Unlikely Business: Who What Why Digg (Diggnation, Revision3)
Digg.com
Revision3.com
Diggnation show
Disclaimers:
- digg.com scales well. That is no small achievement.
- Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht do seem like Nice Boys.
- Alex makes appearances on his friend Liam Lynch's show Lynchland.
- I was a digg user at one time, but not a submitter or "power user."
- I have no "business" credentials.
Update: Kevin Rose starts false "RIP Jared" story on Twitter.
Another reason not to use Digg.com, as some founders apparently have a very loose definition of "news."
Summize search on "RIP Jared kevinrose"
Invention
Digg.com has developed an algorithm (secret sauce) that controls the front page. The front page is the Holy Grail for heavy digg users.
Inception
I understand the genesis was some sort of observation like:
Profitslashdot.org is cool but wouldn't it be great if we could vote on the submissions?
Stating the obvious, Digg.com is a privately held for-profit business that encourages you to spend a lot of time with their community. Less clear is whether any Digg users are paid or bribed for front page access. Diggnation the show is produced and hosted by another for-profit privately held business Revision3.com, run by Jim Louderback.
Power Users
@MrBabyMan is one of if not the top Digg contributor. Angry (jealous?) Digg users accused him of nefarious digging and he was subjected to personal attacks. MrBabyMan does his digging in addition to a full-time career.
Algorithm Fiddling
The Invention is continually fiddled with to prevent "gaming" and to provide at least the appearance of "fairness."
Motive
This is where I part company with many digg users. The only question I think interesting is "do I want a job at digg.com?" My answer to "Why should I use or contribute to Digg?" is "You shouldn't."
The Success
That one's the easiest of all. New York Times LA Times Washington Post Wall Street Journal... hello!
The Fail
The answer to the obvious question "Why should I spend time making certain individuals wealthy (wealthier)?" has not been addressed, and so again my answer must be "You shouldn't."
Related Posts
Unseen TV: Lynchland (Liam Lynch, vidcast)
Slow News Poll: How is Kevin Rose (diggnation) like (or unlike) Vince from HBO's Entourage?
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