A few hours ago, BlogRush sent out an email to all its members titled "Shocking Changes At BlogRush". In it, spammers are bashed and BlogRush, boosted.
Edit: The entire email can be found at Shocking Changes At BlogRush! @ income.com blog. Just a heads up, the email spans a few pages if you want to read it.
BlogRush?
If you haven't the faintest idea what BlogRush is, it's the latest way to get more traffic for your site. By installing the BlogRush widget on your site, you get free advertising on other BlogRush-ed sites every time someone visits your site. Caught your interest? Click here to sign up for BlogRush. Don't worry, it's totally free!
The email
Well, back to the lengthy email. It looks like things at BlogRush are about to change for the better or worse, depending on your use of BlogRush. If you're a spammer/cheater, seize the day and grab as much traffic as you can now, you won't be able to do so for long. For legitimate users, updates to the BlogRush widget and system should keep you satisfied.
Upcoming features
So how is BlogRush actually changing? Here's a quick look at what was promised in the email:
- Total shift to a manual review system.
- All blogs new or not will be hand picked for review.
- Spammers/Cheaters and non-English blogs will be weeded out.
- More categories
- Increased categories to improve post relevance.
- Better reports
- Reports will be adjusted to reflect bonus credits activity.
- Bonus credits
- Low traffic users will gain extra bonus credits.
- Improved credit usage
- Credit buildup will be balanced out.
New Features
But that's not all. There are 2 new features that have already been implemented. These are:
- BlogRush Flavors
- Choose between 13 different colors to suit your site.
- Post Filters
- Like Widget Filters, except Post Filters apply to your own posts. Use them to filter out irrelevant posts and save your credits.
Thoughts
Reviewing every site manually is tedious. Why not go social? Some users have probably clicked into the spam sites. Have an alert button built into the widget for users to flag a site just like Blogger. Then when flags accumulate, the site will get reviewed. It also helps prevent existing sites from morphing into something undesirable.
As for BlogRush Flavors, some CSS manipulation would be nice. 13 colors just can't compare with the millions of colors out there. Click-thrus will also improve if people can blend in their widgets with their sites.
And please send a shorter email next time.