Written on February 2nd, 2007 at 03:02 pm by Darren Rowse
Digg To Stop Making Their Users Famous
Digg have decided to scrap the top Diggers list - as of tomorrow. This comes as a result of increasing numbers of people attempting to pay top users to get them on the popular page.
This will cause a big stir among some digg users (especially those who have built quite a reputation on digg) - but what do you think it’s impact will be?
I think one of the things that is behind the success of sites like Digg is that they make their users famous and give them incentive to build a reputation/profile. While it might not impact their day to day user I’ve already talked to one top 40 Digger who’s not particularly happy about it.
Kevin does say that they’re working on new ways of connecting and rewarding users - it’ll be interesting to see what they do.
Hat tip - Tony
19 Responses to “Digg To Stop Making Their Users Famous”
Russ
February 2nd, 2007 3:52 pm
Although I am not an experienced digg user, it made me feel included when another member digged my stories, or made a comment. I would try to increase the number of stories that I dugg to try and make my profile more well known.
If this list is lost, then I may not even go back at all. There is no incentive to continue digging. A bad move on digg’s behalf.
Sammy Tater
February 2nd, 2007 3:55 pm
It would be interesting if they allowed us to put in adsense codes to the comment pages that get dugg! Direct rewards are always the best.
Jay Wilson
February 2nd, 2007 4:55 pm
I love digg as a source of news and articles, but the community reminds me so much of High School, with the Top Diggers as the “Cool Kids”. I don’t think a personal Digg fam should outside of community -selected news. I digg and submit stories because I think they should be seen, not because -I- want to be seen.
Nick
February 2nd, 2007 5:02 pm
I think it’s a good time for Digg to do some remodeling of it’s platform and user experience… while the motivation of users is their glory to fame through Digg.. the number one goal of the community as a whole is to present the most important and interesting stories out there, not because of popularity of the Digg user, but by the content.
Ian Robertson
February 2nd, 2007 7:07 pm
I just have to say that it’s about time.
The whole popularity contest at digg was childish at best.
Kris
February 2nd, 2007 8:06 pm
Finally !
Did you notice that lately digg stories are becoming less interesting ?
Dave Starr
February 2nd, 2007 8:07 pm
Ian basically said what I wanted too. Since there is so much childish “look at me” feeling on the other side of the house, I’ll jump in with Ian’s conservative view. If Digg were to make “Diggs” anonymous it would have some value .. as it is, it’s kinda like a clique at a little private boys school, only with much poorer grammar. A step in the right direction.
Mitza
February 2nd, 2007 8:19 pm
This is a bad move from DIGG … just destroying other people hard build reputation, and work.
Basic Thinking Blog » Hitflip: Blog-Marketing
February 2nd, 2007 8:29 pm
[...] Und von gemeinschaftlicher Intelligenz bei Firmen zu sprechen ist ja fast schon ein Oxymoron. Trackback-URL Gelesen: 11 heute:11 [...]
Chris
February 2nd, 2007 10:35 pm
I know this is a bit of a jerk comment, but to be honest the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard this story was,
“Who cares if a handful of people with too much time on their hands lose their psuodo-high-status position on some site? It’s just a stupid webpage, not the real world, or anything all that important in the long run.”
Could this comment be stupid and totally wrong? Yep. Just throwing in my opinion.
Mark Evans - Do You Trust Digg?
February 2nd, 2007 11:17 pm
[...] For more, check out Deep Jive Interests,who is surprised it took Rose so long to make this decision and why he’s not doing more; Technology Evangelist, and Pro Blogger. [...]
Peter Flaschner
February 2nd, 2007 11:28 pm
I think this was a necessary step in order to keep digg relevant. The latest news about a company trying to buy its way onto the front page just reinforces this.
It’s true that some power users may lose their hard earned reputation, but this is a harsh reminder that their reputation rests on the whim of the site’s owners. This may cause some to question the value of investing so much time to create a reputation that can be wiped out with the stroke of a few keys.
For what it’s worth, I can’t see this doing anything to eradicate the high school locker room feel of the general digg community. Regular digg users know who’s who. Eliminating the list will only make it more difficult for outsiders to contact the top dogs.
David Leggett
February 3rd, 2007 12:37 am
I would agree that part of Digg’s success comes from the ability to build a reputation. However, I think the model Digg has been using has actually been more harmful to the use experience than helpful.
Stories getting seen only because people are paying to have the top Digger’s build them up is essentially just advertising. As a viewer, I would rather see articles purely because people found it interesting instead of because someone paid to have it make the front page.
Jeremy Steele
February 3rd, 2007 1:04 am
Its about time, they should leave it off for a while, at least until their users behave and stop accepting checks from corporations.
Matt
February 3rd, 2007 2:36 am
Personally I go to digg for the content, and I must say that over the past year the content has slowly gotten worse and worse. The same 10 topics make it to the front page every day and I just don’t find the gems that you did like 2 years ago.
I hate reading the comments because 90% of them are sooo ignorant and repetitive. It is rare to find any meaningful conversation in the comments.
Honestly I really don’t give a crap about the digg community or the users, I just want to find interesting stories. Maybe people’s incentive for posting stories is the reward of being popular. But the result of that is what digg has become today. I liked the days when people posted stories because they wanted to share something interesting, not because they wanted to be the first person to break a story on digg.
I personally don’t know how to fix digg. It might be inherently broken.
Niels
February 3rd, 2007 4:12 am
I am delighted with digg’s move. I don’t like digg, I will admit, exactly because it feels overwhelming to me, a non-power user. I look forward to the time when indeed, a site like digg can be a great way to inform, not the world, but those I know who care, about important stories and posts. Now, I feel I need to take on the whole world, and specifically power users on digg, to get a story noticed that may be very valuable to a specific group, and perhaps to not to many others. How do I do that?
You may say that I am missing something about digg. So? Why should it be so hard to figure out how to make best use of a site like digg? Most people are not power users, will never be power users and still would love to share important information on this site.
Top diggers list still available » All Tips and Tricks
February 3rd, 2007 4:32 am
[...] This morning, Darren Rowse put a question on his blog: [...]
HMTKSteve
February 3rd, 2007 11:24 am
Digg has been a meta-game since day one! Home page stories are the EXP and the top diggers listing lets you know what “level” you have reached in the game.
I say game in the same sense World of Warcraft is a game. Seeing Digg as a game has nothing to do with, nor should it be confused with, gaming Digg.
Digg Removes Top Diggers List, Get Ready For Backlash - Code and Coffee
March 9th, 2007 11:17 am
[...] Kevin Rose, in the official Digg blog announced some updates that are coming to Digg. Among the list is the removal of the “Top Diggers” list. The news is already spreading through the blogosphere, and I am sure the backlash from Digg users will begin soon. [...]
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