SocialSpark SmileyThere’s a new spark that gives bloggers reasons to smile and get excited lately. Its all about getting social with other bloggers and getting paid at the same time. I am not talking about just any other social networking site. It is a revolutionary social marketing and networking site that allows bloggers and advertisers to connect with each other.

I am talking about SocialSpark and nothing else. It is a great place to build a community of bloggers who share the same passion, and at the same time, gives them an opportunity to find blog sponsors and get paid by displaying sponsor banners on blogs, or write sponsored contents a blogger may find interesting and relevant. SocialSpark also allows community members to create Sparks, posts to inform the community about your great ideas or about your blog. Sparks are usually free, and you could offer back a review or post about the members who took your Spark opportunity. Now how this affect a blog’s relevance to readers? It won’t, since a blogger can freely select relevant topics to write about. Readers can easily distinguish it as a sponsored content because a Disclosure Badge is placed after each sponsored post, thus making it transparent. Reviews are real opinions of the blogger, thus it can easily merge into the blogger’s overall blog content and most of all, it is search-engine friendly as it enforces a “no follow” tag on links - now this one really what sparked my interest upon seeing the email invite from Izea. These are basically what SocialSpark considered as their Code of Ethics:

-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

SocialSpark

There is nothing as exciting as getting paid for the things you love to do. And if blogging is your passion, meeting more interesting people and at the same time getting paid to write about the things that interests you are surely among those reasons why blogging is such a wonderful thing that the world wide web brings.

The downside?

Since I have resolved to be objective and responsible in my blog reviews, some downsides of this awesome program will not gonna escape my scrutinies.

First, you got to be very patient in getting your reservation for opportunities. It may take weeks before you get your slot. Perhaps, this should be improved once more and more advertisers are using the system. Also, the offer prices may drop like Enron stocks in a matter of days. Since this is new, adjustments to changes in price offers may take some time for general acceptance among bloggers.

Navigation also needs improvements - especially on putting a site-wide link to your taken opportunities. And when browsing for opportunities, clicking on “back” button when you’re in page 6 doesn’t take you back on page 5 (even if you came from page 5), instead it all takes you back to the first opportunity page.

Overall assessment?

If you like socializing with many other bloggers, adding new friends, give some nice (or perhaps sarcastic) comments to anyone, give a thumbs up (or prop) to your favorite members, advertisers and opportunities, generate traffic to your blog by creating a Spark opportunity, and make money with sponsors and sponsored contents, then this spark should kindle your passion for blogging even more.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • MisterWong
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • Mixx
  • Propeller
  • Technorati
  • YahooBuzz
  • email Now this spark is making blogging even more exciting
  • Furl
  • NewsVine
  • SphereIt
  • Sphinn
  • TwitThis
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Blogjoints
  • Bloglines