10 sites I no longer use - and why I stopped using them
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There must be hundreds of sites that claim to help bloggers get new readers, make advertising easy, or connect with friends (of course, this last point isn't just for bloggers).
I've tried lots of these sites, but most of them haven't really given me any long-term benefits. In this post, I'll be looking at 10 sites where I've deleted or deactivated my account, along with the reasons why I signed up, and why I decided to move on.
I don't expect everyone to agree with me. If you have a different view of any of the sites mentioned here, feel free to post a comment explaining why. If you have similar experiences, share your thoughts anyway.
1. StumbleUpon.
I signed up with StumbleUpon in the middle of 2007. Initially, I used it to find interesting, useful or quirky sites. I then experimented with submitting a few of my own posts. This didn't work too well but the posts weren't very good and I shouldn't have been submitting my own stuff. You can get away with it to a point, but not if you overdo it.
I discovered that as with most sites, it's a question of finding the time to use it. One day, I realised I hadn't actually used the site in months, except to add a few friends, and go through the few shared items I received. I concluded that I didn't have the time to sit and surf through loads of sites and rate them.
When I did rate sites, I found a lot of very similar offerings. On the "thumbs down" button, you can specify "Too much like this lately" as a reason for giving it a bad rating, but I wasn't really looking for anything in particular. So, not much was really interesting to me. "Handy hints" are all well and good, but if I need to know how to do something, I google it.
I also found that all too many people give out good ratings without a second thought. Some of the sites with good ratings were not that great, while others provided incorrect information. It's a matter of opinion, but it's pretty clear that some people just didn't look too closely at the site before giving it a good rating.
None of these issues were really that major, except for the time issue. StumbleUpon is a good site, I just don't have a lot of time to spend on it. Even if I did, I'd still have to choose how to divide my time between StumbleUpon and other, similar sites. More on that in a moment...
2. Facebook.
Most of the people I know have a Facebook account. It wasn't difficult to add friends, family, colleagues and people from school to my friends list. It was handy to be able to contact people without wondering if their email account would still exist (I know a lot of people who set up email accounts that they abandon after a few months).
Unfortunately, I quickly found that Facebook was taking up more and more of my free time for no particular reason at all. Status updates, messages, wall posts, replies to comments... too many things to keep up with. I didn't get too many application requests, thankfully, but I grew to despise multi-recipient messages - anyone who replies has no choice but to reply to all, unless they send a new message. Cue some very personal replies send to more people than the sender wanted to send to ... and when I let them know, they didn't even realise that's how it works.
For bloggers, you can publish your content automatically, which I tried - it did what it was supposed to do, but I felt like I was flooding my profile with all my blog posts. Hardly anyone clicked through, anyway.
It was good for keeping in touch with people when we lived abroad. But now we're back in the UK, I'd much rather see people. Plus, I don't see much point in adding people to your friends list if no messages are exchanged whatsoever.
3. delicious.
I used delicious back in 2005 as a way to store bookmarks that I could access from home and from work. In the end, I got sick of this and started moving everything into my Firefox bookmarks.
Interestingly, when I posted about this on Twitter, I had a reply from the delicious Twitter account. They suggested using the Firefox extension. So I gave it a shot.
It was pretty good, but even when I organised my important bookmarks into folders, I still had hundreds with a variety of different tags that were displayed in a really long list. I started moving them into folders - or tag bundles - which helped. But it didn't remove those bookmarks from the master list. Basically, I wanted to be able to see the bookmarks I hadn't grouped into a bundle, which I wasn't able to do.
In the end, I gave up and moved everything back into Firefox. I don't use the same bookmarks at work as I do at home, so I can keep them on separate computers. Besides, I think I feel safer having my boomarks stored locally than I did when they were online... which is actually a big part of why I stopped using Gmail. (But that's another story!)
4. Project Wonderful.
I started using this when I wanted to experiment with a few ways to make money from my blog. It wasn't to make a living, or to tell others how to make money online. It was just out of curiosity.
