Entrecard's new paid-ads system

We're all getting used to having paid ads on Entrecard. I have to admit I hated the idea at first, because I didn't like the idea of advertisers who had no interest in my site using its space to promote their own sites without giving me anything in return.

What I didn't realize until last night is that not all of the paid ads will be coming from outside of EC. Other EC members can also purchase paid ads. And now I see that this approach has definite advantages for new bloggers like me, who are still trying to increase exposure of our blogs. I purchased $10 worth of ads for Outlandish Observations last night about 8 pm, and almost immediately saw a huge jump in traffic on this site. And doing my normal EC dropping routine this morning, I saw my card on a number of different sites, none of which I would have considered buying ad space from under the old system.

So, at this point, I have to say that I like what I'm seeing, so far, despite the initial bugginess. And frankly, that surprises the heck out of me. <g>