BlogRush will soon unleash PHASE 2 of its network.
This is a MAJOR update. The service is not even 30 days old, yet we’re about to release more changes than most Internet startups do in their first 6 months.
Here Are Some Of The Changes
- New User Interface
More options, more reporting, more features.
Here’s a “spy photo” of what the new Dashboard looks like:
- Per Post Statistics & Addition Of “Buzz Meter”
Now you’ll be able to see how many times each of your posts is syndicated across the network and how many people clicked to read that individual post.
Next to the statistics for each post you’ll see a “Buzz Meter.” This new meter will tell you if that post is HOT, COLD, or somewhere in between. The meter ‘temperature’ is calculated based on the average click-rates per headline for your blog’s category.
This data, if used properly, can be extremely valuable for your blog — you’ll be able to know what types of posts are getting the most attention in your blog’s niche.
- Custom Reports
You’ll be able to run custom reports and view your account activity by specific date ranges.
- Bonus Syndication For All Users, But Weighted Towards Low-Traffic Members
All members of our network will be receiving bonus syndication but we’ll be giving more bonus credits to our members that need it most — ones with low-traffic.
- More Categories! (A lot more)
We’re introducing tons of new categories to our network. You asked, we listened.
We’ll be adding a lot more sub-categories and niche topics; this will help our users’ widgets serve more relevant headlines for their own blog readers as well as increase the click activity on their own headlines shown across the network.
- Improved Security & Abuse Measures (We’ve already squashed 95% of the cheaters!)
We’ll be rolling out improved security measures, but we’re happy to report that we’ve eliminated about 95% of the cheaters in our network. We’re sure to continue to get a few new ones ‘trying’ from time to time, but we’ll work hard to zap them as quickly as possible.
- 100% Manual Review & New Quality Guidelines
We’ve already launched our Manual Review process… all new users as of today (and for good) will have their blogs manually reviewed BEFORE the widget will even load on their pages. Their posts will not be syndicated across the network until they are APPROVED and meet our Quality Guidelines. If they are not approved the widget will not load on their pages and none of their content will ever be syndicated on the network.
We’re almost finished with manually reviewing all the existing blogs in our network. We should be done with this massive ‘audit’ within about 7 days.
As soon as we complete this full audit there will be a MAJOR SWEEP of our entire network. All the blogs that don’t meet our quality criteria will be REMOVED from our network.
Say goodbye to all the non-English blogs, junk blogs, and any low-quality blogs you may have seen from time-to-time in the widget.
We are committed to maintaining the highest level of INTEGRITY and QUALITY for our network.
We know that you only want great blog posts and resource links showing up inside the widget you serve on your blog and we’ll do everything we can to maintain that.
It will now be a PRIVILEDGE for a blog to be accepted into our network.
- Widget Performance Monitoring
One of the biggest contributors to some of our low, average click-through rates (i.e. less traffic for our members) is due to some of our members giving the widget POOR PLACEMENT on their blogs.
Some of our members have placed the BlogRush widget at the very bottom of their blog templates, or very low where most of their visitors don’t even see it.
THIS IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END.
The BlogRush system is based on TWO things: QUALITY and FAIRNESS.
On the “quality” side of things we have it covered — manually reviewing all blogs against quality guidelines, and continuing to improve headline relevance; through more categories and better technology.
But the “fairness” element is one that we haven’t really had to address… until now.
BlogRush isn’t about joining the network and just slapping the widget in the worst place possible. Because that’s not fair to our other members that are giving the widget HIGH PLACEMENT and sending more traffic to others.
We are adding Widget Performance Monitoring to our network. If a member’s natural widget performance (the rate at which visitors click headlines and other factors we aren’t making public) falls far below the average activity of other members in their category…
THIS MEMBER WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE BLOGRUSH NETWORK.
We are working on something that might give members with poor widget performance a “warning” to let them know they are in danger of being removed from the network; which will give them a chance to give the widget better placement on their blog so they can, hopefully, rectify the situation and remain a member of the network.
We are not going to require our members to place the widget at the very top of their blogs or put it in any specific location. However, it’s common sense that if someone places the widget where normal visitors aren’t going to see it much, that they will achieve poor widget performance — and will most likely be removed from the network.
DO YOU HAVE THE WIDGET PLACED REALLY LOW ON YOUR BLOG?
If so, you need to move it higher on your blog to give it better placement.
Don’t want to do that? THEN PLEASE REMOVE IT COMPLETELY.
As I said, BlogRush was designed as a FAIR system. There’s a reason it was created as a COOPERATIVE network. It’s so its members can work together to generate more targeted readers for their blogs.
But this system doesn’t work if all members aren’t contributing at least somewhat equally. Why should any member give the widget high placement if other members are not going to? And yet those other members stand to receive the SAME REWARDS? It’s just not fair and, therefore, we have no choice but to make this change.
So any member that’s only willing to put the BlogRush widget at the very bottom of their blog isn’t a member we want in our network — and our network will deliver more traffic, per member, without them.
UPDATE: We’ve heard from several members that are unable to give the widget higher placement because of their narrow blog design. We’re trying to create a solution.
OTHER THINGS WE’RE WORKING ON…
We’ll be adding more features and additions beyond this giant Phase 2 roll-out. More customization options for the widget. New syndication methods and features for generating even more traffic. And much, much more.
And, oh yeah, there’s also the upcoming release of TrafficJam.com that instantly benefits all members of BlogRush — but we’re not quite ready to let the cat out of the bag on that one.
Stay tuned.
SPECIAL NOTE: This major Phase 2 roll-out is taking a bit longer than we originally expected, but we hope to have it completely released within 7 days. Thanks to everyone for their patience — I told you it would be worth the wait. 
http://www.income.com/blog/2007/10/08/blogrush-phase-2/
I mean, how the hell do you manage this sort of thing and remain fair? Especially, since John says they may (not will) be implementing a system to warn users who are in jeopardy.
Jeff Yolen
Alex Iskold
Steve Touhill
Moderator: