind is certain intelligence I have received that there is something of an Entrecard raquet there, and that other people living in the Philipines are scared to sell Entrecard credits on their blog or on eBay out of fear of retaliation by the EC kingpins. That is one of the reasons we are moving to launch a completely automated and anonymous credit exchange through the Entrecard site. The second thing I think of is the fellow from the Philippines who wanted to go on a date with a young lady, and she wouldn’t go on a date with him unless he transferred 10,000 EC to her account. It has been said that if I were to move to the Philippines, I could finance a life of absolute luxury with my Entrecard Credits.
Non English blogs will absolutely be allowed into Entrecard. As soon as we have more developers working on the project, we’re going to open separate subdomains for other languages, so that you will never see a blog that is not in your language. But yes, we’re going to open to all major languages, ranked in priority by how many blogs exist in that language currently.
Stan Hayes Asks:
Why don’t you post my contest results?
Answer
Because you didn’t send me a message or email letting me know they were submitted.
Guttu Asks
If Google wants to buy Entrecard will you sell it?? Do you have the guts to run it on your own??
The reason is obvious. Some similar trend website come and a giant buys them. Like flickr, youtube. Let’s see if you answer this question and how you’ll answer this.
Answer
Will not sell. My vision for Entrecard is so massive that it will take perhaps my entire professional life to achieve what I have set out to achieve with Entrecard. I love working in the blogosphere, I love being an important element in the blogosphere, I love helping people build better blogs, I love running my own company, I love knowing that blogging is going to be 100x bigger than it is now by the time I’m 35, I love the fact that we’re building a virtual economy on top of a virtual currency -something no one else has ever done successfully, and basically, there is so much that I love about this, that there is no way I would trade it all in for a big pile of cash. What would I do then? Just be some rich guy who sits around thinking about all the good times he had, and how he used to be where the action is? Sorry, I want to be where the action is, and in the blogosphere the action hasn’t even BEGUN to heat up. I’m staying put.
However, there may be some day, far down the road, where I feel differently. Perhaps in 15 years if I get married and have a child and want to be a full time family guy, that is perhaps the only thing I can forsee taking me out of this business.
Now, this isn’t to say that I’ll never take the company public. In fact, I intend to do this eventually to raise the capital we’ll need to expand it exponentially. My goal is to take Entrecard public in three years.
EntreBlast Asks
How does a normal work day go for you?
How do you spend your free time?
Answer
A normal work day goes something like this: I wake up, make myself some breakfast, and bike down to the gym where I work out for about an hour, and bike back. I come home and eat breakfast. Eggs, oatmeal, coffee, whatever. Then I begin. I just tear into whatever is on the agenda for the day. It usually involves a lot of emailing, a lot of blogging, a couple phone calls, and a fair bit of research. I go through the customer service to see if there are any issues demanding my attention, go through the forums, make sure everything is going smooth, handle any problems. Then I brainstorm for a bit. At some point in the day I make sure to check in on both Digg and TechCrunch. Around lunch time I’ll crack open a beer and throw some steak or chicken on the grill. My girlfriend gets home around 5, we’ll go walk by the beach, make a pizza, watch a movie, and then pretty much go to bed. Then it starts all over.
Paul asks:
Are you looking for more partnerships for Entrecard in the near future?
Can you believe it’s not butter?
Answer
Actually, we’re announcing one more partnership in the near future. I’m not in any rush to make a partnership, but when it makes sense and furthers our mission, I pursue it aggressively.
“I can tell the different between butter and I can’t believe it’s not butter”
“No you can’t Mr. Simpson, no one can!”
Contamination asks
If you had an hour to kill, would you play Tetris, Drop EntreCards or Channel Surf?
Answer
Those are my only three options!!??
Louie asks:
What is Entrecard’s bounce rate?
Answer
I could tell you but you’d have to sign an NDA
fragileheart asks:
Do you take time to have a life outside of making the blogging world a better place? Do you take time for yourself? If yes, what do you do that centers you? If no, do you think it would be a good idea to start so you don’t burn out and what would you like to do so that you’re centered?
Answer
Maintaining a multi-faceted life is important for mental health. If blogging and Entrecard was all I did, I would burn out within a year (lesson to all your Entrepreneurs!) I try my hardest to be involved in a range of activities. I love going to the gym, going for long bike rides, hiking/backpacking/camping on the weekends, surfing, and cooking. I also love reading, especially by the pool with a glass of good Pinot Noir. Reading is exceptionally important because it exposes your mind to new thoughts, ideas, scenarios, and that is important for mental and personal development.
