Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Extra entries are like chit-chat

Like I mentioned in a recent post, I have a new-found obsession with giveaways. I love the chance of it all; I love checking out new products; I love the circular system of advertising as it never really cheats anyone and everyone gets the promotion and exposure they seek. I comment about them, I tweet about them, I add the link to my blogroll, I even post their button on my sidebar (and I don't think I'm the only one). It's fun and addictive and exciting, but...

I do have one problem with the whole idea.

Participating in giveaways, namely the ones that offer "extra entries", just doesn't always settle well in my stomach. It reminds me of phone calls with friends you had to call only because you wanted something, but to not sound completely rude, I had to feign interest with bit of irrelevant, mindless chitchat until a reasonably comfortable time to break out the, "Hey, I was wondering..." bombshell. Extra entries are like that chitchat. I mean, tell me if I'm wrong here, but putting a link on a sidebar to promote another site should indicate that I personally recommend that site and each one could reflect upon my blog's credibility. But, I placed it on there so I'd win something. Not because I went to the site and thought it was awesome :) enough that I wanted everyone to check it out. So it's a game where contest participants promote a blog under the guise of actual devotion because it gives them another chance. (**And please tell me if I'm off here!)

So, because I like giveaways, and I like promoting blogs/sites that I think are of value, I have a solution. I am going to go through the links that are on my sidebar from giveaways and actually post about what I think. If I find something unacceptable, I can remove the button (and subsequently comment again on their blog letting them know--hey, it might count as another entry!- j/k) How does that sound?

Right now, Jolly Mom, Go Graham Go!, There Once Was a Girl, and Mom Giveaways are off to the right. Oh, and at the bottom, let's see, Vanilla Joy (doesn't count because, yes, I do like that site, I know I do!, but I'll write a review anyway), Mom Saves Money, Steals and Deals, That's Just Nifty Thrifty, All Because Two People Fell in Love, and Simple Finds. ooh, that's bad. I didn't know I was this bad, forgive me.

Well, my children seem to think that I bear the responsibility of feeding them (;) so I have to attend to that, but later I will let you know what I think, starting with Jolly Mom. If you'd like, go take a look around for yourself.

To see a longer list of the giveaway sites I've discovered lately, read my previous post.

siggy

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