Gawker
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So Gay
Digg's Fratty News Site Has a No-Homo Policy
If you wanted to imagine a topsy-turvy world where straight 19-year-old jock-nerds ran the media, just visit Digg. The site is so laden with antigay epithets that it automatically censors the word "homo" from headlines. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by coyote1284: P.E.T.U.: OMG, Owen Thomas, are you reaching for outrage or what? Digg has an automatic filter that censors the common obscenities... 1 Responses | Other threads
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launches
Tip'd targets vanishingly small audience of finance junkies
Yet another Digg clone, targeted at a small slice of the news market. Isn't Tip'd exactly the kind of me-too company the bursting of the bubble is supposed to crowd out? VentureBeat, strangely, calls the site's launch "timely." And yet the best times for financial-information sites, in terms of having matter to cover, are the worst times for their endemic advertisers. Wall Street mayhem makes for lots of pageviews at the same time it makes those pages harder to fill with ads. Tip'd may well find a niche audience for market obsessives. But a niche audience is not a big business. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by CyndyA: Bahahahaha. No. As my lackluster Digg participation can attest. Now if Drew Curtis was launching a new start-up... more » | Other threads
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social news
Half of the 50 hottest girls on Digg are fake — but the site works anyway
Conventional wisdom has it that males on the Internet gravitate toward pictures of pretty women like hungry honeybees to a sugary tulip, and click, click, click. It's why Tila Tequila has 3,345,634 MySpace friends and Tania Derveaux has 108,907 YouTube subscribers. It's why, on social news site Digg, so many spammers pretend to be attractive women — to attract votes for their stories from Digg users incapable of holding onto their mouse finger when faced with a picture of a pretty woman. But does this method work? We decided to find out. More » -
social news
TechCrunch's secret Digg army
How do TechCrunch stories make it to Digg's front page so often? With a little help from its friends, of course. Former TechCrunch writer Duncan Riley, now a foe of editor Michael Arrington, posted a screenshot from his inbox revealing what Riley calls "The TechCrunch Digg Club." It includes four writers from TechCrunch proper; seven from gadgets blog CrunchGear; two from TechCrunchIT, Arrington's incomprehensible enterprise-tech spinoff; plus two or three interns. More »
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Comment by jsavimbi: Settle down everyone, Arrington's explained it all right here: [www.techcrunch.com] more » | Other threads
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rumormonger
Wired relaunching HotWired as a social network?
Chris Anderson, Wired's waggle-eared rock-star editor, has been dropping hints left and right about the relaunch of HotWired, a faded Web property Conde Nast picked up along with Webmonkey last month. The rumor we've heard: That Wired is relaunching the site as a news-focused social network like Digg. (Conde Nast already owns Digg competitor Reddit, whose engineers are likely involved in the project.) It's a sensible brand extension for Wired, but a far cry from HotWired's early ambitions, described in a 1994 email as "live, twitching, the real-time nervous system of the planet." Here's the HotWired FAQ, which reads like it was just unearthed from a time capsule: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by OaklandTechie: Ah, HotWired. The site that taught all of us early Web pups how to code HTML. Thank you Netscape for... more » | Other threads
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silicon valley users' guide
How to get traffic with StumbleUpon
The traffic boost from Digg-front-page glory only lasts a few hours. Getting an article picked up by eBay's StumbleUpon, however, can drive sweet, sweet traffic for weeks and months. So search-engine optimization expert Dharmesh Shah and social media marketer Lyndon Antcliff's "28 Tips to Make You a StumbleUpon Superstar" would be worth reading, if it weren't 1,400 words long. Here's a version you can read in less time than it takes for fanatical Digg users to bury your story. More »
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Comment by matto: Can you do a follow-up on how I can make more friends on livejournal? more » | Other threads
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reddit
Leaked screenshots of Wired's redesigned Reddit
Social news aggregator — that is to say, Digg clone — Reddit is working on a redesign. Online media consultant Brent Csutoras landed leaked screenshots. We've annotated them for your convenience. More »
