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Note from Khalid: This post is by Social Media Insider who is an active user user on the big 3 of social media (Digg, SU and Reddit). SMI will be blogging regularly for Invesp on topics related to social media. The words might be a little harsh but it is our policy not to edit content submitted to us by our authors. Enjoy!
Social Media has become a hoard to become the champ, to rank on the top. Although most of us use social media partially for that reason, that’s not the only thing we are here for. Know the meaning of social media and how to utilize it to maximize opportunities for yourself, rather than wrecking it for everyone once and for all.
Wow! It has been a crazy week when it comes to Social Media in news, especially Digg. I am not very keen on writing about social media although I myself am an active user on some social media sites. One simple reason I don’t share my personal views and opinion on this subject is simply because it just seems to matter so much to everyone else. The prime aspect of any social media site is to be an active giver within the community and build yourself a name or a brand if you are looking at it as a marketing gateway. However, in today’s social media universe, it isn’t just about being social its all about rising to the power and being known as a "power digger," power stumbler" and everything else. Am I guilty of this? Heck yes I am. Social Media after a while becomes an addiction that’s hard to get rid of.
Everyone seems to target Digg and then one of the veteran users Mrbabyman for some odd reason. The other day there were 3 stories on the front page of Digg which caused quite a bit of stir on the web and within the Digg community. Some of the things that were put forward by users were how can someone digg so many stories at such a short amount of time. The answer is simple, some use scripts and some digg first and then come back and read later. Well, we happen to be among the few who actually use digg to not only gather stories but to read them at a later date. It seems to be pretty hard for some users to understand the fact that it is quite easy to judge a story based upon title and what domain it is submitted from and both are available without having to go to the site. For example, if I see anything that is submitted from livescience or space.com, I am going to bookmark it for a later read. We all do have things to do besides digging and reading stories you know. So I personally digg back and forth throughout the day and at a later time during the day go through my folder and pull out the stories. Some people read books to relax, I pull out my dugg stories and read em. So how long does it take me to read each story if I am digging 300 stories per day. Believe it or not, it doesn’t take too long. I am a casual reader not a "professional reader." I scan them, just like most digg users do.
So why are top diggers being targeted back and forth each day for using the system as it suits their needs. No where on Digg TOS it says that you can’t digg without reading the story. If it does please highlight the text and put it on the comment. I am sure TOS is one thing that I actually didn’t just quick scan. So why is there so much power user bashing going on on Digg and not any other social media site? The reason is simple, because Digg is seen as the holy grail of social media and everyone wants a piece of it. The fact that most of these people do not want to put in the time and effort required to establish a good profile is simply due to poor management of time not "lack of time." Although there is a general conception that diggers don’t have a life and all they do is digg….it’s wrong. I am not sure about everyone else, but if you want to see whether or not I live a life outside Digg feel free to stop by anytime over at my house….Its a party town everyday.
The fact is Digg isn’t as important as people make it to be. Is it important to me? Yes it is to a certain extent but not to the point where I care who is getting their submissions on the front page and who is not. I care less about any of those things. As I said earlier, I digg for the fun of it and for the joy of seeing my stories that I liked hit the front page. If I submit a story and it manages to get 4000 diggs, hell I am happy as I can be. There is the social aspect since that one piece might allow me to befriend other users that are within the community. Being social, that’s what its all about. I am not trying to defend MrBabyMan since I don’t know him personally. As far as I have heard from people about him, he seems to be a great guy. If it was anyone else it probably wouldn’t bother as much as it bothers to this guy and that alone shows the decency and love for Digg. I mean, come on the guy has been a part of digg since 2005. Wouldn’t you be attached in some ways to something that you have been actively participating for so long? Hell yeah, you would.
Lets talk a little about Brian Cuban (bcuban). He got banned and wrote an article where he pretty much flashed all the gaming that can be done with Digg. He was a power user and his main motive was to drive traffic to his blog ( although I agree the use of scripts wasn’t the smartest thing to do but that was his choice of tool ). if you own a website and are also an active community member, wouldn’t you be tempted to drive the "Digg effect" to your sites doorsteps? Of course you would. I would really appreciate if you could name me one blogger or webmaster that wouldn’t like to see thousands of diggs and hundreds and thousands of visits coming to their site. Everyone does!
Go ahead point fingers at me but at this point I think Digg has become a crowd of high schoolers rather than mature young adults. Sitting behind your computer screen wondering why your stories never makes the front page isn’t the solution. The solution is that everything takes time and effort to flourish. This is why Mrbabyman is where he is at today. He seems to be the eyesore for all but no one can single handedly point out why he is such a target. Why do people have a problem if anyone blind diggs or uses scripts? If you think they are manipulating the system, then you certainly have access to the same tools as everybody else does…use them and quit whining. People who choose to use scripts know they are putting their account in jeopardy but that is their call, not yours. And if you can’t quit whining then may be its time to sit your butt down and start digging and making friends and helping each other out. In the real world it is ok to hire a friend if he does a pretty good job at whatever it is that he needs to be doing, but all hell goes lose when the same happens on Digg.
Grow up people and start working, build a reputable status and profile with work. Your whining is going to cause problems for all and you won’t be spared either.
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