Help: Frequently Asked Questions

Basics

What is Thotswap?

Thotswap is an online community where people can discover and share experiences, opinions, and ideas about the products and topics that interest them the most. At the same time, members can earn money from the content they write -– something that many already do on a daily basis –- through the Thotswap revenue-sharing program.

By providing easy-to-use tools, members can publish product reviews and personal blogs to share with a global audience. What's more, members can connect with their friends or other members that share similar interests and be kept up-to-date on their activities. Finally, user-submitted comments and ratings help create conversations around topics and ensure that the content on Thotswap is top-notch.

For a quick tour of what Thotswap is all about, click here – or, you would like to start swapping your thoughts on the Thotswap community right this moment, join now!

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What makes Thotswap different from other similar websites?

We set ourselves apart by aiming to build a rich community that brings together the best of social networking sites, product review sites, and blog hosting sites. Best of all, unlike other websites that provide similar functionality, we believe that you, the member, should be given a share of the revenues earned from web pages that contain your content!

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Why do you include both product reviews and blogs?

While blogs offer a virtually limitless selection of topics for both readers and writers alike, we realize that everyone has opinions about products they've encountered and that there will always be people looking for opinions on products that they're interested in. Thus, the inclusion of product reviews on Thotswap instantly adds both a helpful source of information for shoppers and a solid writing topic for members. This, coupled with the open-ended format of blogs and a rich community that fosters conversation, makes Thotswap attractive for people of all walks of life.

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Why do you have the word "Beta" in your name and what does it mean?

In the realm of software development, the word "Beta" is often used to denote a working -- but not quite finished -- version of a piece of software. Thus, we use this word in this temporary phase to inform visitors that we are still working to refine Thotswap and to expect some features to not quite function as they were intended.

Should you run into any problems using the website, we encourage you to report it and let us know of these issues so we may look into fixing them. Likewise, should you wish to request a feature that is not yet present, now is the best time to let us know of it!

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Which web browsers are officially supported?

Thotswap officially supports the following web browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher
• Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or higher
• Google Chrome 1.0

While we do attempt to test all of Thotswap in Internet Explorer 6, we do not officially support this web browser due to its aging rendering engine. Users of this browser may notice minor display issues or reduced functionality. We highly encourage all users to upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, or another equivalent modern browser to ensure the best browsing experience.

Please note that in order for all portions of Thotswap to function properly, it is important that you have cookies and Javascript enabled. Should you have additional technical questions or issues, please feel free to contact us.

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Membership and Accounts

How much does it cost to be a Thotswap member?

There is no cost to create an account and to publish your content on the Thotswap website. Membership on Thotswap is absolutely free!

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How do I sign up for a Thotswap account?

Signing up is easy. Simply click here to reach our registration page and select a username and password, as well as provide an email address to register with your account. Make sure to use a valid email address that you have access to as you will be required to check its Inbox in order to verify the address you entered.

Please note that you can change all aspects of your account once it has been created, including the password and email address except for the username.

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How many accounts am I allowed to have?

Each person is only allowed one member account on Thotswap, as detailed in our Terms of Service agreement. This is to ensure that people do not attempt to inflate the ratings of their submitted content, their Thotivity score, or any other aspects of their account which would compromise the integrity of the Thotswap community. Please note that anyone who attempts to create multiple accounts may have their accounts closed without warning.

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What is Thotivity and Rank?

Thotivity and Rank is a two-part system meant to indicate both a member's recent level of activity and cumulative achievement within the Thotswap community.

Your Rank is a cumulative total of all your activities since you created your account. There are 9 ranks within the Thotswap community and each rank is represented by a graphical badge that all members can proudly display. Your Rank informs others of your experience within the community and is often a good indicator of trust. Members with a high Rank often have been around the longest and have contributed content and conversation that others generally enjoy.

Your Thotivity is a real-time snapshot of your activity within the last 14 days and can increase or decrease based on your participation. This number informs others of your enthusiasm toward the Thotswap community and, should you be one of the top members based on your Thotivity, can be used as a promotional tool as you will be listed on Thotswap's homepage.

Activities that contribute to both your Thotivity and Rank include:

• Publishing blog posts and product reviews
• Receiving positive ratings from other members for your blog posts and product reviews
• Giving ratings to other people's blog posts and product reviews
• Making comments that are positively-rated by other members on blog posts and product reviews

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Making Money

How do I make money from Thotswap?

It's easy to start making money from Thotswap. By becoming a member and writing about the things you love -- or hate -- you will retain 60% of all the advertisement impressions shown on the pages that include your content. This includes all the product reviews and blog posts that you write, as well as the advertisements found on your public profile. You can then display your own advertisements on these pages by creating a Google AdSense account (if you don't already have one) and linking it with your Thotswap account, which can earn you money.

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How much money should I expect to make?

The amount of money you can earn every month is dependent on how many people view the pages that contain your content. That is, the more popular your writing becomes, the more money you can potentially earn. Ultimately, you control the amount of money you can make from Thotswap!

As a general rule, new members should begin to see noticeable earnings after they have received a cumulative total of a few thousand impressions on their content pages.

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Is there anything special I need to know about creating an AdSense account?

There is nothing special to know about creating an account with Google AdSense. The process is easy and there is no risk. (Click here to be directed to the AdSense sign-up form)

At the top of the sign-up form, you will be asked for a website URL to which AdSense will verify after you submit the form. Simply type in www.thotswap.com into this field and select English as the website language and proceed with the rest of the form.