In the beginning, people were happy to place ads on my site. However, as time went on, my site wasn't proving to be all that attractive to advertisers. At the time, it wasn't as focused as it could have been, so I was lucky to get any advertisers at all.
I cashed out once, and still had some money in my account that I used for some ads over at Vivid Lamp (which I see hasn't been updated since October 2008 - I wonder what happened?). These performed reasonably well, but I didn't really like the bidding system that Project Wonderful uses.
Overall, it's not a bad service, and I still see it on quite a few blogs. If you do use it, make sure you keep your prices in line with any other ad spots you might be running. There's not much point charging $1.25 for a 30 day ad with CMF Ads when you're only charging $0.01 per day at Project Wonderful.
Incidentally, the support is excellent. Very friendly and responsive. I just felt my ads had run their course, and I prefer CMF Ads.
5. MySpace.
I started using MySpace as a place to promote my music, as recommended by a friend. People listened, but most of the comments came from people who wanted me to listen to their music - it was very much a one-way street. Even if I commented on theirs, they usually ignored mine.
A few of my work friends joined and we added each other, but I remember the site being a complete nightmare to use. Errors were frequent, the layout was not in the slightest bit intuitive, and the ads were over the top.
Eventually, Facebook came along and everyone went there instead. In the end I quit Facebook too, but at least the layout was better.
6. Plurk.
This is probably the only site on the list that I was genuinely quite sad to leave behind. Back in December, I wrote a list of 10 reasons why Plurk is better than Twitter. Reading through this list more than 7 months later (which is a long time on the Internet), I realised that all of the reasons still hold true.
However, I also wrote a follow-up post a couple of days later, with 10 reasons why Twitter is better than Plurk. It's interesting to note that I was much more of a Plurk user when I wrote these posts, and I almost didn't want to admit that Twitter was better. But I did - and shortly after I published the second post, I switched to Twitter. I'd used it before, but not as much as Plurk.
Unless I'm mistaken, I think Plurk missed its chance to become a serious alternative to Twitter. It started to do quite well when Twitter had loads of performance issues, but Plurk had some issues too.
The main reason I left Plurk was because I couldn't commit to using both Twitter and Plurk, and more people use Twitter. So, Plurk had to go. Shame, because I really liked it.
7. MyBlogLog.
This was one of the first sites I joined when I started publishing blogging and website tips without the jargon back in November 2007. It was recommended by some blogging buddies, so I gave it a try.
Well, what a waste of time! It basically did nothing. I could add friends, join groups, leave a shoutbox message... I can't think of anything else. Oh yeah, the widget to show you who recently visited. And the stats were nice, but Google Analytics is better.
In fact, MyBlogLog's incredible lack of any useful functionality was the inspiration for my post, 10 things every social network needs. In a nutshell: it needs to actually do something!
8. Digg.
I heard that Digg could generate huge traffic, but as with StumbleUpon, I didn't really have the time to Digg all that often. Plus, I kept getting requests from people who wanted to "exchange" Diggs, which didn't seem like a very good idea to me. I stopped using the site - but never really started using it, to be honest.
9. BlogCatalog.
This was recommended to me in the same breath as MyBlogLog. I didn't join BlogCatalog straight away though, as I wanted to take the time to use each site properly, instead of trying to use both sites and inevitably comparing the two.
Waiting didn't matter. BlogCatalog is vastly superior to MyBlogLog, but that's not surprising really. There are some good things in BlogCatalog - groups and forums are a big improvement. However, I've always preferred using vBulletin for forums. Also, my email was flooded with friend requests and shoutbox messages. It wasn't a popularity thing - it was mostly spam. I guess a lot of networks have spam, but I found I wasn't really using BlogCatalog much anymore - so decided to leave.
10. Entrecard.
I joined Entrecard in December 2007. In the first month, I gained loads of new readers and quickly found loads of great blogs. This continued until May 2008, when I started helping out as a moderator. I stepped down from my position in October 2008, and left the network in November 2008.
