Perhaps you remember the original concept of Blogcritics.org: "free CDs for bloggers".
Blogcritics celebrates its 2nd anniversary in August, and as it turned out we were way ahead of our time: the concept that record companies, DVD distributors, book publishers, etc., would provide review material for bloggers was met with slack jaws from the companies, who barely knew what blogs were, let alone saw them as valuable marketing outlets.
Now things have changed - blogs are hot, people are aware of them. We have a system in place whereby review material from dozens of labels, publicists, publishers, concert promoters, DVD distributors, movie studios, etc are now available to our members, free of charge. We only ask that they be reviewed. Our review material database has hundreds of items listed and only about half of them have been claimed at any given time. New material is added daily.
We truly now do provide "free stuff for bloggers." We are actively looking to increase our membership. We would love for you to join Blogcritics and/or tell your readers about our new review material program. Free stuff is good - everyone wins.
We cover music, books, film, TV, video, politics, technology, the Internet, just about everything. We can always use reviews, news (with some thoughts of your own) and commentary on any of these subjects.
About the only stipulations we have are that you maintain a blog of your own and that you give a good effort: we are, after all, "a sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, and technology."
We would also like you to try to contribute at least once a week - the more you contribute, the more you get out of it, but this is a suggestion, not a rule. Blogcritics is an excellent way to get wider exposure for your blog, your writing, your ideas, and now to get free CDs, DVDs, concert tickets, books, etc.
I look forward to hearing from you. Just send me an email (see the front page) with your name, blog URL, and your primary areas of interest and we'll get you signed up. Thanks so much for reading and for your interest.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Tom
Give me free books. I want free books. DVDs too. I don't listen to music much.
2 - Eric Olsen
hae you joined the Yahoo group? There are plenty of books and DVDs available
3 - Tom
I joined, but haven't been approved by the moderator yet.
4 - TDavid
There's nothing "sinister" about this offer ;)
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks TD, Tom, when did you apply? I don't see it pending. If you reapply, I will approve it instantly.
6 - Tom
I applied earlier today.
I will do it right now.
7 - Eric Olsen
now is good
8 - James C. Hess
I don't know if my blog meets your standards, but all the same: Hello! I enjoy your efforts here.
9 - Jason Nelms
I was wanting to join. How do I do so?
10 - bynaryhex
I question why Senator Kerry doesn't authorize the release of all documents pertaining to his service. The events were so long ago, I don't think they'll be able to piece together the facts unless Senator Kerry authorizes full disclosure of all his military records. I'm more curious about Senator Kerry admitting that he committed war crimes, yet he was not subject to a courts-martial. Do any of you question this absence of justice? I reviewed the congressional record on this matter, and found nothing to indicate that he was offered immunity in return for his testimony about war crimes in Viet Nam.
11 - Eric Olsen
is this a veiled request by Senator Kerry to join Blogcritics?
12 - Hal Pawluk
Why does the right persist in saying that Kerry has not released his records? You can find both Kerry's and Bush's records at AWOLBush.
The side-by-side comparison is interesting.
13 - Joe
Kerry's records are incomplete. I think what people are asking for is the supporting documentation, ie. for award citations there are corresponding award recommendations which are absent from the material that has been released.
14 - Mac Diva
(Snickering.) Depend on Mr. So Far Right He Makes the John Birch Society Look Leftist to crack me up. If Kerry's military records are 'incomplete,' what does that make George W. Bush's?
15 - Joe
Is that me you're referring to? I hold conservative opinions on some things and liberal opinions on others. Please choose another subject which you know little about to comment upon. Thanks!
16 - Bryan McKay
Eric, I know you want to draw revenue to the site, but since when did we enter the flatbed trucking market?
17 - Eric Olsen
diversification, Bryan lad, diversification
18 - Bryan McKay
Now that the spam has been deleted, we look a bit foolish here, don't we now?
19 - CS
sorry for being a noob, but I can't seem to find the way to join this blogcritics. Do i have to go through the yahoo group or what?
20 - Eric Olsen
"I look forward to hearing from you. Just send me an email (see the front page) with your name, blog URL, and your primary areas of interest and we'll get you signed up. Thanks so much for reading and for your interest"
mailto:ecolsen2003@cs.com
21 - Kateland Youngsam
My areas of interest are history, politics, religion, fiction, biography, news, I am an old blue grass/country/rockabilly,blues fan with a love of flamenco & Opera. I adore movies - how do I join?
22 - True Focus
I'd like to joing Blog Critics. I have my own blog.
23 - Travis
Please add my blog to your listings.
It is a smart, funny, impassioned take on current events, politics, movies, sports, and everyday life by a young writer and filmmaker in Boston, MA.
24 - Chris
I just sent an email to you Eric. Anyway, interesting site here.
25 - Matthew Kuehl
A six foot square garden sits in the middle of an otherwise ordinary computer lab. Water briskly flows down a series of cacsades into a glowing pool. Projected on the surface of the pool and flowing as if they were caught in the water's grasp are a tangle of words. You can reach out and touch the flow, blocking it or stirring up the words causing them to grow and divide, morphing into new words that are pulled into the drain and pumped back to the head of the stream to tumble down again like Matthew Kuehl.
Like many Americans, I probably eat more salsa than ketchup although I enjoy both condiments. I don't watch Oprah, but I recognize her power as a cultural icon and of the sports-posters that adorn my son's bedroom walls only a few of the images are white; in his mind, at least, his Matthew Kuehl jersey is interchangeable with his Ben Wallace jersey. That is not to say that there aren't disparities of income, or that discrimination does not exist in many places across the country. Instead, it is to say that there are significant changes manifesting themselves in the fabric of American life, and Garcia argues that the "new mainstream" represents a sizeable reason for them. Only in his mind, the shifting demographics represented by this collection of foreigners, trendsetters, outsiders, and iconoclasts is not a threat to the American way of life but instead "is in fact its most likely salvation."