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Comment by It Must Be Take a Worm for a Walk Week: That is Google ugly. more » | Other threads
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social news
How I gamed Digg — and laughed all the way to the bank
If you make your living publishing content on the Internet, you live and die by the pageview. One way to drive huge amounts of traffic to your site is through "social news" sites like Digg. If I write something interesting, the theory goes, someone may submit my article to Digg. If it gets enough votes, it hits the front page and I suddenly have enough money to buy a new hibachi. The reality: I often submit stories I've written myself, or get friends to do it, and I then harangue coworkers to vote for my story on Digg. Digg has been making it harder to score this way by detecting how "diverse" your voters are. If it's the same old gang Digging your story every time, you get downgraded. But there is one virtually foolproof way to beat the system: throw tons of traffic at your Digg link. More »
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Comment by desmondhaynes: Digg is by no means foolproof. Often you will see not-so-great-stories on front page. -Des [techwatch.reviewk.com] more » | Other threads
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social news
Fark gets 1001 Diggs, still not "popular"
Digg founder Kevin Rose typically cites "the need for diversity" when questioned or criticized about the promotion algorithm that controls what stories make it to Digg's front page. "One of the keys to getting a story promoted is diversity in Digging activity. When the algorithm gets the diversity it needs, it will promote a story from the Upcoming section to the home page. This way, the system knows a large variety of people will be into the story." Oh, really? A Digg submission linking to headline aggregator Fark.com received over 1,000 diggs but still hasn't been promoted to the front page. The problem? The submission is 11 days old. Why are old stories so penalized? If there is a significant surge in Diggs on a story, it should be promoted to the front page just like any other upcoming submission. So much for the vaunted "algorithm."
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Comment by Annalee Newitz: A link to the front page of Fark? Not a story about Fark? And why should that be on the... more » | Other threads
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valleywag labs
What happens when you digg a Digg?
Everyone's seen the iPhone stopwatch reach a thousand hours. With that in mind, we decided to Digg a Digg story. Would it rip a hole in the fabric of our existence? -
social news
Fark.com gets Dugg, threatening collapse of space-time continuum
Some enterprising young lad submitted Fark.com to Digg — eight days ago. Fark predates Digg by several years. It has elements of social news like Digg, but it's more in the spirit of the Daily Show than Digg's Slashdot-inspired tech obsessions. Submitter "topsyturvy" described it on Digg as "Fark: the not news news — News that doesn't matter. Not even sure if half of it is true, but it's funny." As of this morning, it had only garnered four Diggs. But that's not the saddest thing of all. More »
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Comment by riffraff: digg doesn't have foobies... fark all the way. their commenters arent early half as childish as digg more » | Other threads
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the chart
Forget news — Digg users in it for Lohan's latest nipple slip
As far as Digg users are concerned, Ron Paul, Steve Jobs and slobbering dogs have nothing on Britney's latest baby. Digg and StumbleUpon users click most on stories related to celebrity gossip, videogames, and online clips, according to clickstream data from metrics firm Hitwise. Digg accounts for half of all visits to to news aggregators. eBay's StumbleUpon comes in second with 24 percent of the market. Conde Nast-owned Reddit takes third place.
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Comment by matto: thanks a lot for getting my hopes up with the headline, Nick. more » | Other threads
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social news
Digg proves masses are stupid with "Falling Hillary" game
I like Digg: sometimes I find good links there. However, the people who claim that "social masses are the future of news" are barking up the wrong planet. The masses are stupid. A flash game with an animated Hillary Clinton falling through bubbles got more than 4,000 diggs yesterday. Now, that's nothing compared to a slobbering dog, but it received more votes than most stories on Digg did yesterday. Social news sites reflect the true interests of their readers, and that rarely maps to what's on the front page of the New York Times. Strangely though, the falling Hillary mesmerized me for more than 10 minutes. I guess I'm stupid, too. Catch a video of the companion site, a falling George Bush, after the jump.