I have mixed feelings about the site, but there are a few main points. In the beginning, it was very good for new blogs. However, as time went on, a lot of spam flooded the network. As a moderator I helped to clean up a lot of this, but they needed to implement incoming moderation far sooner than they did (it was added after I left). Before that happened, a spammer could easily sign up and drop a card on 300 sites. Most of the sites that received a drop would click the link, and bam, the spammer gets traffic. Word obviously got out and the spam was totally unstoppable due to the "open door" policy.
Dropping cards does not necessarily give you high quality traffic in return, and can take a while to complete. It's also mind-numbing to drop 300 cards a day, especially when most of the blogs do not update every day. So for the most part, there isn't a new post to read, and you have little choice but to drop and run - yet a lot of people complain about this.
The bottom line
With all of these sites and others like them, you have to weigh up whether the time investment is worth it. Also, be sure to re-evaluate every week or two. Things change quickly - new blogs join, old blogs leave, some blogs may even shut up shop and leave a big gaping hole where they used to be. This is just the nature of the blogosphere, but it can be quite disorienting.
Any blog that gets beyond the first few months of its life (and many do not) should put content first, promotion and networking second. If you have time to do both, and participating in a blogging network continues to bring you a decent return on your time investment, maybe it's not so bad. Just remember to post - don't get too caught up in networking!
What do you think? Have you used any of these sites in the past? Do you still use them now?
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Comments on 10 sites I no longer use - and why I stopped using them
2
Apart from Project Wonderful and MySpace, which I have never used, I have also stopped using all the mentioned services for virtually the same reasons mentioned. I still use StumbleUpon but with that irritating 'share' function they have implemented, this will soon be off my list. These days I quite like the look and feel of Friend Feed.
3
StumbleUpon - The thrill wore off for me. I sill Stumble posts every now and then but I don't use it on a regular basis and I never give a "thumbs down" to any website.
Facebook - I only use it maybe three times a week and that's only to keep up with my IRL (in real life) friends and a MS group. I rarely use it for social networking or business though.
Delicious - Since I gotten my delicious account, I don't use my web browser to save links again. I don't know what I would do without delicious!
Project Wonderful - Never heard of it.
MySpace - Signed up for an account, but it got annoying real fast. I haven't logged on in years.
Plurk, MyBlogLog - Never heard of.
Digg - I like it, I just don't have time.
BlogCatalog - Don't have time.
Entrecard - Got sick of the spam.
So for me, its mostly Facebook and Delicious.
4
Facebook and Twitter for me.
Facebook I hate with a passion though. The applications drive me crazy and I am forever denying them or hiding them. It's uncustomisable and I loatht that one is forced to have one real name out in public instead of having a username. Unfortunately, everyone and their Grandmother are on there and it's the only way one is certain of finding everyone they know in one place.
Twitter I very much like. I like that one can have it automatically update with one's blog or message board and at the same time have fun status updates which can also be transfered to Facebook. I also like their gadgets.
I get a bit fed up with the idiots that follow one that hasn't a clue who you are and everyday I have to block at least one person. I also wont follow anyone that uses it simply for links.
Myspace I do have sitting around. Haven't logged in since goodness knows when as I honestly can't see the point of that system and I think the next time I do log in will be to delete the account.
Entrecard I thought was a great idea. It did get me a lot of comments that I wouldn't actually have had but the time spent trying to do the drops just wasn't worth it. I also just couldn't handle all the changes they made, especially with paid ads and the way they changed it so that one didn't have automatic access to the forums as a member. I arrived one day to find that we have all been barred from the forums unless we bought so many credits or something. I couldn't handle all the messing around so I got them to delete my account there.
Blogcatlog and Mybloglog once again if one didn't spend a lot of time being really active they didn't do anything to drive readers to ones blog.
