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Reform digg

Like countless others, one of the first websites I visit every day is digg.

Unfortunately, I am being tempted to move to a more professional source such as Newsvine because of the multitude of “DUdes check out thsi sweet googel video” stories that litter the homepage.

For example:

And my personal favorite:

The title of a digg story should be enticing and well-formed. It is not necessarily a place for smiley faces, ALL CAPITAL TITLES (you screamed that in your head, didn’t you), or thousands of exclamation marks. Feel free to actually read the article you are posting if necessary.

Also, the description is a crucial next-step for those who are somewhat attracted by the title but aren’t sure if it’s worth a click; therefore, descriptions that refer back to the title (i.e. “It’s all in the title!”) are useless. If you cannot effectively summarize the piece, a key excerpt can be useful.

I love digg as much as anyone else, but I cannot take it seriously unless its contributors do the same.

9 Comments

  1. Jonathan Dobres

    Mar 13, 16:27

    You can’t take Digg seriously because you’re not SUPPOSED to take it seriously. It’s an almost totally unmoderated social aggregator, focused exclusively on science/tech/web news items. Digg is popular BECAUSE it lets the social, grammatically flawed personalities of its users seep through. Follow your own advice and use Newsvine if you want real news.

  2. Jacob Wilson

    Mar 13, 21:28

    I agree with Jonathan.

  3. Kyle Jones

    Mar 13, 21:57

    I too love digg. I cannot stand most the users though (probably 12 and under). Half the comments aren’t about the story itself but about how its not ‘tech’ or complaining about why people have dugg it so far. IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT MOVE ALONG! GEEZ it’s not that hard! That’s the point: If you like it DIGG IT if not DON’T. Thats the biggest turnoff for me. However with the new comment system we’re finally getting threaded comments going, starting up some deeper conversation (though I doubt it’ll ever get close to Slashdot’s)

  4. Clyde

    Mar 14, 06:17

    If you hate stupid digg submissions, you’ll love or really, really hate our podcast, DiggCounty, which makes fun of them.

    http://diggcounty.com

  5. Thame

    Mar 14, 14:00

    The reason I still go to digg is because it is so much quicker than Newsvine.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love the layout and idea of Newsvine, but nothing’s quicker than a list of top-rated links…

  6. Luke Labern

    Mar 15, 13:22

    I agree with you, somewhat, but if people digg things onto the home page then surely that is what is popular.

    Also, that first example is a little harsh; everyone makes a typo or two and he spelt “theory” correctly below.

  7. Thame

    Mar 15, 14:21

    Yeah, I guess I was a little rough on that first one. My point was that the submitter didn’t bother to read it before they confirmed that everything was correct.

  8. Glen C.

    Mar 17, 20:27

    I don’t love digg by any means. In fact, I kind of hate it. The amount of terrible stories is truly staggering. The comments are a severe detriment as well. Unfortunately, there are a lot of good stories on digg, too, and it’s a pretty quick hit of news. Covers a wide range of topics.

  9. Thame

    Mar 18, 13:45

    Glen: Yeah, that’s what I like about digg and what keeps me going there despite all the crap.

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