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Digg users spurred to register and contribute

blogs.zdnet.com — In response to the previously dugg article: “Digg’s 8 million “social freeloaders”, ZDnet publishes this response to the criticism and discussions about the users who fail to contribute to digg.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 25, 2006

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  • radu79, on 10/12/2007, -2/+65I doubt it would be a good idea to have 8 million registered users that post comments all the time. Would you even start reading the comments if there were like 2K comments for a story? You'd spend the whole day doing that, and many good arguments would be lost (who reads the 1500th comment anyway?)
    Sometimes less is more.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+56the old adage still probably holds true for digg: "quality not quantity"
  • Daisuke, on 10/12/2007, -6/+43MilitantQueer: Looks like you've been voted one of them :-P
  • infinium, on 10/12/2007, -8/+42I speak and contribute all the time.
    --See it's not so hard!--
  • p9s50W5k4GUD2c6, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23Good post Ostemayer.

    My take: the more active users the better. I hope users are reflective in what they submit, what they digg and what they write. Reflective does not mean the same ideas as mine (thank God).

    There will be X% of problematic users. But I am an optimist: my experience has shown that ~most ~people will step up to high standards (and still be true to themselves and their point of view).

    I am CONTINUOUSLY amazed at the diversity I see on Digg. I love it!

    For those of you that want to contribute - here are some friendly suggestions:
    - reach out for Friends on Digg (people will see it). Another old adage is also true in Digg: to get a friend you have to be one.
    - here's a tool that can help identify people ~wanting~ to be your friend (courtesy of snipehack): http://techdebates.com/projects/digg_friends.php
    - subscribe to RSS feeds to sites you really like (as well as sites without RSS)
    - Submit good content (and don't quit)
    - Craft your titles well as well as your descriptions
    - Be ready to get your posts praised, bumped, duped, attacked, and buried (at times). Try not to take it too personal.

    Make a difference and enjoy what other users provide as well.

    Enjoy!
  • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Well, it sure was better than your Reply To First Post...
  • Dhalgren, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a 44, no Les no More
  • Etheo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14"First Post" is just another way of saying "Pay attention to me! I'm special! Why won't you respect me?" which is in no way a contribution, neither positive nor negative, to the discussion. It reeks of egocentric and narcissistic stinks.
  • OrlyonokEaglet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16digg v3.0 is exactly why I registered today :)
    I saw the diggnation video and now I understand why digg is more than just the links to stories
  • p9s50W5k4GUD2c6, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12"And make sure that if you submit a story, to use the word "Amazing" or "Awesome" in the title. Combining them both gives you bonus points."

    If by bonus points you mean: more people burying your story, then I would agree. Can't say I'd recommend that approach radu79.

    Tricks and techniques usually only yield short term gain. And Digg is a fast environment with users that quickly tire of tricks and techniques.

    Good luck!
  • Fly1m1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9If you don't want to post stories you don't have to. And it doesn't make you a freeloader. Just enjoy digg.
  • Seften, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11The last time I contributed, I got burried for asking a single relevant question.
  • blkhwk86, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8 think this is a fear of many people. People fear being rejected for their beliefs and opinions. Also, with people being as paranoid as ever, they are less likely to give out info. I remember an article where they found that only 5% of people actually contribute to message boards and forums of those that visit. I was reluctant because it was another password to remember and sn. Anyways, it kinda feels like a newspaper. Many people read it, very very few actually put something into it. So is this the new newspaper?
  • Etheo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Ostermayer: now that's a quality post if I saw one.

    I for one am tired of going through 100's of comments to look for painfully few comments that are actually worth replying for or making a remark on. Usually when there are 200 or so comments, I don't even bother. That's when those quality comments get buried in a sea of unintelligent babbles.
  • johndi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7That's going to happen sometimes. Roll with the punches. Digg like all other social websites and multi-player games has its share of trolls, griefers and self-appointed guardians of grammar and spelling. Sometimes I see a submission that has all negative diggs because a few people didn't like the story, or how it was submitted.

    Edit: This is starting to look like an example of someone not liking the story, and digging down every single comment one time. What a fulfilling quest that must be.
  • noelsusman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7uhhh....did anybody actually go to the link that this frontpage story goes to? Here is what it says for those of you who just take the title and description's word for it....

    "My story yesterday, %u201CDigg%u2019s 8 million %u201Csocial freeloaders%u201D, in which I discuss the Social Web%u2019s very low user contribution ratio, has spurred passive Digg readers to become active Digg contributors!

    Registered, active Digg user %u201CkazzyD%u201D, submitted my story to Digg yesterday and he engaged the Digg community about their %u201Cdigging roles%u201D. Here are some of the posted comments:"

    Then she goes on to list a bunch of comments all agreeing with her that came directly from the previous digg post. How on Earth is this frontpage news? All she is doing is saying, "Hey look at me! I just got a digg front page story! Look at me get another front page story by just copy and pasting stuff from my old front page story!"

