Today's Tap.

Welcome to Today's Tap. Today's Tap is a list of all the new stuff going on with my various word of mouth marketing site accounts.

What's new on Crowdtap:

1. I earned enough points for a $25 Amazon E-card. The new cards go up on Monday. The site is going to be swamped! I really hope that they are getting a bunch of extra cards this month. 
2. I filled out my Old Navy Sweater Sample Share.

What's new on Bzzagent:

1. I got picked for my very first Bzz campaign! The campaign if for, Stella Artois Belgium beer. I'm getting a free Chalice. I'll be updating more as the campaign progresses. 

What's new on Expo:

1. I'm officially in love with this site. I've only been using it for two weeks, and I already have $30+ in Amazon gift cards. 
2. I have a Holiday Finds video pending. I'll post it on here as soon as it is live. 

What's new on Influenster:

1. Not a whole lot. I applied for some new badges and got invited to a hair voxbox survey. I hope I get accepted! I am a total hair freak.

What's new on Swaggable:

1. Nothing. I'm starting to think this site might not be legit. It's hard to tell because it is still in Beta. 

Old Navy Sweater Sample Share.

I finally got picked by Crowdtap and Old Navy for a sample share! I've applied to several Old Navy sample shares in the past and never got approved. :( I was particularly pleased to be chosen for this share, because I love sweaters.  My :( turned :)

Here is how everything went down:

First, I took a look at this website to see all the sweater Old Navy had to offer. I'm generally not the most spontaneous of people. I wanted to have an idea of which sweater I was going to pick out before I even went to the store.

I decided to take my mother with and we met at an Old Navy that is halfway between both of our apartments. For me this meant a 90 minutes bus ride. *phew* It was a really long ride, but totally worth the trip!

This was the sweater I was planning on leaving the store with before I even arrived. A sweater that is both a sweater and a hoodie? Yes, please!  The sweater hoodie was very warm and light but the color was just BLAH on me. I decided to try the same sweater on in a different color.

This color looked a lot nicer on me but still there was something missing. I did not fall in love with the hoodie sweaters like I was expecting to. While they were very comfortable, the color selection was rather limited.

I went back in the store to look around and finally found a huge splash of colored sweaters. I decided to try on the baby blue sweater because it is my favorite color.

YES! We have a winner. If only it was a hoodie! I love the color and the sweater is so soft. I can't wait to wear it out!

Meanwhile, my mother is looking around for her sweater:

She found the sweater she wanted right away and we had a little impromptu posing contest right in the fitting room. Who would you guys pick as the winner?

I tried really hard to channel my inner top model, but I think my mom won this one!

I would like to thank Crowdtap and Old Navy for picking me for this sample share. I haven't spent time alone with my mother in ages. It was nice to have an excuse to have lunch together and go shopping. Thanks!

New Expo Video: Tofurky Feast

My latest Expo video is up just in time for Thanksgiving!  They asked me to review my favorite Thanksgiving dish, so I decided to do a quick review of this amazing dinner kit. I'm proud to say that this is my 9th year being turkey-free on Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful for this amazing vegetarian/vegan kit!

Crowdtap: Old Navy Style Council

Look at what came in the mail today:

I got my free Old Navy Sweater coupons from Crowdtap! One is for me and the other, for a friend. I'm going to use them for a nice little mother/daughter shopping afternoon. I'm very excited! I haven't been spending much time with my mom lately. It will be nice to catch up and try on some nice sweaters. :D

I already have my eye on these Old Navy Sweater Hoodies. 

New Expo Thanksgiving Video: Things that I'm thankful for.

I have a new video up on Expo just in time for Thanksgiving.
 

Things I'm Thankful for

Today's Tap

 Welcome to Today's Tap. Today's Tap is a list of all the new stuff going on with my various word of mouth marketing site accounts.

What's new on Influenster and Bzzagent:

1. Nothing

What's new on Expo:

1. Another one of my videos went live

What's new on Crowdtap:

1. I advanced another level. Titanium! Woohoo!
2.  I got invited to the Ditch The Diet Challenge

Crowdtap: Ditch The Diet Photo Challenge.

I got invited to a new photo challenge on Crowdtap the other day and it is huge. The winner of the challenge will win one of ten tablets available. I really want to win so bad, that words cannot even express it! Anyhoo...since promoting is part of how they pick winners, I'm writing this post and fbing and tweeting the h-e-hockey-sticks out of it! I took this screen cap of the challenge page:

I basically have to take a photo of myself showing how I'm saying "no more" to fad diets. Hmmm...seems simple enough. Until you click through some of the links to see all of the official rules:

• I have a little less than 3 weeks to submit my photo
• I cannot depict a "healthy" lifestyle choice that is actually harmful. In other words, I cannot take a picture of myself puking up dinner. 
• Need 3rd party permission from anyone else in the photo.
• No nudity (well darn).

