November 10, 2007
PayPerPost (IZEA) Announces SocialSpark
Written by: Juanchito
Update: TechCrunch finally put up their coverage of SocialSpark. Pretty weak coverage since Mike didn’t cover much of the announcement at all. Maybe he was busy since it’s the weekend.
I’m currently sitting at PayPerPost/Izea’s user conference called PostieCon. In 30 minutes we’ll be seeing the unveiling of Argus to the world. I’ve previously blogged about how Izea is planning to take on Google. We officially know that Argus is now called SocialSpark. I’ll place a screenshot of the new site at the bottom of this post.
I think the most groundbreaking feature they are announcing with SocialSpark is allowing advertisers to sponsor blogs.
In addition to sponsored posts, SocialSpark has created a viable alternative to traditional online display ads designed to provide a higher return on investment for both advertisers and bloggers. The revolutionary new form of advertising allows marketers to set a price range they are willing to pay to sponsor a blog via an interactive ad unit called a Blog Welcome™. The new unit welcomes a user when they visit a blog and then collapses into a small persistent sponsorship bar that remains at the bottom of a browser.
I’m not so sure about having a permanent bar at the bottom of a blog, but I guess I don’t see any reason why it’s a bad idea. I think I’ll have to see the full implementation before I make final judgment. Plus, I think it’s important to know how much that’s worth. Can you have multiple advertisers? Does the toolbar have a set price for a certain time frame? I think we’ll find out when Ted shows it in a few minutes.
As expected, Izea is going to have a whole group of stats.
Analytics tools installed on a blogger’s blog allow SocialSpark to provide traffic data on the blog’s public profile. Advertisers are provided with a complete picture of a blog’s influence including visits and page views, along with other demographic information such as aggregate gender, age, location, interest and other visitor information. That data allows advertisers to build their street teams based on the audience of the blogger. Once a campaign is launched, advertisers can monitor CPC and CPM as well as gauge brand awareness and campaign impact across the blogosphere.
Looks like SocialSpark should be pretty interesting. They are also unveiling a blogger’s social network. It doesn’t look that interesting to me. Although one feature I know about does look interesting. It’s essentially a way to manage your blog roll using PayPerPost SocialSpark. For advertisers the idea of creating your own niche social network of bloggers is a pretty unique way for advertisers to find their target market.
Another important part of this announcement is required in post disclosure. A great step forward.
30 minutes and we’ll be able to see it in action and I’ll be able to tell you more about what I think of SocialSpark.
[...] from the early press release at PostieCon, more from me about it later. In the meantime, click here to read some [...]
Very interesting explanation. I want to read that over and over when it is quiet! This is so exciting. I think it sounds good for all of us “serious” bloggers.
Karen,
I agree that the “sponsoring a blog” is a very interesting concept. I just think it will be interesting to see how much the advertising market will pay for this type of advertisement.
This is very exciting… looking forward to learing more.
[...] PayPerPost (IZEA) Announces SocialSpark The cat is out of the bag. In just a few more minutes this knowlege will hit the blogosphere proper. I just wanted you all to get a heads up beforehand. SocialSpark aims to change the world of blog advertising FOREVER. If you want to see it go live, check out the live feed from Vegas. [...]
[...] I might add) Jim Kukral almost had an exclusive (unfortunately Colleen beat him by minutes) Smuggle Me followed shortly thereafter Broken Perfection has a nice post up too Technorati Tags: Izea, [...]
[...] must also admit that I’m a little sad to be going to Hawaii now that PayPerPost announced SocialSpark. Well, Hawaii should be a lot of fun and it will be really interesting for me to present at the EMR [...]
[...] must also admit that I’m a little sad to be going to Hawaii now that PayPerPost announced SocialSpark. Well, Hawaii should be a lot of fun and it will be really interesting for me to present at the EMR [...]
FVB > That Just Happened — SocialSpark that is……
“What does that do, does that blow your mind? That just happened!”
~ Ricky Bobby
That is IZEA’s announcement today of SocialSpark.com (codenamed Argus) — the future of online advertising. Ricky Bobby’s quote to Jean Girard kept running thr…
[...] and advertisers come together, was finally announced late yesterday afternoon at PostieCon 2007. Techie’s blog explains how Social Spark will provide each blog’s profile. Giving stats will enable an [...]
[...] Coutessy : crashutah [...]
This is going to be really interesting: we’ll be rewarded by how we build an audience! mmm… We’d best get started now… hit the ground running…
Kenneth
How annoying, I created the concept of Blog Sponsorships at BloggingSponsorships.com almost a year ago. Cheap imitator!
[...] some other blogs buzzing about SocialSpark: Colleen, Techie, Lisa, Jim Kukral, and [...]
I think it’s funny that you see Izea as a cheap imitator. That really ruins your credibility. You should at least call them an expensive imitator if you’re going to call them an imitator. How much money have you raised for BlogSponsorships.com? My guess is it’s not close to $10 million. How much revenue have you generated? How many bloggers do you have? How many advertisers do you have? How much money have you paid to bloggers? Pull out the numbers and lets compare who is cheap and who isn’t.
[...] http://www.crashutah.com/blog/juanchito/2007/11/10/payperpost-izea-announces-socialspark/ is all about making money with humour and some crass. Most often that not you will find many ways and opportunities to earn money just by being online, ranging from stuff such as opportunity posts or even ad based and email programs that you can register. Many people dare to think but not many dare to say it out. http://www.crashutah.com will do just that, think, talk and laugh. [...]
[...] http://www.crashutah.com/blog/juanchito/2007/11/10/payperpost-izea-announces-socialspark/ is all about making money with humour and some crass. Most often that not you will find many ways and opportunities to earn money just by being online, ranging from stuff such as opportunity posts or even ad based and email programs that you can register. Many people dare to think but not many dare to say it out. http://www.crashutah.com will do just that, think, talk and laugh. [...]