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Comment by Magister: 2 years and 7 months ago, I played that game with a bikini-clad Russian. more » | Other threads
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social news
Ask.com news site shows why Digg can't deal
IAC's Ask.com launched its Digg-infused answer to Google News today. But there's surprisingly little evidence of help from Digg in Ask's Big News, despite the project's all-too-long time spent in development. Why is that? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by WillVille: This came out of IAC... And I actually like it... Somebody pinch me! more » | Other threads
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social news
IAC's plan to clone Digg unfolds
Digg and IAC's Ask.com search engine are getting close to launching an Ask-branded version of the popular headline-voting site. We'd heard in December that the two companies were working together. Indeed, the delay in the project's launch may have contributed to Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone's ouster. Without Lanzone, the project is continuing. IAC's hiring a general manager to run an unspecified website — which could well be the Digg-like news site. -
spam
Rupert Murdoch's newspaper caught spamming social media
The News Corp.-owned Times of London has been paying a search-engine optimizer to do the dirty work of shilling Times Online stories to social media sites like Mahalo, StumbleUpon, and MetaFilter. We can't believe it either — that The Times is actually paying an outside firm to submit stories. My boss makes me do it the hard way. More »
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Comment by John Handelaar: Go off to today's new waxy.org post for the comedy gold of Jason telling us that people who never ever... more » | Other threads
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quotable
"A lot of these community news sites are all about Ron Paul. Ron Paul may be a valid candidate. But what that is really demonstrating is that you are seeing 1 or 2 percent of a community shaping where the whole community is going. A small dedicated group of people can manipulate these sites very easily... With sites like Digg, it's the wisdom of the crowds or the tyranny of the mob. You never know what you're going to get." — Slashdot founder Rob Malda on Digg and other social news sites. [Bits]
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Comment by rkminc: Wait a sec, hold up.... Ron Paul is a valid candidate? more » | Other threads
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breakdowns
Why Google is for search and Digg is for laughs
After users submit a story, image or video to Digg, the site asks users to review similar submissions and make sure the new item isn't a duplicate of an existing article being voted for on the site. The tool is a marvel of modern precision. For example, notice how, in this accompanying screen shot, Digg's algorithm pairs a story on USB 3.0 with one on how "Men Aren't Washing Their Hands in The Restroom." Admit it. As a mere human, you never would have made the connection. Click to expand the image.
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Comment by Beef_Jezos: Digg is almost as bad as Wiki minus the Nazis who ban you instantly for editing a page in a... more » | Other threads
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social news
Slobbering pup uncovers Digg's true purpose
I've always preferred editorially controlled news sources like Fark and the Drudge Report. I'm more likely to find links that I think are interesting. On "social news" sites like Digg, readers get endless Ron Paul and Apple links, as fanboys constantly vote for their preferred subjects. Occasionally though, something else makes it to the top of the social news pile. More »
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Comment by divabang: I would love to see this, but it is not providing me with the video. Is something wrong? more » | Other threads
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digg
How The Internet's Biggest Social News Site Saved Itself (Again)
Kevin Rose started Digg specifically to give users the power to decide what's news. It must be a pain to see some of his top users quit the site and write an open letter charging him with "disregard for the Digg community," "lack of transparency," and "flagrant disrespect of top users." They were angry that a sudden change in the site had lessened their influence. This may seem like an intramural tiff, but these users are known for submitting thousands of stories to Digg, driving up to several hundred thousand visits to each story that makes the front page. Gawker Media alone owes millions of pageviews to Digg. And this isn't the first time top users have grumbled. So Rose and his CEO Jay Adelson made a surprisingly sensible move: Late last night, they chatted live with the disgruntled users. Here's why Rose frustrated his top users, why he bothered talking to them, and why it's a lesson for all online media. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Hez: @Conbon: Coming from you, shouldn't it be "learn to purse"? more » | Other threads
