In Search of Entrecard Mates and Matches
No, this isn’t a post about an Entrecard dating service. The recent Firestorm nonsense has driven home how differently I am wired than the raucous crowd that has moved its clubhouse temporarily to the batcave. Amidst tears, depression, wringing of hands, and I-just-can’t-let-this-go outbursts, the big kitty in the Firestorm sandbox was silenced and then promptly chose to go spray his essence somewhere else. This of course outraged at least a couple of dozen of his closest Entrecard buddies, some of whom swore off participating again in the forums, but decided to still keep their accounts active. What a sign of support! Help me Rhonda. Naturally, they who were the bullies are playing the victim and the fist shaking goes on and on.
Ho hum. Entrecard isn’t going to die because of this, or the last pricing system change, or any of the other reasons folks have pointed at as their excuse for leaving Entrecard over the past 8 months. There will always be flamboyant departures and predictions of Entrecard’s impending doom, and just as in true in real life, others will step up and fill the void. Adios and good luck to you, and thanks for any drops you made on my blogs.
What I realized is that I really don’t like these people, the drama kings and queens, the bullies, the Firestormers, the whole group of self-proclaimed Entrecard A-listers. I don’t like the way they process information, the way they handle their emotions, their crude language and classless humor, etc., etc. Which raises the question of “Where are the people I would like better in the Entrecard Community?”
My days of dropping 300, 600, 900 cards or more are done. I don’t believe that Graham will be able to maintain the $9.50/1000 Exchange rate for ECs and a fully functioning, non-manipulated Exchange will have a credit vendor getting around $3/1000. That’s not enough to justify any time specifically for earning credits. Accumulate 20000 ECs over a couple of months and sell them should you choose for $60 and that will help pay your hosting fees, etc. Also, the next big change in the Entrecard community is going to further encourage meaningful interaction over pure card dropping. Like it or not, Graham is dedicated to making us better Entrecard Community members.
OK, sure, why not? I’ve given up on the idea of being an Internet Marketer and I’m no longer farming credits, so I’m left with the idea of being a blogger…who really needs to find some mates (as in buddies) whose personality and style “match” my own. I’m not even going to limit my scope by blog topic, world region, gender, marital status, or educational background. Nope, I’m just on a quest to find a few people like me in the Entrecard community…if any others even exist, strange bird that I am.
As far as the forums go, I’ll still throw in my 4 ECs worth now and then, primarily to do my part to help Graham as best I can. I guess one benefit of the Firestorm fiasco was it shook the fence and caused me (and perhaps some others) to decide whether to support Graham or take potshots at him. I choose the former.
I have to say that I rather share your view on the whole uprising over on the EC forums. My alter ego runs an online gaming community and part of that job is to moderate the forums. I’ve seen my share of cat fights, flame wars, and disgruntled people leaving the community in a huff. Some of those who left might sadden me for a bit, but I know in the end it is entirely their choice whether they stay or go. The best thing to do is wish them well and send them on their way. Not to mention that this approach greatly lessens the amount of drama.
Hey you
Its been a while.
Have you ever written a post at EC forum that were deleted by a mod?
Or worse ; edited?
I do hope you will post this, if you feel you can’t, at least do me the honor of contacting me via email. I was surprised at this post, given the communication we had after the much ado about nothing over at Entrecard.
Through all of this, I have been a little surprised that I was constantly referred to as a catalyst for the events that transpired.
I have strong opinions and express them rather in a rather acerbic manner, but try judiciously to confine my criticism to ideas, not character. A blogging community is comprised of writers, and as such, I have always believed transparency and freedom to criticize are paramount. If you take a look at some of the major web players (Ebay, Amazon), they support forums that are filled with criticism much more virolent than anything seen on EC. They listen and learn from it.
I have put EC behind me - blog sites come and go; time will tell if EC remains on the scene. Good writing will always find a place to park.
Happy to see the trash out on the curb. Two thumbs up for Entrecard!
The forum is not the service. It is a way of providing customer service. Graham, and his mods, have done the right thing in pushing out the BS that take up 90% of their time but provide 10% of their benefit. Entrecard will be better for this.
Wow, I am SO out of the Entrecard loop. When i see references to Firestorm I am completely and utterly lost. Maybe I’m lucky? LOL! I have no mates there, I’m still getting used to the way it works and, dare I say, I actually read the blogs I visit and drop on because I’m interested in diverse content born of diverse thoughts! I’ve peeked into the forums and noticed all types of conspiracy theories and the like. And then there’s innocent me,trying to participate in the Stumble and Digg exchanges to draw traffic to my site and possibly send some in others’ direction. What have I gotten into?
http://www.singleinla.today.com
I think this was just waiting to happen. Glad that it did. At the same time, I am not a big fan of EC right now, nor Graham. There’s too much change, not enough information, and the abruptness of the changes are infuriating.