By now, most of you viewing these automated blogging profile sites will have come across AlphaInventions and Condron.us.
From what I can work out, both are similar and yet very different. AI appears to pluck random blogs out of the blogosphere and combines them with a core group of regular bloggers who have taken out subscriptions and regularly update their posts. (I am one).
Similarly Condron also invites bloggers to submit posts to their automatic profile site but this appears to be more dependent of active participation.
I like the control that Condron provides as it allows you to stop and step back to a page if you missed it whereas you have to wait for it to re-appear on AI.
Also the turnover cycle of blogs on AI seems much smaller than the blogs cycle on Condron. Condron also provides both a countdown counter so that you can see when the next page will refresh and it keeps track of the different blogs with a counter. So I would regard the Condron viewer control and information as better. There is also a forum on Condron that allows you to discuss topics of choosing.
However, the automatic hits generated by AI as it displays your site swells the hit counter of wordpress. As I have said before this inflates the number of hits but that’s not to say that viewers are not looking at your site (I sit and watch them scroll by and only stop the ones that look interesting). My visits from Condron are significantly fewer. Interestingly, many of my regulars are both AI and Condron users… we are a chummy bunch.
So IMHO, AI is more passive whereas Condron is more active. I think they are both great and there is room for each service.
Let me know if this post has been helpful.
and Cheru or Ryan, please correct me on any inaccuracies.
15 Comments
February 27, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Hi Bruce,
It appears your post link to Condron leads back to Alphainventions as well.
I haven’t tried Condrun so thanks for the lead, I’ll definitely look into it.
All the best. Ram.
February 27, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Ooops Ram… sorted now…
How’s life on the street?
Bruce
February 27, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Not bad…thanks for asking. Living in a car now. It’s a time share.
February 27, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Oh Ram. That’s ripe. Sorry.
Bruce,
I try to use both services, but it does seem that I get more hits from Alpha Inventions when Cheru isn’t mad at me. Unfortunately, Cheru is mad at me a lot. But I’m such a delightful person. I just don’t understand why that is . . .
February 27, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I use both, but I do get much more traffic from Alphainventions. In fact most of my regulars are AI users too.
Have you tried fiddlewiddle.com? They tie in with AI too, but you don’t have to look at other blogs on the roll.
February 27, 2009 at 8:09 pm
thanks dreamology… I did look at fiddlewiddle but when I clicked it went to the AI site so I just assumed that it was a portal for AI.
I actually like looking at the blogs on the roll but the problem is that when I have a slow connection, I see things that I want to check and then they are gone because they have not loaded fast enough!
So I have to wait for them to come round again. Thats why I think that condron is so good. It seems to be less of a problem and you can easily step forwards and backwards through the blog list.
B.
February 27, 2009 at 8:14 pm
We happy bunch of optimists at the Mad Hatters find that AI yields a shedload of hits, but that these are only rarely converted into comments.
We haven’t used Condron much, as it has only ever resulted in a handful of hits per day. Maybe I’ll start giving it a bit more of a chance.
February 28, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I am glad you posted a reply to my site or I would not have ever known about your site! Thank you.
What you write is very true. I am trying to figure out a way for the inflated hits to work toward our (bloggers) benefit. Ill let you know what I come up with. I’m linking to your blog in one sec…thanx for the great work!
March 11, 2009 at 12:56 am
Fiddle widdle is tied into A.I. and generates traffic the same way, but are different sites owned by different people. The trick with fiddle widdle is to submit a lot, because they don’t charge, you have to use it more for the best results.
March 11, 2009 at 6:39 am
Thanks Christopher… I’ll give it a go.
March 23, 2009 at 4:49 am
Thanks Chris
I have never tried Condron, but I am impressed with Cheru Jackson a whiz kid 25 years old who has really contributed to the welfare of all bloggers..
He is the new kid on the Blog..
Thanks
March 23, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Word is that Fiddle Widdle is owned and moderated by Cheru of Alpha Inventions. Just thought that I’d mention it.
March 27, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I use both condron and alphainventions. I have google analytics set up for one of my pages (www.nahgems.com – its the same blog as my nahgems.wordpress.com). Google analytics gives more details than the generic wordpress statistics. While alphainventions generates more traffic, condron visitors seem to stay on my site longer (even if they don’t comment). I have lots of 6+ minute visits, and they click on multiple pages. I also enjoy the condron interface more because it allows me to go back if I “miss” a page.
March 27, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Brilliant..
Folks check this technique out.
Worth trying!
June 11, 2009 at 2:59 am
Look like it’s time to update. I’ve made many changes to alphainventions.com
It’s time for me to get more creative, and less competitive.