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First let me qualify that I am not a big fan of new traffic exchanges.  There are too many already and 99% are using the same old boxed scripts, just changing the graphics.  Do you realize how much money you could save and how much time could be saved if everyone avoided the temptation and simply used the top 5 or 10 exchanges?

Well, Thumbvu was released a few weeks ago and this launch was particularly annoying to me.  Fellow exchange owners everywhere were touting Thumbvu as “innovative” and “industry changing”.  Well most of us know that when an exchange owner promotes another exchange’s launch, it’s usually about earning commissions on upgrades.  In this case, they were offering a lifetime upgrade for $297 so of course every exchange owner and his mother wanted a piece of that one.  Unfortunately, it just displayed how these exchange owners have no conscience and more importantly that their focus in not to “help” you but rather get a share of the contents of your wallet.

It was quite clear that most of these exchange owners had not used Thumbvu for a reasonable evaluation period.   The first thing that should have jumped out at them was the surfing process.  While it was really cool to be able to see the next few sites coming in rotation, the fact that you can select which one to see next is a huge problem.  Basically, this means the user can also choose NEVER to select certain sites thus meaning that those site owners don’t even get the chance for their site or message to be seen.  Who in their right mind is going to waste their time with a traffic exchange where the end user can render their marketing efforts useless?  Even worse, who in their right mind would PAY as much as $297 to upgrade at and exchange where the end user can render their marketing efforts useless?

Thumbvu’s next claim to “innovation” was the integration of Social Networking tools, though of course, only if you are an upgraded member.  Frankly, there are third party applications which would serve most people better, an you are not held hostage by any traffic exchange upgrade in order to use them.

Then there is the supposedly “innovative” ability to surf from your mobile device but immediately you notice that there is no “mobile enhanced” version of  Thumbvu.  Frankly, depending on what device you are using and what kind of browser it has, in most cases the surfbar doesn’t even work.  On some devices, such as the Blackberry Curve, you can’t even login.  I sent a support ticket regarding this to Thumbvu but surprise, surprise, it was never answered.  Developer Kits are available for almost all mobile platforms (such as BB, Android and more) and are available for free.  If Mr. Guanzon and partner were such programming gurus and so innovative as other exchange owners had led you to believe, I would think they would have developed mobile apps for surfing a mobile version of their site.  Except in this case they couldn’t even manage a “mobile enhanced” version of their site.

Hey, I am happy to give credit where credit is due, but this latest launch was a string of misrepresentations driven by the opportunity to separate you from your hard earned money.  I am not quite sure how Mr. Guanzon courted these other exchange owners to bestow upon him “guru” status when his previous claim to fame was simply another mediocre traffic exchange which never made any rumblings in the traffic exchange world.  Thumbvu has not even made rank at any of the Traffic Exchange reporting sites even though it is so “innovative”.  No, I am not talking about  the ranking sites owned by other traffic exchange owners who rank according to relationships or ad revenue.  I mean those like Traffic Hoopla which remain untainted by (and often unpopular with) traffic exchange owners.   Yet, now Mr. Guanzon is supposed to be an expert at list building and traffic exchanges yet his true claim to fame  now is merely ownership of 2 mediocre traffic exchanges.

I really feel sorry for those that fell victim to the hype and dropped almost $300 on upgrades to this one.  It sickens me to think what kind of main stream and effective advertising those members could have purchased with that hard earned money.

Folks, let’s let this be a lesson to us all.  Exchange after exchange being added to the mix is not really improving your marketing options.  It’s really hampering them.  It really results in more time and more money you have to spend. If you want to streamline your marketing efforts on traffic exchanges, then it’s time to focus on those with a proven track record and let the others fall to the wayside until one comes along that really IS different or “innovative”.

And if nothing else, let’s be realistic about these exchange owners that are so quick to promote what SHOULD be their competition.  I think the motivation is quite clear.  Do you think Wal Mart would be out there eagerly telling their customers to go shop at Target if there were not some huge payoff to do so?  No, me either.  And this is exactly why when you get that email from your favorite traffic exchange that tells you “You’ve Just Got to Join This New Exchange” it should be a sign to hide your wallet not to rush on over and join up.

Related posts:

1. PromoLotto.com Review
2. Traffic Hoopla Review: Don’t Waste Time with OTHER Ranking Sites
3. Cranking Them Out So Fast They Don’t Even Spell Check DOMAIN!