Matt Urdan asks
What is the status on a new server to speed up EntreCard’s response time?
Answer
As soon as we close our next round of funding, we are going to migrate immediately to a full rack of servers and Entrecard will be lightning fast for the reset of its days.
Jena Isle asks:
When you select blogs (for contests, for comment rush, blog to feature) , do you read the “about me” page first or the contents first? Do you have any discrimination regarding bloggers who have English as their second language? ( discriminate them for not writing very well and exclude their blogs in the selection process for winners, comment rush, etc)?
Answer
I take it all in. Sometimes it takes me hours, literally hours, to find just the right blog for the comment rush. Sometimes they just come along. I check out the about me, I check out the content, I read a few posts, I run it through copyscape to make sure its original, and I never discriminate based on whether English is the first or second language. However, if the blog is non-english, I promptly remove it from Entrecard.
Majik asks:
How many different blogs on average do you comment on in one day?
Answer
Check my SezWho profile! They’re all right there. (but if you must know right now, I would say between 4 and 10 -SezWho doesn’t pick up all of them)
fragileheart asks
Will we be able to redeem ECs for plane tickets one day?
Answer
No, but you will be able to redeem them for a trip around the world in a hot air balloon.
Otilius asks
Before EntreCard, what experience did you have with blogs? did you blog? how “well” did the blog(s) do?
Answer
Before Entrecard, I never attempted to make a blog huge. I had a few blogs where I blogged about random things to share my mind with the world or to get things off my chest. As the story goes, I became a player in the blogosphere when I used popular blogs to market virtual products to make over $100,000 in two months. That was the point when I realized blogs were big business, and wanted to be as deeply involved in blogging as possible. I immediately jumped into the Entrecard project, and in doing so created a currency, an economy, a social network, and an ad network for the blogosphere.
Written on July 26th, 2008 by Graham
The year is 2008 and in two blinks of an eye (a lifetime on the internet), TechCrunch has risen to the absolute pinnacle of internet startup culture, which involves a dizzying mix of entrepreneurs with crazy ideas, millionaire (and billionaire) investors looking for the next big thing, programmers, PR agencies (who may or may not be able to get you to the front page of Digg, or the New York Times -whichever is better), and everything in between.
Make no mistake, there is a profound culture percolating here. It is the Internet Startup Culture, and no where can you get a more raw taste of what it is than at the TechCrunch Summer Party.
I will never forget TechCrunch 2008.
It’s the year Jason Calacanis showed up in his Tesla, the first all-electric US-manufactured automobile. This car will go zero to 60 in less than 4 seconds, will go 250 miles on a single charge, and it will single handedly put an end to the biggest crisis facing humanity: global warming. Jason got his in orange.
It’s the year Julia Allison, the closest thing the blogosphere has to a Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, made the cover of Wired and was signing and posing for photos.
It’s the year I had a drink with the founder of MyBlogLog, Eric Marcoullier, and talked with him about his new groundbreaking work on data-portability, a concept that will affect all of our lives in the very near future. I was sure to tell him about how Entrecard was partially inspired by the company he sold to Yahoo for 10 million.
Of course, 2008 was also the year you could find Michael Arrington playing on his iPhone when he should have been doing more important things.
Of course, Gatsby made plenty of time for all us aspiring web moguls.
2008 was also the year my company, Entrecard, partnered up with SezWho, in a revolutionary pact to give people advertising dollars for their blog comments, to improve blogging for everyone. Here’s me with Ted and Jitendra, the two founders of SezWho who were instrumental in making my vision a reality.
And of course, the whole place was effing packed, because when Gatsby throws a party, anyone and everyone shows up, along with every press outfit and media bit in the country.
I’ve now seen more dot-coms scribbled onto nametags than I ever thought I would see in my life. I’ve seen a raw, erupting culture first hand, and have the education and knowledge of history to put it in a proper context. In many ways, internet startup culture is a renaissance, a movement, and it won’t be until people are reading history textbooks in the year 2100 that they realize exactly what was going on in the year 2008. Arrington’s name will go down in history, hand in hand with this cultural movement, like Da Vinci with the Renaissance of the middle ages. That’s not me sucking up. That’s just the way it is.
And I was there to see it.
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