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How do I link my AdSense account with my Thotswap member account?

After you have been approved for an AdSense account, you may link it with your Thotswap account. To do so, visit the Advertisement Setup page in your private profile and enter the Publisher ID that AdSense assigned to you.

You can find your AdSense Publisher ID by logging into your AdSense account and looking at the top-right corner of your profile page; it begins with the word pub- and ends with 10 numbers.

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Where can I find the traffic and earnings reports for my Thotswap pages?

You can find your traffic reports, which contain information such as the number of views your content pages received and the number of advertisement impressions that you have received, under the Statistics tab in your private profile. Alternatively, you can click here to be taken directly to the page.

Please note that during the Beta testing phase, only the Overview statistics for the last 30 days are available for viewing. You may see earnings statistics for your advertisements by visiting the Google AdSense website and logging in with your Google AdSense account information.

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Why is it reported that I have received more/less than 60% of my advertisement impressions?

When a reader visits a page that contains your content, the Thotswap website uses a random roll to determine whether or not your advertisement gets displayed. Thus, as is the nature of random rolls, your cumulative advertisement ratio may not be exactly 60% when you only have a small number of impressions; rest-assured, it will eventually balance out to 60% as more impressions are recorded.

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Can I use bots, auto-clickers, manual refreshes, or other methods to artificially boost my earnings with Google AdSense?

No, you may not attempt to artificially boost your earnings with Google AdSense by any means, whether manually or automatically. This includes (but is not limited to) activities such as refreshing the page and clicking the ads repeatedly or using a program to refresh the page and load ads automatically. Attempting to do so will not only mean the immediate termination of your Thotswap account, but will also cause your Google AdSense account to be suspended and your earnings forfeited.

We do, however, encourage members to actively promote their Thotswap pages in order to boost their traffic and, therefore, the ad impressions that they receive. The best way of increasing your earnings is to write quality content that people will want to read, and telling all your friends and family about it!

Should you have any further questions regarding acceptable behavior on Thotswap, please feel free to ask us.

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Can my friends and family share a single AdSense account between our Thotswap accounts?

Yes, you can link a single Google AdSense account with multiple Thotswap accounts, such as with your family members or friends. Keep in mind that, should you do this, each member is responsible for satisfying the Google AdSense Program Policies for the shared AdSense account.

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Publishing Content

How do I write a new blog post?

You can write a new blog post when you are logged into your Thotswap account. There will be a link to the blog post editor from within your private profile near the top-left portion of the page. (Click here to access the blog post editor directly.)

You can write your blog post about anything you like. Give it a descriptive title that tells the reader what you're writing about and start writing your post! Towards the bottom, you will be able to tag your blog post. Tagging is the process of giving keywords to your post so that readers can easily find your writing based on a given topic. Pick a few keywords or phrases that you think describe the content of your post and enter them in the field. You can enter multiple tags by separating them with commas.

Note that it is important that you give your post proper tags that describe or are related to its content. You may find your post getting rated down by other members if they feel that your post is not properly tagged.

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How do I write a new product review?

You can write a new product review when you are logged into your Thotswap account. Once you've decided on the product you wish to review, the first step is to find the product on the Thotswap website. You can try to locate it by browsing through the product categories that are available, or you can use the search function.

When you've found the product you're looking for (can't find the product you're looking for?), there will be a link on the product page that will take you to the product review editor.

Start by giving a descriptive title that describes the product or review that you're writing. Select an overall rating out of 5 stars by clicking on the star rating that you would like to give the product and provide a concise verdict on the product. Remember, the rating and verdict is used to give readers a preview of your opinion of the product and will be shown whenever your product review is listed on Thotswap. Finally, write the main body of the product review using the editor space provided.

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What happens if I can't find the product I want to review on the Thotswap website?

We work hard to populate our database with as many products that we think would be of interest to you. Unfortunately, there are just so many products out there that it would be virtually impossible for us to catalog every single one. Should you be inclined to review a product that isn't already in our database, you can still do so by instantly suggesting the product and continuing on with writing your review.

1. At the bottom of every category page, follow the link to the Suggest a Product feature (or click here to go directly to it).
2. Select the main category that the product belongs to. If you reached the Suggest a Product page by clicking the link on the bottom a category page, then you will see that categories will have automatically been selected for you.
3. Optionally, select any sub-categories that turn up that better defines the type of product you're suggesting.
4. Give the name of the product that you wish to review. As you type the product name, suggestions will be provided of products already in the database within the main category that you have selected based on what you type. If you find the product in the suggestion list, great! Select it and you can immediately move on to writing the review. If it doesn't return any suggestions, thanks for suggesting a new product!
5. (Optional) If you see a "Provide Product Information" section, provide any additional information about the product by checking the selections that apply.

Once you have verified that the information you're providing is accurate and have submitted the information you can immediately move onto writing your review. An administrator will review and verify the product that you have submitted. This process should take less than 48 hours after you submit the product, but may take longer depending on the number of product suggestions we receive. If you publish our review before the product is verified, your review will appear on Thotswap as soon as the product has been verified by an administrator.

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Can I include images in my blog posts and product reviews?

At this moment, there is no way of including images directly in your blog posts and product reviews; however, rest assured that this feature is at the very top of our agenda and will be implemented within the next few months. Once it is implemented, you will be able to quickly and easily upload your pictures to share with your friends and family.

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