I have written about RedGage in the past (sometimes in not so flattering terms). In fact, for those who have followed this blog and others that I’m active with, you have no doubt seen where I have explained “How to Use RedGage“, why I think RedGage is useful for maximizing freelance earnings, where I suggested that RedGage is “Social Networking with a twist” and finally, why I decided (some time ago) to give up on RedGage.
My frustrations with the RedGage site were valid then (and some of them do still exist), however, in light of the Google Content Farm update (if you want a fuzzy name some call it “Panda”), the fact of the matter is that many blogs could be considered content farms if you go digging long enough. However, with that out of the way, here is why I think that it is time to reconsider RedGage:
Here’s what I like about RedGage
It’s easy to sign up – simply log into their home page and fill in some basic information, your name and email address;
Your Bio – you are free to fill out a biography and include your photo (or other image) in your profile. You can also add links that point to your blog, other writing sites or just about any website that you would like;
Self-Promotion - the real long and short of RedGage is that it allows you to share your work with other people who are part of the RedGage community. In of itself, this is self promotion (even if you want to call it something else);
Variety – perhaps the strength of RedGage is the variety of topics that are available. You can find everything from article links to photographs and if you are feeling especially bold, you can post blog posts there as well. There are also options to upload documents and other helpful information;
Page views – one of the things that is pretty exciting about RedGage is that you can see instantly if someone is reading your post. You’ll see a “views” total on each post you make telling you how many people have looked at your post;
Collections - I love the idea of collections. After you post your links you go into your “general” collection and you can sort your work into more appropriate categories. It’s helpful and helps your readers.
What I don’t like about RedGage
I believe in a balanced look at the pros and the cons so here goes.
Poor content management group – there is a title that is showing in the “featured content” section of RedGage that is horrifically old. It says right in the title “best XYZ for 2010 for”. With hundreds of new links posted daily I cannot imagine why there is not one that is more current that is more appropriate;
Awkward login screen – the login screen for RedGage is a bit odd. To log in you get a pop-up box and it asks you for your user id and your password. Neither are stored. It often takes hitting “submit” twice in order to actually log in;
Submission screen – this is not the best submission screen I have ever used. It’s not bad but it could use some work. For example, you put in the title (and the good side is it tells you if you’ve already used it), and then you go to your keywords which are not actually where they are supposed to be (you’d think the box was where they went it’s actually below the box). Each time you hit a space after a tag, a comma is automatically inserted (on your first post) so forget about multiple word keywords. Once you get by the first one, the second one acts a bit different so you think you are safe only to review your submission to find that all your “long” keywords are now singles;
Thumbnails – even on links it asks for thumbnails but does not allow you to upload one of your own;
Payment mode - I am less than thrilled with the idea of this debit card and would certainly think that by now this site would be using PayPal but it is what it is.
Summary
Do not expect to make a thousand dollars at RedGage unless you are filling some great niche or your work happens to get picked for “featured” content. Even then, it’s going to take some time to add up. The site is worth the time you are spending, if for nothing else, to add backlinks to your work, meet others through networking and make a few pennies along the way. Check it out!
Read more: http://freelancingandmore.com/2011/03/21/social-media-reviews-redgage/#ixzz1iyqmUvwJ
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