Scratchback is awesome, I tell you. Within less than half a day of getting the widget up, I’ve got my first tip! As a start, it is definitely doing better than my Google Adsense. In case you are not aware, the Scratchback widget is what you see on top of this blog’s home page (below the header).

ScratchBack is an online “tipping” system. It is quite similar to the Paypal “Donate” widget or the “Buy Me A Beer” widget that we often see on many blogs. The difference is in exchange for the tips that you received, you can give back “links” or “images” in return.

For those who are already shaking their head reading this for fear that you might get penalized for placing this widget on your site, here’s the answer to your question:

Do My Links Pass Page Rank?They do not. Every single link, including the link back to Scratchback, in the TopSpot widget has a “nofollow” hard encoded in them. The code is delivered in Javascript format as well. That means that Google and other search engine spiders “won’t follow” the link. I doesn’t mean your link isn’t clickable, it is.

You have the option to set your own price on your tips, and you earn money from every interaction through their easy-to-use automated system. During this beta stage, publishers will earn 90% of the tip but after the launch, the percentage of earning will drop but I believe it should be better than what Text Link Ads is offering. No checking accounts are necessary as earnings will be paid via Paypal and minimum payout is $25.

It’s free to sign-up, and you can have a TopSpot widget on your website or blog in minutes. So far, I love this so called Fun Tip Jar and think it is definitely an awesome idea from Jim Krukal.