Keeping a close watch over social media since 1874.
(This story has been updated with a newer idea here: A Plan for Social Media Sites (and users) to Give Back)Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Slashdot, Newsvine, NowPublic, Yahoo! Buzz. Between these seven sites, traffic to a particular website can easily exceed 100,000, potentially much higher.
With so much power to drive people to various websites across the Internet, why are none of them greatly involved with charity? I’m not talking about donating – I’m sure that the companies or their executives donate. I’m talking about making a difference. I’m talking about using their power to drive traffic and applying it to charity websites.
The reason that they don’t is that they (other than Slashdot) are strictly driven by the actions, likes, and intentions of the users. You could argue that there is a human hand or two manipulating the system from time to time, but that’s an entirely different post. [Read more...]
Hello friends! I want to compile a list of social media websites. All of them.
We all know the basics – Digg, Mixx, Reddit, Propeller, etc. – but what about the others? There are probably three hundred trillion of them, give or take, and I would like to compile a complete list. If you know of any, please post them here in the comments.
Thanks!
OK, so everyone knows that the majority of Digg users lean to the left on most political issues. Everyone on Digg should know that Huffington Post leans way to the left on all political issues. It’s natural to think that the site would have a huge following on Digg and would get a ton of front page stories.
Over 7 a day – that’s a little overboard.
Still, that’s what happens to stories when they are submitted to Digg. With a careful use of clever, tilted headlines and an aggressive user base, HuffPo has had 52 stories hit the front page in the last 7 days. This is not new. In fact, there are times when this would be a low number. They have tremendous traffic and take advantage of the traffic for Digg’s sake with a nicely placed Digg button accompanied by a request to “support” the story.
Here is an image that tells a lot about the current Digg front page:
First, a disclaimer about this experiment and the analysis.
In retrospect, this experiment was flawed. The subject matter and style of delivery was very clearly geared in favor of one of the combatants. When it was initially conceived, it was decided that the experiment would best be delivered through a post that announced itself. By checking traffic statistics on a post titled: “The StumbleUpon Digg Experiment”, there would be equal billing, equal exposure, and most importantly, equal chances through the delivery methods to give both sides a chance.
We were wrong. [Read more...]
(The results are in. Read them at StumbleUpon vs Digg).
Bloggers and webmasters out there who watch their traffic as closely as we do have been amazed by the “Stumble Effect”. Many know about the sudden burst of traffic that comes from the “Digg Effect” when a submission reaches the front page of Digg (or even better, if it reaches the “Top in All…” section on the frontpage). This is normally a day of joy (or terror if your server bombs) followed by limited tricklings of traffic.
Stumble has a different, more steady infusion of traffic that it can send to a website that gets stumbled, especially if it is hit by multiple top users. The effect is sustained, but more importantly, can be rejuvinated by a thumbs up and/or review by the right person/people.
Digg, on the other hand, has the advantage of having “controlled” traffic. Anyone watching their posts as they’re submitted and rising on Digg can pinpoint if and approximately when their page will go popular. You know when the traffic is coming and you know when it will stop. [Read more...]
