I will not say that Entrecard is a perfect system. I have had my own share of unpleasant experiences with Entrecard but I decided to keep it because of its benefits. So far, the advantages, outweighed the disadvantages. Unfortunately for some bloggers, Entrecard didn’t work well for them or Entrecard didn’t meet their expectations.

A couple of blogs who have removed their Entrecards are now predicting that Entrecard will not be around in 6-month time. I’m not sure if that is the reason why they removed their Entrecard widgets but I have a strong feeling that they were disappointed with the new pricing system. Disappointed or jealous? Either way, the point is, they predicted that Entrecard is bound to fail.

How Exactly Is Entrecard Going To Fail?

I have read several negative publicities made about Entrecard. The latest of which was a post from Jason of TheUniversityKid.com. In his post, Jason argued that Entrecard is bound to fail because:

• Entrecard allows credit exchange.
• Phirate and Graham, founders of Entrecard, have no idea how to monetize it.
• Entrecard is open to third parties.

Like most negative posts I read about Entrecard, Jason wasn’t really able to prove his claim. On the contrary, Jason’s arguments as to why Entrecard is bound to fail prove otherwise. Allow me to explain why.

Entrecard allows credit exchange. - If Jason was referring to the “U Drop, I Follow” movement of LeeDoyle.com, where members are suppose to visit and drop their Entrecards to those who drop to theirs, then he’s certainly wrong. I won’t deny the fact though that “U Drop, I Follow” movement may result in a high bounce rate to the members but there’s more to Entrecard traffic than a high bounce rate. Moreover, only a few advertisers are bounce-rate-conscious. Besides, it’s always easier to lower your high bounce rate than to attract more traffic.

The ”U Drop, I Follow” movement consists of a portion of Entrecard. This movement has its drawbacks, but ultimately, it gives more reasons for Entrecard users to participate and remain active in the network.

Graham and Phirate have no idea how to monetize Entrecard. - Hmm… considering that Entrecard was their idea, I refuse to believe that ran out of idea this time. The monetization should come easy as Entrecard has a huge traffic, not to mention the loyal users.

Entrecard is open to third party. - Come on, look around the Blog-o-sphere, most of the successful sites of today are open to third parties.

The Gold Farming that Jason mentioned in his post is actually one of the reasons why the World of Warcraft continue to thrive. The value of Entrecard credits in monetary terms have improved over a short period of time and considering the high demand for it, we can only expect its value to improve. This situation has created an opportunity for Entrecard users to monetize their blogs. More imporantly, it has created another reason for bloggers and webmasters to join Entrecard.

Is Entrecard Bound To Fail?

No! And you can take my word for it. As long as traffic is an important element of a successful website, Entrecard, having been able to establish its place in the Blogosphere, will continue to grow.

And like I said on my first sentence, Entrecard is not a perfect system but the recent changes implemented are proofs that Graham and Phirate listens to Entrecard users. This perhaps, is the best reason why Entrecard is NOT bound to fail.
Now if you decide to get rid of Entrecard, here are the benefits you will lose.

• You’ll lose lots of traffic that have the potential of becoming your subscriber or avid reader.
• You let go of the opportunity to be discovered by other bloggers.
• You’ll miss the opportunity to advertise in other blogs. Sad for you, you need to pay thousand of dollars to advertise at Problogger.net and JohnChow.com.
• You’ll miss improving your Alexa Traffic Rank. Since most Entrecard users are bloggers, most of them have Alexa toolbar installed in their computer.
• You let go of potential income for your blog.
• You’ll miss the chance to network with other bloggers.
• You’ll miss the opportunity to shop at Entrecard.
• You’ll miss being linked to by other Entrecard users.
• You’ll miss comments on your post.

And the list goes on.

Do you honestly believe that Entrecard won’t be around after 6 months? Don’t forget to support your answers.
Good luck to your blog and thank you for your time!

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