5
I still use all of these except for delicious and Plurk, which I've never used. I keep my MySpace page only for band updates (all my "friends" there are bands). I've actually had some good traffic from Stumble. I thought I'd be sick of Facebook by now, but I still find it a fun and not too time-consuming distraction. The others are more background sites that I'll probably leave at some point.
Excellent post!
6
I've been using StumbleUpon for years. Not the way you seem to though. I keep it as a bar in Firefox so I can click "I like it!" when I come across a site I really like. I don't really do anything else with it so it doesn't take up much time at all. But, when I want to find a site I liked, I know it will be there. I should be tagging them all but after all this time there doesn't seem much point in starting. I don't want to spend the time on backtracking through them all and to do it halfway would make me feel I had to do it all the way.
I also use delicious to keep my bookmarks online. But there are too many to really weed through and find any one now. Still, it makes me feel I'm trying to keep track and organize in some small, less than useful, way.
7
Do you remember that buzz site, Cre8 Buzz, something like that. What ever happened to that one. It was kind of interesting then seemed to become abandoned. I'd look for it but can't think of just how the URL went.
8
I think many bloggers that seem to have started around the same time have also reached that point where sites don't appreciate the members. In blogcatalog's care it could of been a great site until they decided to opt for a few ROBO COPS running around playing LINK cop LOL. I pulled the entrecard widget a while back and it still doesn't realize it. If twitter and FB went offline tomorrow I wouldn't loose no sleep. Blogggers need that LIVE super site.
Blog is looking tight I didn't realize it was your first w/o that PIC :)
Stumbled.
That createbuzz site I reached out to the owner Anthony a long time ago and he seemed like a cocky jerk no wonder he's gone.
thanks good to see the BLUE :)
9
Like I said over at bloggeries!
I enjoy social networking and never think ti's a waste of time! I did how ever notice you mentioned many sites I never did use and never will use!
That sort of changes my post at bloggeries a bit lol
I only use the following, Stumbleupon, digg, mixx, reddit, propeller, and blogengage, yahoo buzz, twitter, plugIM (which is broke right now) and maybe a few others if I'm already logged in!
10
Thanks everyone for the feedback!
Laura/John - I don't remember Cre8buzz/Createbuzz - what did it do?
11
Thank you for writing this post, Ben!
Stumble Upon, Delicious and Digg have very little value in my eyes. If any of them had a better interface OR allowed me to better judge how people react to my content, then I'd give them another try. But they seem useless to me.
I use MySpace to follow bands and refuse to add any "real" people on there. I think it is an excellent source of ticket info and so on. (I'm still hurting from not getting Muse tickets).
Facebook and Twitter I use to keep up with real life friends only or perhaps bloggy friends who I have come to love and trust. There are pictures of my nieces and godchildren on Facebook, so it certainly isn't open to anyone else. I occassionally try to spam my facebook page an dget my friends to visit my blogs but they are SO not interested!
I must try customise my Google Analytics because I find MyBlogLog's information to be much clearer and more easily accessible than GA, so I keep using it. That is the only reason I use it though. To see how many people visit, where they come from and what they are viewing.
BlogCatalog is an okay site if you take the time to go through (for me anyway). I often add people there rather than on my Google Reader if I'd like to visit them from time to time as opposed to subscribing.
I've found Entrecard useful for advertising on other similar blogs, especially with my political blog. We have a small group of political commentators and we seem to visit and advertise on other people's blogs. I certainly don't "drop" anymore or anything as timewasting as that.
Okie dokes, done babbling!
12
Of the ones mentioned the only one I actively use is Project Wonderful on 2 of my blogs. I purposely gave up entrecard and haven't looked back. It really doesn't give a lot of good traffic and it wasted a lot of time. I have accounts on StumbleUpon, Facebook and MySpace but don't use them either. Twitter seems to be rather good though and not just for getting traffic to your blog(s).
13
I never tried most of the sites you mention. I do have a Facebook page and a MySpace page though I never really used those sites or foundthem at all compelling. Project Wonderful was great at first and I did sell some cheap ads and earn a little money. (I too managed to reach the ten dollar threshold and cash out twice). But for reasons I could never determine the ads stopped coming in and it was very difficult for me to find sites that would be a good fit for my target audience. Also I noticed that MANY pw publishers have insanely high ad prices with ridiculous cpm rates.
