So today marks the launch of SocialSpark, the world’s first Social Marketing Network that connects advertisers and bloggers through an online advertising marketplace. Advertisers are able to target blogs based on conversational topics and make cash sponsorship offers to the bloggers who publish them. Bloggers can make money by either placing display advertisements on their blog or by writing sponsored content. The sponsorships offered through the SocialSpark marketplace allow advertisers to build buzz, generate traffic and maximize social media exposure.

SocialSpark

Social Spark - Blog Analytics

I am very proud to have been part of the team working on this (I was hired in October), and it feels great to finally have it released for bloggers & advertisers to use. There have been a lot of long nights & weekends put into this project for all of us, but it was so very worth it and if it wasn’t tough & challenging then it wouldn’t be worth doing.

One of the types of opportunities in the system is Sparks. Sparks are free, non-paid, non-segmented opps, meant to encourage conversation and this post is actually the result of a spark currently in the system to tell what gear we are using

Spark

Work:

  • 15″ MacBook Pro. I love this thing! Couldn’t imagine doing Rails development on anything else.
  • 30″ apple cinema display. I feel SO much more productive on this than my old 21″ CRT that I used to program with at home

Home (custom built desktop):

  • Intel 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo (Possibly a 3.0 Ghz version of this in the future)
  • 2 GB DDR2 RAM
  • 24″ Dell Widescreen Ultrasharp Display (new toy, awesome!)
  • Asus 8800 GTS 512 MB Video Card
  • Sound Blaster X-Fi
  • Thermaltake Armor Jr Case
  • Logitech 5.1 speakers(awesome)
  • 500 GB USB 2.0 External HD(for storing music and backup of important files)

Other Gadgets:

  • iPod Nano 8GB - awesome for the gym
  • iPhone - goes without saying that it kicks ass
  • 42″ Sharp LCD HDTV - through a SICK deal on Black Friday
  • Sirius Satellite Radio
  • 6′6″ Lost Surfboard - not really a “gadget” but surfing is my other passion.