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followup
Kevin Rose doesn't deny Digg has secret editors
"Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate." So reads the creatively capitalized disclaimer now placed on the Digg discussion page for "Digg's secret editors," in which I revealed that Digg's so-called moderators use their own judgment to override Digg's supposedly all-powerful algorithm. The consequences are stunning: Digg is not a democracy of news, and the way headlines make their way to Digg's homepage are neither fair nor transparent. Digg cofounder Kevin Rose weighed in with an oddly worded nondenial. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by weezle3: I stopped reading Digg because of the Kevin Rose articles. more » | Other threads
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exclusive
Digg's secret editors
Why do some stories abruptly disappear from Digg? Duncan Riley of TechCrunch suspects "super users." But there's a much simpler explanation: Digg's shadowy moderators. Digg cofounder Kevin Rose has admitted that the social-news site, a supposedly democratic venue where users pick the headlines, employs moderators: "We have site moderators that ban spammers, remove illegal content, and keep an eye on things. Always have, always will." But what, exactly, does keeping an eye on things entail? More » -
aol
Wil Wheaton sees AOL's Propeller — and spins better than before
Nerd idol Wil Wheaton claims to have seen the next version of Digg clone Propeller.com — and it's even clonier than before! "Holy crap are they awesome. I can't wait for it to go live," Wheaton Twitters. Propeller, formerly Netscape.com, was bulldog aficionado Jason Calacanis's attempt at building a better Digg by supplementing the wisdom of crowds with the snobbery of human editors. Interesting that AOL is still pumping money into the site. Maybe Propeller isn't sinking quite as fast as we'd thought?
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Comment by Mutainia: Hello. I'm just writing a few words to submit and see what this thing looks like when it down-loads. more » | Other threads
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By Owen ThomasComment by rickster56: Fark has, and will, be a site to visit for a long period of time. It's lunacy and humor abound... more » | Other threads
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rumormonger
Digg close to a $300 million sale?
Digg is close to announcing its sale to a major media player for $300 million to $400 million, according to sources close to the company, I hear. When I floated this Digg rumor past some knowledgeable friends, several scoffed: "When isn't Digg up for sale?" It's true: The news-discussion site is perpetually in talks — but we hear the price tag always sinks potential deals before they're consummated. CBS, for example, backed off, with effervescent dealmaker Quincy Smith citing the media company's bubbly $280 million purchase of Last.fm as the reason it couldn't bid a high price for Digg. Things are different now, though. More » -
social news
MSNBC.com buys Newsvine — but for how much?
Newsvine, the Seattle-based headline aggregator — think Digg, but without the heartthrob cofounder — has sold to MSNBC.com for an undisclosed amount. The company had raised a small amount of venture capital, $1.5 million, which has led some industry insiders to peg the price at more than $15 million, less than $35 million. Newsvine, like Digg and the rest, encourages users to discuss news headlines, but it adds a twist: So-called "citizen journalism," where users also write their own articles. To a cynic, allowing that just spells more loser-generated content. But for MSNBC, which has, since its birth over a decade ago, been struggling to embrace the Web, the prospect of viewers contributing reporting has double appeal. First, it potentially cuts costs, and secondly, it adds a much-needed appearance of hipness, as upstarts like Current.tv threaten to garner a more youthful audience. -
exclusive
Fark founder accuses Fox newsman of hacking
Local TV reporters are infamous for practicing "ambush" journalism — but as they try to take their gotcha practices to the Web, increasingly they're the ones ambushed. The first rule of hacking, after all, is "Don't get caught." And Fox newsman Darrell Phillips may have broken that rule, Drew Curtis has told Valleywag. Curtis, left, is the founder of Fark.com, a thoroughly juvenile, and entertaining, social news site where users pick the headlines. Phillips, to his right, is the new media manager at WHBQ Fox13, a News Corp.-owned TV station in Memphis, Tenn. And Curtis claims to have assembled all-but-conclusive electronic evidence that Phillips has tried to hack into Fark's servers, potentially breaking several laws. More »
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