The only site I disagree about is Blog Catalog. It is true that their custom forum software is considerably less robust than vBulletin, but the boards are incredibly active with participants from all over the world and even today I can go on BC and get help with a specific problem much more quickly than any other sites. Also, I've come to know and like the owners and staff at BC and it is a personal as much as a business connection for me.
I also use CMF ads and have been pleased with that site. The forums there though are Much less active than the BC forums. But the advertising system is lightyears ahead of what EC used to offer.
14
Thanks for the comments everyone, it is interesting to hear such a wide range of opinions. Many of us have different experiences, it would seem :)
15
Facebook and Project Wonderful have been good to me. My niche though doesn't do well with too many social networking sites so I know where you're coming from.
To me, most of the others seem to cater to the "get rich online" crowd, not really something I'm into.
16
Facebook and blogcatalog are good for getting traffic.
never tried plurk, project wonderful, myspace.
had tried mybloglog only once, couldnt get the hang of it, so didnt visit again.
what r your thoughts about technorati ??
17
Raj - I stopped using Technorati a long time ago - well, if you can actually "use" it. The site doesn't really serve a purpose for me.
18
Ben, this is a great list of things I belong to and don't use.
you are right. what do you do to stop using them ? did you remove your account or just leave it to go dormant ? I'm getting off of entrecard this weekend; and pretty much the rest of the list, i have but don't use anyway.
any suggestions for weaning off social networks and blog networks sir ?
also any comments on the new Google Buzz and Google Profiles ?
I'll be looking forward to hearing them.
Cheers !
19
RE - I found myself using each site less and less, until I decided the time had come to move on. I removed my accounts so I didn't go back later.
If you were to keep your accounts active, I imagine it would be a bit like trying to give up smoking when you still have cigarettes in the house. Best to throw out your stuff once you're sure you want to give up, then do everything you can to stay away.
I've also found that it's easier to abandon the less useful sites by replacing them with sites that serve a purpose for you. So, I'll use Facebook for networking with friends I know offline, LinkedIn for business colleagues, CMF Ads for blogging and advertising, and Twitter for chat / fun / sharing a few blog posts. I don't really need any other sites at the moment.
20
Thanks Much Ben that's Flawless Advice.
I've already begun my weeding out process and now
I think I can cut even deeper.
so you xnaed all the blog networking sites except CMF ?
how is that working and what's your conversion rate for
subscribers using only cmf ?
that's what I want conversions from CMF which I see very few of.
21
I use CMF and Twitter. Both work well for me. The key is not to post too many links (Twitter) and to try various techniques (CMF). At CMF in particular, I find that spikes are good for when I publish a new post, and ongoing traffic is relatively easy to attract by being active in the forums. Plus, a network ad is great for a burst of traffic. It's all about finding what works for you.
22
Interesting post Ben, i am not really a big fan of social networking sites so have a twitter account and a friend set up a facebook page for me because i wouldn't join lol
I don't have a myspace account, i think Technorati is now a complete waste of time as nothing works on it blog catalogue isn't very good either all i get is other members wanting me to click on their ads.
I don't mind Digg and MyBlogLog but the best for me has been Entrecard and CMF but as you said EC does need more moderation.
Anyway thanks for the Atoken recently Ben
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I just realized the power of StumbleUpon the other day, when I saw that one of my posts was the 2nd-most visited of all time. I might look a bit more into using SU, but mostly just end up clicking the Stumble! button when I'm bored.
I'm on FB and Twitter, and while they're fun, I can definitely see how they can be major time suckages. Most of the MySpace layouts make my eyes bleed, so I avoid it for the most part, even though I still have my profile.
The rest of them I might have profiles on, but never really use. The only thing from keeping me from deleting my profile is preserving my user name.