Pwned: The StumbleUpon Digg Experiment Initial Results

Friday, September 5, 2008 by 23 Comments

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...]

Filed Under: Digg, Social Internet, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social News Sites, Stumbleupon Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Front Page Addiction: Destroying Families, Ruining Lives

Sunday, August 31, 2008 by 18 Comments

*** As my first real parody piece, I am moving this up in the blog to see if it gets more comment luv. ***

A little-known but dangerous epidemic is spreading across members of social media websites like Digg, Reddit, Propeller, Newsvine, and Mixx.  Like a secret scourge, SM-FPA (social media front page addiction) isn’t making national headines yet, but the effects have been felt in thousands of households across the world.

“Ever since my wife’s submission hit the front page of Reddit last month, we only see her on the way to the bathroom,” said Jake Dixon.  His wife Amber, better known as “diggwho”, made the front page of Reddit with a story titled Bush makes more people mad by saying something stupid.  Since then, Amber has been submitting 15-25 stories per day and has a submission hit the front page 3-5 times per week.  She declined to be interviewed.

Research scientists at the Social Media Institute of Technology (SMIT) in Kolkata, India, say that Mr. Dixon and his family are not alone.  They have documented 342 confirmed cases of SM-FPA in 2007 and estimate the actual number in the thousands. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social Internet, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social News Sites Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Year that Stumble and Digg will hit the Bridge Club Level

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 by 4 Comments

This really should be two separate stories, but we’ll consolidate because there are just to many similarities in the reasons why both Digg and StumbleUpon will take their already-mammoth popularity and truly become household names beyond just the tech households of the world.

Social media in general is growing, but there is still a thin but clear gap between the point that Digg and StumbleUpon currently enjoy and that next level that would yield exponential growth in visitors, pageviews, and popularity.  Call it the tipping point, and there are several points in a website’s life that can be called that, but this particular one is the last that either will enjoy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Digg, Social Internet, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social News Sites, Stumbleupon Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Compete overtakes Alexa (according to compete.com)

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by 6 Comments

Compete.comAlexa.comAlexa.com was once considered one of the best indications of the health and traffic on a website.  When Compete.com entered the fray in 2000, they wanted to “…help create a more trusted, transparent, and valuable Internet.”  They wanted to compete with what alexa had to offer and become the authority on website comparisons.

If you go by their numbers, they are now that authority.

Other than a brief moment in September, Alexa has always maintained a higher traffic ranking.  This is according to the numbers supplied by compete.com.  Alexa does not rank their own site.  That’s a whole other story.  Here are the numbers: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social Internet, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

Feeling Heat: Why Facebook Changed Controversial Ad Program to Opt-In Only

Sunday, December 2, 2007 by 1 Comment

FacebookWhether you use Facebook or not, you should be watching these developments.  What happens with Beacon over the next few weeks will make a huge difference in how internet users are treated by websites and their advertisers. 

It almost made it through the month of November without succumbing to pressures to make changes.

Almost.

Facebook Beacon, the new “hypertargeted” social advertising program that has drawn negative attention from across the internet, received an overhaul on November 30, less than a month after its launch.  There are still points of contention that organizations such as MoveOn will continue to press, but the most notorious feature has been removed.

Instead of having to opt-out to prevent personal purchasing data from showing on a user’s page and their friend’s pages, Facebook members now have to opt-in.  Despite future controversy over other issues, this will be the last major change for a while, and here’s why… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social Internet, Social Marketing, Social Networking Sites Tagged With: , , , ,