    Seriously, it's the people that don't rtfa that hurt digg if anything, not the freeloaders.

    *edit* Great.....now I can't even to decide what to report this story for. It's old news, spam, inaccurate, a duplicate story, and lame all at the same time.
  • MattS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7So... What is the poor sot who happens to "first post" but actually has something to say to do?
  • radu79, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11And make sure that if you submit a story, to use the word "Amazing" or "Awesome" in the title. Combining them both gives you bonus points.
  • Arramol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"So... What is the poor sot who happens to "first post" but actually has something to say to do?"

    The problem isn't people making the first post, the problem is people whose post says nothing but, "FIRST POST!!!!!" because they think it makes them cool.
  • mjordan4343, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yes, I'll contribute and then have a bunch of jackasses tell me how stupid or old my story is.
  • Kazanoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Majority of people here probaby either dont give a ***** about me or wish I hadn't registered.

    However, I'm too much of an ***** just to be a free loader :D
  • antisthenex, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6The people with strong opinions and the people that are well-informed probably all have an account so they can voice themselves. Part of me is afraid a lot of people are going to sign-up once Digg v3 is implemented, because the category filtering is probably going to be important. Once people begin sprawling all over topics, there's going to be a lot of stupid stuff being spewed out.
  • Castaa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I agree. If you want an example of hundred of thousands of posters, just take a look at the Yahoo news story message boards. It's the worse message board system imaginable.

    It's not the idiots to user ratio. It really the total number of idiots that end up posting their thoughts.
  • spjmm0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Funny thing, why comment when someone else has? Also, I do not live to contribute articles, that is not what I feel is necessary for me. Others may feel different. When I registered I did not see a quota for submissions.
  • Latka, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4There's no way in hell that you can get that many people to contribute actively. To me it would be un-manageable and scary!

    I do believe though, that there isn't much incentive on the homepage, a little explanation of the site or some way to get the users to signup and know they can inffluence on the way the site works dynamically.

    But to me it's great the way it is.
  • scott1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"ZDnet publishes this response to the criticism and discussions about the users who fail to contribute to digg."
    Fail to contribuite?
    If you just digg stories on digg you contributing in a way. If noone digged any stories or read any of them then digg would exist.
  • ArchibaldTuttle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What about the people that only submit stories like "itunes (or any other software prog) v.X.X just released", it goes both ways, there are a lot of people that only post lame stories. I mean software releases can be cool or important, but what app doesn't have a updated version checking feature?

    I wish it was harder to get to the front page, there is too much crap on there right now imo.
  • xdigitalkill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Isn't the moderation power suppose to filter out spam and comments not worth reading?
    It doesn't matter if there is 1000 crappy posts and you don't see them, there would be a chance for more higher quality comments; ones that you might actually read.
    Quality and Quantity
  • politech, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Ruckus21 nailed it. I was thinking the same thing to myself as I read this. The author sure has a high opinion of herself. The Digg 3 upgrade has nothing to do at all with the increase in registered users ... it was all because of her article.

    What a bimbo.
  • elShaggy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I speak my mind in comments, I know things I say people aren't going to like, because its how i feel about the subject, i expect lotta the comments to get modded down.

    It is what it is, a comment.
  • Obsydian, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The article still brings up a valid point, if less people contribute, digg gets saturated with stories relating to the people who digg most. I've submitted only one story. I would contribute more, but it always seems like A. it's already been dugg, or B. I don't "digg" around on the internet looking for stories to submit. Should be a bit easier for me Once V3 launches. We'll just have to see.

    I love commenting though =)
  • GuyHitByTruck, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7A big chunk of me is rather afraid of what Digg will become when version 3 is launched. Non-tech news..?
  • maloney_633, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3He is using the Dvorak theory. Much like Dvorak deliberately insults macs and apple fans to drive traffic to his site, which he has admitted to. The person from ZDNet deliberately insults people from digg because she knows that we are going to try and defend are selves, thus reading his article. I must say it is brilliant but Dvorak has been doing it for over 10 years so it is not original.
  • twinklyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think the article was a very concise synopsis of Digg. I don't view it as negative.
  • stepnet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have to agree with the dozens of people saying "quality" - but I'd further add that I was a very active reader (ie freeloader) of the digg community for quite some time.

