Is BlogRush The Most Viral Start-Up Ever?
September 27th, 2007 | Categories: blogs, launch, marketing, markets, networks, social media, strategy
It’s been less than two weeks since launch and already BlogRush has vaulted into the Alexa top 1,000 (weekly average). It takes most start-ups, even the most viral, a year or two to crack this barrier, but BlogRush has managed to do it in less than half a month. This must mean something. This company is for REAL. This surge makes Twitter’s success look like a lifetime achievement.
So what is BlogRush? What’s all the fuss about?
To be honest, it’s a very simple concept. That’s why it works. People understand it and can see the value. The basic premise is this: you paste an embed code onto your blog. BlogRush displays a widget with the titles of 5 blog posts from blogs similar to yours. In other words, for every page loaded, 5 other blogs are gaining potential exposure and awareness via your site. In return for every page load your blog creates, one of your headlines appears on BlogRush widget on a different blog that is similar to yours. This ensures that nobody gets ripped off or cheated.
Now here’s the kicker: for every person that you refer to BlogRush (or that signs up below you), you will receive an additional headline view for every one of your referral’s page views. This works 10 levels down. So basically, the more people you get to sign up, the more traffic you can generate for your blog. Very smart concept. In essence, this idea is very similar to many web 1.0 concepts around traffic-sharing. However, I prefer to think of this idea as the ‘link exchange of the web 2.0 world’, as it harnesses the power of widgets.
Finally, is there a revenue model? Most widgets have a hard time implementing any sort of monetization. But I think BlogRush is different. Think of this… for any and all leftover inventory, BlogRush can sell the space to potential advertisers, looking to access relevant content and blogs. Furthermore, they may even be able to add network ads to fill in the holes.
Who knows… I may soon have to ‘rush’ out and add this widget. And perhaps you may want to sign up below me? 
What do you think? Is BlogRush the most viral start-up we’ve seen thus far?
September 27th, 2007 at 6:14 am
It is interesting why some services resonate with people while others struggle to get into the spotlight. A good example is TheGoodBlogs, which has been offering a very similar service to BlogRush for more than a year. Yet, TGB has struggled to get any kind of profile.
September 27th, 2007 at 6:42 am
I like the blogrush idea but was hoping that my dashboard would work by now. Since it launched there were glitches but I guess that’s all part of the process. Here’s my invite to you Aidan - http://tinyurl.com/2vukdy
September 27th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Mark - That is definitely a good point. Other similar products, like MineKey, are also entering the space. Perhaps BlogRush had the best marketing and PR approach?
Robin - I’ve heard about the glitches. Hopefully they’ve been fixed. I guess the servicevis in BETA, and they’ve had to scale pretty darn quick - gotta give them some slack. And thanks for the invite… I’m still not sure if I will try it out yet though.
Cheers,
Aidan
October 4th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Hey Aidan, don’t forget what you told me about BlogRush, brother.
Hit me up when you are ready!
October 5th, 2007 at 6:27 am
[…] Last week, Mapping the Web alerted me to BlogRush, a neat little service that lets bloggers promote their wares on sites similar to theirs. The “viral effect” comes in that the more page views your site gets (promoting five headlines from similar sites each time in a BlogRush widget), the more times your site’s stories are promoted on BlogRush widgets across the interwebs. […]
February 8th, 2008 at 12:43 am
[…] In late September 2007, I wrote about the explosive “success” of BlogRush. At one point, BlogRush nearly hit 500 on the Alexa rankings - an amazing feat in such a short period of time. This rise to glory was quickly followed by a fade into oblivion. Nevertheless, a new kid is in town and his name is Entrecard. He claims to be the next big thing, but can he live up to the hype? Even more importantly, can he sustain long-term success where so many others have failed? […]