The Entrecarder

Linkfog said it best in a post in the Entrecard Forum this morning:

This is why i love entrecard. It reminds me of my car. Sometimes it's slow, it gets fixed then it's fast again, then it breaks down completely and refuses to work. :)

I own cars like that too! Which means that I have plenty of experience with workarounds and in finding alternative methods to accomplish what I'm trying to get done. The massive slowdown recently and the current glitches that pop up are minor inconveniences and should be expected when one is operating with a system that is being modified on the fly. I'm always reminded of how different people are when I read forum posts from folks who are whining and complaining that Entrecard isn't doing exactly what they expected it should be doing. Wah. Grow up. So take the Entrecard widget off your two-bit blog and continue to make your $6.76 a month as a professional blogger on your own. And then there are just those fine human beings who are negative nellies.

Why should the Entrecard community be any different than other gatherings of our species? There are some who are universally liked because of their social skills, charisma, and positive outlook, and there are those who can't seem to get out of their own pit and are committed to spreading the misery. Read the forums for a couple of weeks and you'll quickly decide who you'd like to be around (eg - Cecilia, Saphrym, Ben Barden, Green Colibri--among many, many others) and those who probably have no friends in real life due to their negative, whiny persona (eg - stock picks.)

I guess that's why it's a community and not a clique. The much good and the occasional bad. And it's likely that online behavior does in fact mirror real life behavior. I've listened to the beat of a different drummer for many years now and know that I don't "fit in" very well. I'm one of those who has the ability to go against the flow of common belief, a must if one is going to innovate and create. Yes, I'm doing things differently than many of the rest of the Entrecard crowd, and yet in do doing I'm filling a valuable role. I hope that the EntreBank and the Biz Beacon Advertising Co-op are not the last ideas that I bring to this community. And there are dozens and dozens of like-minded individuals here that are doing the same, all of which helps create a more enjoyable and effective experience.

I have a plan for my Entrecard activity and I'm generally having a good time here, spending 6-10 hours a day setting up and maintaining my 20+ blogs. And like many Entrecarders are finding, just dropping cards for one account, reading blogs, commenting, entering contests, reading forum posts, etc., can easily take one away from the business of creating content. Imagine trying to get 20 blogs up and running! I'm committed to presenting useful, interesting content on my blogs and recognize that it will take some time to get all of them up to speed. I'm grateful that Graham has created a place where beginning bloggers can do just what I am doing...and as I've said before...I hope he makes a boatload of money for his idea and efforts.