Just left of normal

From IZEA comes a great new get paid to blog social networking site called SocialSpark. I recently singed up (linked through PPP which is also from the great people at IZEA) and couldn't be more enamored with it. It's free to get involved with only a few minimum requirements for your blog before you can get started. If your blog is more than 90 days old with 20+ posts your pretty much qualified. If your blog isn't qualified right away don't fret you can still build up your network by adding friends, giving props and scoping opportunity's. All your information including your blog link and thumbnail will appear on your profile whether your qualified yet or not. I've been through my share of paid to blog sites in the past and none of them compared in quality to Social Spark.

Not only do they have a great concept here but they have excellent Customer Service (better known as Customer Love). You don't get the standard "Please allow up to 48 hours for a reply" that turns out to really be 72+ and even then you only get half an answer. They list the hours of operation for Customer Love -understandable and necessary if you want an answer from a real person. If you can't find the answer to your question within the well organized FAQ (which you most likely will) then you need to submit a ticket. I recently submitted a ticket myself and received a reply within a few hours. I don't think i have ever received such a prompt response to an issue aside from calling an 800 number (even then it can still take an hour)

Let me also mention their code of ethics (you can read more about them here):
>100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure - by keeping your readers aware and informed that you are getting paid for certain content you maintain trust.
>100% Transparency - all participants and participation is viewable by the public to keep everyone honest.
>100% Real Opinions - social spark encourages real opinions because in the end posts irrelevant to the topic will only hurt you.
>100% Search Engine Friendly - sponsored links carry the "no-follow" attribute as to not affect search engine rankings.

SocialSpark's bottom line is to provide an opportunity for bloggers to make a little money doing what they do best (blog) and maintain an honest open relationship with every one involved. It's a great opportunity and you have nothing to lose so check it out.

Here are some links i consider to be click worthy for various reasons. If ever you find a link that doesn't work please let me know.

Blogs:
Aforementioned Thoughts - I met Meredith through the Crafters forum when she made a request in my Etsy shop. She has a lovely blog with lots of fun entries and topics.

Kirida - "It's Father's Day, so that means that this is the time of year that I pull out the Breathe Right strips and perform the longest BJ ever."

Ask Moxie - I completely stumbled upon this one once when I was looking on some info about baby sleep patterns and such. She is not an expert but she has lots of discussion on the various subjects of baby sleep and lots of opinions and comments from other parents as well. Parenting is not an exact science so the conversation here might help.

Crafts:
Etsy - <3 One of the best sites on the web, buy and sell here. Like the ebay of handmade but way better.

Craftster - The BEST crafting forum i have seen yet. Tons of people from all over, tons of ideas, help, tips, swaps, patterns and even tutorials. If it's crafty it's on crafster.


Short Disclaimer: This list is liable to change at anytime. If you find a link that doesn't work please leave a comment or drop me a quick line angelsandsaints@gmail.com