Business Commando

This
post is aimed at providing some suggestions for users of the
“technology news website that combines social bookmarking, blogging,
RSS, and non-hierarchical editorial control” – aka digg.

I’ve been a big fan of digg for sometime, but to be honest I’m slowly losing confidence in the front page. The unfortunate truth is that digg’s
growing popularity is exposing some of the inherent problems within the
otherwise great concept. While some of these issues can be resolved
through the introduction of new features, making such suggestions is
not the purpose of this post.

Instead, I thought I’d provide some suggestions for users getting into the world of digg.

Go Beyond the Front Page

I don’t mean go to page 2, then 3, then 4. As far as I’m concerned
these are all extensions of the front page. If you really want to get
the most out of digg hit the categories, hit digg spy, look at the digg cloud and browse. Be proactive!

Look Before you digg

Before
you hit that “digg it” button stop and read the article … the article.
Not the description, not the title, the article – hint: you can get
there through clicking on the article title. Unlike other social
bookmarking networks, when digg articles aren’t really bookmarks, they’re articles. (Hence the primary descriptor in the title – “Technology News Website”)

Being a Digg Lemming, or submitting a Blind Digg, ultimately
provides support to an article that doesn’t deserve such attention. It
encourages misleading titles, misleading descriptions, and potential
spam hidden behind it all.

Report it if it’s Bad

“Right on the front page digg offers the ability to report a link for being anything from a duplicate to all out spam. For digg users the “problem?” button is nearly as important as the digg button itself!

Everyone that uses digg
relies on others to help in the editorial process. To that end we need
to applaud as much as boo – and that’s what the “problem?” button is
for. Rather than simply reading digg,
users are encouraged to take part in the “non-hierarchical editorial
control.” On one end that means “digging” a good or important article,
on the other that means helping weed out the junk.

Take part in the Discussion

(This is where having been a professor shows through.) Because digg
has its flaws we can’t make the mistake of reading all front page
articles as news. Even delving into the article itself can only inform
us to a certain degree – you need to look into both sides of the issue.
If you get into the comments section of any given article you can learn
a lot about interpretations of the issue.

Prime Time news, Newspapers, magazines, and even talk radio are incredibly biased – so too are digg users. By reading through the comments on a digg article you can learn a lot about the topic and even decide whether you feel the story deserves your coveted digg.

Oh … if you’re going to participate in discussion remember not to flame, troll, or engage in unproductive arguments.

Read other Sites

Don’t get caught thinking digg is the only place to collect tech news and information. I’m not saying don’t use digg – just be smart. Use digg to identify good blogs, good news sites, and good products that can supplement your digg
fix. While you can learn from, well, digging around the site, you can
also learn a lot by following some of the websites you discover via digg.

I could go on but I think these really highlight some of the best
points behind digging well. Above all it’s important to note that digg
is a community based site – remember that by being responsible while
digging you better everyone’s experience and really do support the
concept behind it.

Disclaimer: This post was not
intentended to tell people HOW to digg, rather simply to share my
personal frustration with the recent trend for mis-labeled, poorly
described articles making the front page. This is how I go about
digging, and my interpretation of how digg works best. If you agree,
terrific.

While I’m happy the story was submitted I’m surprised it made the
front page – apparently some people agree with me, and obviously many
don’t.

P.S. yeah the template is in bad shape – I really wasn’t expecting guests. lol

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Free NAS.

Free NAS.
Yep, free Network-Attached Storage software. Courtesy of the wonderful
Open Source movement. Under 16MB, perfect for installation on your
Compact Flash, hard drive or USB flash drive.

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Photo Keychain.

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Un journal danois a “osé” publier des caricatures du prophète Mahomet,
(elles sont visibles dans France-Soir ou sur internet, cherchez un peu…)
soulevant un vent de protestation dans le monde musulman qui en appelle
au boycot des produits danois (heu… le salami, les films ?…),
voire à des réactions plus fermes.
Ah.

On ne peut pas rigoler avec le prophète ?

Rappelons que la religion musulmane interdit toute représentation humaine,
a fortiori de Mahomet (Allah n’est représenté que par la calligraphie).
Ah, c’est facile, pour un dessinateur.
Comment voulez-vous déconner avec ça ?

Je
signale aux musulmans qui seraient éventuellement choqués par ce dessin
qu’ils ont tout à fait le droit de me répondre en dessinant Dieu en
tutu rose ou Jésus en danseuse du ventre, voire Dominique de Villepin
en victime du catholicisme, brûlé vif attaché à un poteau (encore que
ça, c’est limite) et je serai bien puni.

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