We can all probably agree that there’s just way too much content out there on the internet. Granted, much of it is crap. But still, there are thousands of major news sites, online videos, millions of blogs and hundreds upon hundreds of millions of pages of user-generated content, not to mention Facebook, Twitter and other popular social content sharing platforms. Add that to the slew of emails you get every day and it’s easy to see how all of us feel overwhelmed by all the digital content flowing at us from every direction.

We’re also faced with another problem: we’re all suffering from a chronic case of adult-onset ADD. While this chart we made is most certainly unscientific, we all know it’s true as we feel it every day.

Looking at this problem from the opposite perspective — that of the content producer, e.g. the blogger, podcaster or web master — it’s even more grim. What’s a blog without an audience? How do you get people to come to your web property and read your content? And more importantly, how do you engage your audience? Get them to comment? To re-tweet? To refer their friends to your site?

Since the mid-nineties, content producers have been slapping ads on their web sites to support their hosting costs — and for a lucky few — to make a living. But we argue that the age of the banner ad (masthead or skyscraper) is coming to an end, if it hasn’t ended already. In 2007, Jakob Nielsen used eye-tracking technology to produce these heatmaps that proved that internet users had developed a subconscious practice that he dubbed “ad blindness.” Not only did people ignore ads; they actually ignored anything that even looked like an ad, in some cases even missing very important content because of ad-like placement and other ad-like qualities.

source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/banner-blindness.html

So,  if we’re all suffering from information overload coupled with chronic adult-onset ADD and ad blindness, how are we, the producers of our oh-so-fabulous online content, supposed to acquire and maintain any sort of readership? How are we supposed to get readers to interact and engage with our content?

Here at Social Collective, Inc., we’ve been working tirelessly since 2008 to develop web and mobile software products that help people connect with one another and with online content. Our first product, which shares the company’s moniker, gives attendees of events of all shapes and sizes the ability to build and share schedules; follow, message and set up meetings with other attendees, speakers and sponsors; and otherwise leverage the power of their social graphs to attain better experiences at real world events. We’ve run the web and mobile platforms for several dozen events including SXSW, Oracle Open World, Java One + Oracle Develop, CMJ and Opportunity Green. Our second product, Crowd Campaign, allows event organizers to instantly create online social contests, again using the social graph to collect and disseminate speaker proposals, votes and comments. Crowd Campaign has been used widely in many industries outside the context of events including everything from having readers suggest Linked In profiles to be featured in a book, allowing startups to compete for a free sponsorship package and even crowdsourcing someone’s new hairstyle!

Today we’re announcing our newest product, Mojo, ending our private beta and releasing it to the general public. Mojo makes it dead simple for a blogger, podcaster or other webmaster to literally copy-and-paste an end-to-end loyalty achievement program — one that includes default and customizable badges and point awards — into his or her web site in a matter of minutes.

Loyalty programs are not a new concept. In fact, they’re a proven commodity in use by brands from American Airlines to Zappos and everything in between. However, Mojo brings three factors to the table that make up its “secret sauce,” or Mojo’s mojo, if you will:

1) Copy-and-paste embed-ability makes setup a breeze

Instead of building your own loyalty program, which can be difficult, costly and easy defeated through gaming (cheating), you just configure your badges and awards with Mojo and drop a measly few lines of HTML and Javascript into your web site (don’t worry, we’ll provide the code for you), which takes all of 5 to 15 minutes.

2) Game mechanics lead to more engagement

Unlike most loyalty programs, all achievements are publicly shared, allowing your fans to compete with their friends, coworkers and ex-boy/girlfriends in their social graphs for additional awards, bragging rights and a sense of awesomeness that truly embodies the spirit of what we mean when we say “mojo.”

3) Platform-spanning technology gives your fans different ways to engage

Your readers/fans have many ways of showing you the depths of their “fanhood,” so Mojo allows you to reward them not only for engaging with your web content on your site, but also for following you on Twitter, adding you to a Twitter list, using your #hashtag, and (coming soon), engaging with your brand/content on Facebook.

So think of Mojo as United Mileage Plus Plus. Or Foursquare for . . . web sites. Oh, and we forgot to mention that it’s free. Not just for end-users, but even for bloggers and other content providers. And not just free for now, but free forever.

Let us help you give your readers/fans the recognition they deserve. Let your readers not only earn badges and points, but show all their friends (in their social graphs) what great fans they are of your content. They’ll have a fun time earning awards and engaging in friendly one-up-man-ship while you reap the benefits of more page views, more daily active users and, most importantly, more engagement with your content. Everybody gets more mojo — this is one game where everyone wins (really).

Visit http://earnmojo.com to launch your site’s loyalty achievement program and get your mojo werkin‘ today!