Toolbar Now Compatible with Firefox 3.5

The Entrecard Toolbar is now compatible with Firefox 3.0 and higher, including 3.5. For details, see this post.

Some of the details and requirements have been copied below.

• The toolbar only works with Firefox 3 or later. This will not work with other web browsers.
• You must have an Entrecard account, the toolbar provides no functionality otherwise.
• The toolbar should be compatible with Firefox on all operating systems, Windows, Mac and Linux
• Under NO circumstances should you download the toolbar from any other source than Entrecard itself. Using modifications by third parties may result in the theft of your account information.
• The Entrecard toolbar does not keep track of any browsing habits or information other than that directly relevant to your Entrecard operations. If there is no widget on a page, the toolbar will pay no attention to it.

Changes and Improvements at Entrecard

Some changes have occurred at Entrecard, all of which should have been addressed a long time ago.

Included in the changes are:

• Login and out problems have been fixed.
• Auto-approving advertising requests have been fulfilled, meaning you can automatically accept all advertising requests. This can be found under your "Advert Settings" area in the dashboard.
• The advertising directory has been purged of the blogs that do not have a widget present. This ensures that you will find more relevant and updated blogs when dropping cards or advertising.

Further changes may be made in the future, so we have to stay tuned.

Ad Prices Begin to Stabilize

While I haven't been as involved in tracking the price of credits, the maximum price is a little over four thousand per day. Some of the blogs that I have on the site have been increasing in value without any additional promotion, so this may be a sign that things are beginning to stabilize.

As you may recall, the paid ads were removed from the system a short time ago and specials on purchasing credits from the site have also gone down (you get more for the same price).

It is still unclear how the new owners will really monetize the site, as the affiliate promotions and ads on the front page/blog likely aren't allowing the site to break even from hosting costs yet.

No More Paid Ads

Paid ads will soon be a thing of the past, as the new owners are now honoring what users say about the service. This was to become the main source of revenue for Entrecard, although it was meant with a lot of backlash by the long-time members.

During the time that paid ads will be phased out, you will not be able to purchase new paid ads and any ads already purchased will continue to run. From this point forward, you may only use credits to purchase "ads."

Additionally, the cashout service will be dissolved, with the remaining funds used for cashout. Any credits not used for cashout will be returned to your account.

It is still too early to say the direction that the new company wants to take the service, as there are now no ways for the service to monetize. Other than the few hundred dollars the blog may make per month, no long-term plan has been exposed.

Additionally, the homepage has been reverted back to an introduction/ads format, with a stronger focus on attracting new members.

Entrecard Has Been Acquired by ZipRunner Inc.

On July 16th, it was announced that Entrecard was acquired by ZipRunner Inc., an investment company that has been working with online businesses for a number of years. Entrecard, which was started nearly two years ago, has seen a number of challenges develop as its user base has grown drastically and a revenue program had to be introduced.

Much of the old staff will still be working at Entrecard, advising the new owners on the direction that the site should take and ironing out all the details. However, the difference is now in the extra support and funding that can be channeled through the site.

The CEO of ZipRunner posted the following on the blog:

Furthermore, ZipRunner is prepared to take Entrecard to the next level. We have carefully read blog comments and the help desk to gain a better understanding of users’ concerns. We value our Entrecard users and we intend to address your comments and to provide you with the best blogging service possible.

Personally, I don't know the exact direction that the site will go in after this acquisition. Most likely they'll put enough funding into the site to keep it open and possibly turn a profit.

In order to turn the profit and make some income on their purchase, they are likely going to invite more advertisers into the system, and this won't please its current members, but changes will certainly have to be made.

I'll be posting any new updates here.