    UNTIL - I saw a story that I wanted to comment on. I think people will become contributes if/when they want to become contributers. As stories make it to the front page based on the number user diggs, more registered users would probably not change which stories appear on the front page - it would simply increase the overall number of 'diggs'.
  • Ruckus21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Boy have you people been duped. This arrogant broad on ZDnet writes an article bitching about digg users, then gets it promoted on digg, then writes an article thanking all the digg users for getting her all the page hits that her bosses just loved. This is nothing any pea brained, nut job, second class blogger (spammer) hasn't been "using" digg for since the beginning. She quotes your comments on their site and everything is forgiven. Well it seems like digg 3.0 should have a category called "digg articles" where cheap shot artists like this can be contained and sprayed like the cockroaches that they are.
  • firemcd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3OK i see the point....to a point. Here is my question, when you go to an art gallery and look at a painting and not leave a verbal coment or thank you, are you being socially irresponsible? When you go to a Movie (BAD as they are these days) are you being socially irresponsible by not writing down your feelings about it and thanking the screenwriter? Seems to me there is an awful lot that mirrors the internet in our society as far as how we use it. And there is no HUGE HEADTRIP then when you view/use/enjoy and do not contribute. I am a very regular user of forum sites; i think it is irresponsible to just reply for replying's sake. It takes up room and others valuable time. There is always more than one way to look at things.....
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"It lists some URLs and allows people to comment on them. What value is it adding here?"

    So what's wrong with an RSS feed that links me to sites that wouldn't normally go on? :P It makes me look cool to my non-Digging friends (they all have MySpace accounts). There's the value for me.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wha--? This is just self-congratulatory *****. I thought the article was going to provide statistics showing a significant increase in registered users.
  • monergism, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's about marketing data. Let's not confuse 'user content' with anything other than marketing data.

    Yes, I'll get modded down in a hurry if not outright removed but with 8 million email addresses, profiles, links and habits the account info itself is worth a lot of money.
  • saska, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4meneame.net does this (anonymous "digging"), but I've only just started reading the site. They have some stronger language about spam in their TOS and description, and they tout the anonymous approval factor as a key difference between themselves and digg.

    I'll be curious to see whether it seems a higher percentage of stories make it to the front page from what appear to be anonymous votes.

    As I said in response to the original article, though, I don't necessarily think people not registering is censoring the news. If they felt strongly enough they would register, digg, and comment. That they don't do so means they're content with what the active community is selecting and putting in front of them. Apathy in itself is a vote for the status quo.
  • Pfhor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"The problem isn't people making the first post, the problem is people whose post says nothing but, "FIRST POST!!!!!" because they think it makes them cool."

    "FIRST POST!!!!!!!!" posts also cause another inconvenience; many people don't bother to scroll down to the bottom of the page. If a useless first post gets, say, 3 followup posts, then potentially useful posts are a pushed farther down the page than need be ( which could result in less people getting to view it.) Mind you, posts with -4 diggs are minimized, which helps, but they still take up room.
  • johndi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Did you notice she didn't bother with any of the criticism aimed at her or ZDNet? It was pretty much "I joined too," or negative towards Digg. Very selective quoting, not representative of the comments at all. This type of ''journalism'' that would make Geraldo proud!
  • piratearggghhh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The second I find anything interesting and try to search/submit, it's a 99.9% chance that someone's already submitted the story. You guys are way to fast.
  • strangerzero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've often been puzzled by the "lack" of action going on around here. Are we sure that there are really 8 million users and not 8000?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The problem is not only those who don't want to take part, but also the actual crowd that does post the comments. Ever since the bury system was implemented, digg has become a very cruel place.
    More so, submitting stories is very hard, especially when it seems that only a small percentage of users get their stories miraculously on the front page, while the rest of us schmucks get snide remarks from the other users for even trying to post a story.
  • aspro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well to be honest I have registered, but the types of stories that make it to the front page are normally not what I'm interested in/quality stories, and I am not keen to contribute because unless lots of people like me start running the site I'll have to spend hours going through the thousands of not so good stories to find the 10-12 per day that I find interesting. I guess if Digg had a group of editors, or really good filtering tools I would enjoy the site more. I am hoping that with Digg 3.0 I will be able to set my own limits on digg counts and categories so perhaps I will get what I want?
  • manitoba98xp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I registered a short while ago. I've always enjoyed reading Digg, and the predecessor to this article motivated me to go through with it. I never realized that digging was so easy!
  • Pacotheparrot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Call me crazy but for some reason this just seems like ZDnet's way of firing back at our beloved Digg. I for one will always be a Digg reader, member, and supporter. I don't care if only 1% of people contribute, it's damn good news and when I find a story on another site that's digg worthy I'll submit it and when I show people Digg and tell them how cool it is I'll tell them to become a member.

    This isn't a shortfall of Digg, this is only the begining.
  • psychomantis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My Favorite part.

    "For instance Xbox and Nintendo fans dominate and are the most vocal in the Gaming area. Compare that to the actual gaming public overall, and you would see how skewed that ends up being." 100% Truth.
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