I guess I was an Entrecard member for almost two weeks before I caught on that the ad values and stats were updated at midnight Eastern Time. Armed with that knowledge, and the recognition that there are Entrecard members from many parts of the globe, I got to thinking about how the relative time of day impacts how and when one drops cards. I'm guessing that the majority of Entrecard members try and drop cards back on those people who dropped on them. And I have found that I get more cards dropped on me after a chaindropping spree, as many folks who aren't chaindroppers are returning the favor. Building up one's ad price might be good for the ego, but there is also no denying the value of being one of the top 3 in each category, as it means you are getting additional exposure on the Campaign page. (Ad value is calculated as twice the number of cards dropped on your site each day, using a rolling average over the most recent 5 days, including the current "day", which begins at 12am ET.)
Dropping a card on someone when they are most likely to be logged into their account might improve the return card drop rate. The same logic is used as the reason to not drop cards on blogs that haven't been updated in a while...the goal is to generate a return drop and hopefully a good visit to your blog in a timely manner, as in that day. When possible, I start card dropping right after I've posted a new entry here so that the regulars are presented with a new headline, or at least see today's date on the post. When I am chaindropping or using a hybrid method that I'll call multi-avenue-drop-surfing* (MADS), I take the time to read a post that interests me and make a comment here and there.
Choosing when one drops a card on someone living in Japan versus someone living in England might mean the difference of a day before they return drop a card. I live in Utah and the Entrecard magic moment occurs at 10pm, a good time for me to drop some cards as I am winding down for the day. That's part of what got me to thinking about time zones. If I drop cards on people who live on the East Coast there is a good possibility that they aren't at their computers and won't see that card for another 4-8 hours, at which time I might have moved too far down their list for them to even know I dropped a card on them. That's not good. On the other hand, dropping a card on someone in Australia who is in full blogging mode might get me a quick return drop.
This kind of analysis might seem a bit extreme to some of you and I suppose it is. I'm not sure it matters right now when you drop your cards as the Entrecard community is still in its infancy. However, when there are 10 times as many Entrecarders are there are now, the strategy of dropping cards by time zone might make more sense.
*MADS worked well for me today as I was able to combine chaindropping from bookmark folders with free form card surfing. I started by opening up a folder with 10 or so booksmarks in it and dropping cards tab by tab and clicking on each Entrecard to open up yet another tab. Not as efficient as pure chaindropping, but I ended up visiting sites that I don't usually see when chaindropping. And because each of these had purchased the right to be on that specific Entrecard, it was a good guess that they were on the more active end of the spectrum than might be found by just trolling through the Campaign pages.
Comment posted by Annie
at 1/26/2008 10:11:00 AM
I had already given this time zone thing a thought or 2 but it sure would take card dropping up a notch, not to mention the extra thought that will have to go into it. Who knew we could make blogging so technical?
Comment posted by Jethro
at 1/25/2008 9:55:00 AM
heh - you dropped on me in australia at 9pm - 10 pm for daylight saving states - im not in one though
but - i looked at entrecard dashboard at 1:52am - lol
still you were 2nd top of the list.
i like the thinking you put into the post and how you make it work.
thanks for dropping by www.spyjournal.biz
Comment posted by mariam
at 1/19/2008 11:15:00 PM
I gave this some thought too as I realized there are a lot of Asian bloggers and I'm in the Eastern time zone.
However, what I think is getting around in the forums is that people now realize they can have an RSS feed to their inbox.
Comment posted by BizBeacon
at 1/18/2008 1:06:00 PM
KimbaTheWhiteLioness, Thanks for the heads up on the non-working site! Dropping cards is a major part of the Entrecard experience. You should think about signing up and promoting your blog!
Rebel, I read somewhere that if you subscribe to your inbox feed you can capture more than the 10 visitors shown on the dashboard.
Nathan, thanks for dropping by, neighbor! I'm about 40 minutes south of you and will be reading your blog on Salt Lake City Real Estate with interest.
Comment posted by nathanburrblair
at 1/18/2008 10:47:00 AM
Thanks for the valuable information for a new Entrecard user. I thought there would have to be some sort of strategy to this, and your post proved me right. Entrecard has been fun and very informative so far.
Comment posted by Reward Rebel
at 1/18/2008 9:58:00 AM
You’ve obviously given this a lot of thought!
I’m from the UK, but recently I seem to be living on Eastern US time. You’re spot on about optimum times to drop cards, and I don’t know why Entrecard has limited the number held by the Inbox to only 10, unless it’s a deliberate ploy to encourage users to monitor their Dashboard more often than once a day.
Entrecard has hit on a winner here, everyone seems to be enjoying this surfing technique, I chain drop at high speed, but intermittently scan sites as I go. Of course, another factor in how fast or leisurely I drop cards is dictated by my workload… and my sense of its urgency at any given time;-D
Comment posted by kimbathewhitelioness
at 1/18/2008 7:05:00 AM
Kent, THIS blog is working!
I guess I'm not really sure what "dropping a card" means, to be honest?! Is that blogging for money? Yes, I'm somewhat naive, I suppose... to me, exploring blogs and occasionally writing a few of my own has always just been a hobby for my spare time. Glad you've found a PRACTICAL aspect to this world and I wish you much success! I'll have to read up on the concept more in the near future!
Comment posted by BizBeacon
at 1/17/2008 2:53:00 PM
oyvind, thanks for chiming in from Norway! I'm not sure if it nostalgia or the sense of adventure that makes "surfing" so interesting, but I am enjoying it. And no, I don't want to go back to using Mosiac and 2400 baud connections. I'm also enjoying the global connections that allow us to chat with others from around the world. Thanks again for commenting!
Comment posted by Oyvind
at 1/17/2008 2:36:00 PM
Good biddings Sir! Great article, thanks for sharing. As I read your post I remembered something from when I went to school. In 92 when we were allowed to use our Unix terminals and Mosaic browser there werent many sites.
We were actually dependent on outgoing links from the site we visited. I remember I loved doing that, and Entrecard give me that feeling again when I do what you explain. Kind of exploring the web like the old days.
I've found a great deal of lovely blogs on my way, Entrecard is my favourite these days. Who need commercial ads when you can get rich by splendid information and
meet lovely people :)
Just my .2£ :)