And here is the biggie:

•  "The photo does not contain any third party copyrighted material, products,
  trademarks, logos or otherwise violates or infringes (or may infringe) any
  copyright, trademark logo or mark (other than the Healthy Choice brand), that
  identifies a brand or other proprietary right of any person living or deceased
  (including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity or portrayal in a false light) or entity, or is otherwise objectionable, will not be considered and may
  disqualify the Entry.  Therefore, clothing worn or props/items used in the Photo
  should not contain any visible logos (other than a Healthy Choice logo),
  drawings, cartoons, phrases, trademarks or other third-party materials."

I think the last rule is going to make things trickier. I have to figure out how to show myself giving up on a diet fad without showing a label. Most diets I can think of off the top of my head, have labeled products. I do have a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but I'm not sharing them. ;)

The challenge page also include a link to some Healthy Choice advertisements. I plan on using these for inspiration. I'm guess the tablet they show in this commercial is the kind the winner will receive.

Influenster review

I just joined Influenster this week, and I'm still learning the ropes. When you first sign up, you have to request an invite. Mine arrived maybe a day or two later. I honestly do not remember. I'm still trying to figure out what Influenster is all about. Here is how they describe it on the site: 

An exclusive online community where tastemakers and trendsetters (such as yourself) come to share the latest and greatest news, places, products, and reviews with each other. 2. The hotspot you just bookmarked on your web browser that turns your social influence into sweet rewards.

Basically, Influenster is a place for culture junkies to come together and share their unique opinions of products and experiences. Active members of Influenster get exclusive access to deals, promotions, and swag from brands that thrive off the input (the good, the bad, and the ugly -- they just want to know what's up).

Errr...There is a lot of slang but much of an actual description. I had to look around the About Us page a bit more to figure out how things work. Influenster gives you various tasks to complete in order to earn badges. The more badges you unlock, the more likely you are to receive review opportunities. To start off I had to connect my Influenster account with various social media sites, and write a review of the site. For these actions I will receive one of their badges. What do we get to review? Well every one in a while they send out product review boxes, that they call a Voxbox. There are many differently themed Voxbox available to review. The newest one is a beauty box filled with a lot of goodies for women to try out. It looks like it has some really nice products in it!

So far, I like the site. It seems simple enough to use. I haven't earned many badges yet. I'm interested to see how things improve as a complete more tasks. 

Today's Tap

Two more of my review videos were approved by Expo today. Both reviews were for Herbal Essences hair products. Both feedback comments told me to "record your video in the room where you use the product." I'm guessing that want me to film it in the bathroom, but not actually in the shower. I sure hope that is what they mean, lol.

I have to say, I'm VERY impressed with ExpoTV so far. It seems like it is much easier to earn and redeem points than it is on Crowdtap. You have to wait a week for the point to hit your account, but when they do you can redeem them right away. Crowdtap only puts Amazon gift cards up once a month now, and they run out ridiculously fast. I also like how the Expo folks leave feedback on my videos so I know what to improve on. I'm still trying to work on some of my camera shyness. I get really nervous when I'm trying to review products on my webcam.

What's new on Crowdtap:

1. I'm taking part in a discussion on Wet Wipes. I haven't posted anything yet.
2. I'm waiting for my Old Navy free sweater  coupons to ship
3. I'm less than 4,000 points away from level 13

What's new on Swaggable:

1. I'm waiting for my mango snack sample to arrive.
2. My body lotion samples are in processing.

What's new on Bzzagent:

1. Absolutely nothing. This site doesn't seem very active.

What's new on Influenster

1. Pretty much nothing
2. I'd love to be invited to review the Beauty Blogger VoxBox.
3. This site is very confusing. I have no idea how I'm supposed to earn new badges or advance.

What's new on ExpoTV:

1. 2 new videos were approved. Enjoy!

My first ExpoTV video is up!

My very first product review video is live on ExpoTV right now! In it, I review Air Wick Lavender room spray. I got a 4 star rating (out of 5) from the folks at ExpoTV. Not bad for my first try. :D

 

Notes: Next time do not mention the store where I purchased the item. Try not to say uhhh and umm too much in the future.

Welcome to Sharon's Tap!

Hello one and all. I have finally decided to start a new review blog. I'm not stranger to review blogging. I ran a young adult book review blog for two years. Sharon's Tap will have absolutely nothing to do with book review blogging. I will be using this blog to review products for some of the word of mouth marketing sites, that I belong to. Sites such as: Crowdtap, Expotv, and Influenster. I will be posting some of my first reviews real soon! Stay tuned and keeping tapping.