Mixx Introduces “Sifter”
Social news site, Mixx, is beginning to implement monetization strategies with its introduction of “Sifter.” Accessible by a blue button in the top navigational menu, Sifter is a place where companies pay Mixx to display different types of creative — banner ads, new product designs, movie trailers, etc. — and then get feedback from real people on those ads — often before they see the light of day in any other forum.
Mixxers who opt in to the service will rank from 1 to 5 (or from 1 to how ever many pieces are running) how much they like each creative piece. The one you like the best gets a 1. The one you like the least gets a 5. There is also a comment box where you can give kudos or offer criticism.
Mixx sends the sponsor of the Sifter the information—comments, rankings, gender, age and interests—all anonymous and all non-individually identified. In that way, “if you’re the one that said that Bob’s Basket Weaving had the worst ads you’ve ever seen, Bob’s not going to know it came from you and won’t be covering your front steps with hand-woven baskets filled with, er, rocks,” as stated on the Mixx Blog.
What’s In It For Me?
Mixx staff are offering incentives to get Mixxers to actually participate. For example, every week you participate in the Sifter, you get 100 karma points and will be entered into a drawing for a $25 iTunes certificate.
Furthermore, to kick it all off, if you participate in each of the next 4 weeks of The Sifter runs, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a MacBook! They gave one away to a Mixxer just a few weeks ago. And as with that sweepstakes, your odds of winning are very good as the Sifter is only opened to qualified Power Mixxers and Super Mixxers.
If you qualify, you’ll have to opt into the service via your account settings on the Mixx site or simply go to the Sifter section and click on the “Join Now” button. You will then be taken to the section in your account setting where you can opt in.
Personally I think it is a pretty neat way to generate revenue. It keeps the site clean of obtrusive ads and taps into the fact that people love to vote on things. Add to that the fact that you can earn an additional 400 Karma points each month as well as have the chance to win prizes, it’s a pretty good incentive to take a few moments each week and participate.
About the Author: David Wallace, co-founder and CEO of SearchRank, is a recognized expert in the industry of search and social media marketing. Since 1997, David has been involved in developing successful search engine and social media marketing campaigns for large and small businesses. Follow 
Poster Printing | May 22, 2009 | Reply
Nice! A wonderful way to earn money and possibly win a Macbook! The service provides a nice venue for users to give valuable feedback to the companies that placed the ads. Thanks!
Melesha | Jul 8, 2009 | Reply
I know the big social media sites have been trying to come up with ways to monetize their traffic. Maybe they have finally hit on something.
hosting unlimited | Oct 22, 2009 | Reply
Oh, thanks again for the great news, this blog is starting to be among my favorites. This is a good way to make some money (which we all love) and some stuff like iTunes vouchers and even a macbook. Service providers are a good source of feedbacks as I think. Ways to monetize the traffic have always been a struggle for these companies, maybe they have found their gold venue at last.
Vinyl Banners | Nov 10, 2009 | Reply
It’s an interesting way monetize the site. They’ve just got to be careful not to “over-advertise” the site, as Social Bookmarking/news is a hugely competitive marketplace. They don’t want users to drift off to other more “organic” sites (like delicious etc).