Digg 3.0 To Launch Monday: Exclusive Screenshots and Stats

June 22nd, 2006 at 4:14 pm

Wow, doesn’t look all that different. I was hoping for more of a new UI redesign, something that would break away from the cliche Web 2.0 pastels and make web applications actually look like applications. Too bad.

June 22nd, 2006 at 4:23 pm

I am very excited about the “Agreed On” feature. I think digg has done great things to the concept of comments on stories (you’ll never, ever see anyone with a “1st post!!!!” comment because of the modding). I’m happy they are continuing to innovate in this area.

June 22nd, 2006 at 4:33 pm

looking good

June 22nd, 2006 at 4:41 pm

The new site has even more polish to it that Digg 2.0, making it look a bit more like a credible news source. I’m not a big user of the friends features, but they seem interesting nonetheless.

They’re definitely moving into the same space as Newsvine with this release, although they’re definitely keeping the site tech-centric (and internet craze-centric with the online video section).

These guys need to go public.

June 22nd, 2006 at 4:59 pm

One of the things I like about Digg is it’s simplicity. I stopped using Newsvine because it was trying to do many things. Wire, Vine, Seeds, Top contributors, Feature Writes. Who cares! I just want top relevant news! I hope Digg can still keep it’s simplicity while adding those new features.

June 22nd, 2006 at 5:17 pm

ascendancy…pure ascendancy baby.

June 22nd, 2006 at 5:20 pm

But isn’t this the same teenage gamer community with a broader range of topics to “w00t” about? Digg can’t upgrade its community to compete with the likes of the one on reddit, for instance.

June 22nd, 2006 at 5:42 pm

Okay heres the deal, Digg is the best site because of how simple it looks and is to operate. i’m glad that digg is keeping the original feel

June 22nd, 2006 at 5:55 pm

wow nice designs!

June 22nd, 2006 at 6:03 pm

Looking good! Can’t wait for 3.0!

I was hoping for more friends functionality. From the screen shots looks like I will be very pleased come Monday

–Jon Z

June 22nd, 2006 at 6:17 pm

“These guys need to go public.”

That’s the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard. What is this, 1998?

They should stay private as long as they can. Be masters of their own destiny, and not have to answer to jokers only interested in flipping their stock.

June 22nd, 2006 at 6:31 pm

@ Jon
Regarding Alexa Stat Innacuracy:

I understand how you could be angered over a traffic claim based on one set of stats, but you’re rebuttal (claiming that Slashdot is bigger because of the Netcraft stats) is just as foolish. There tend to be stats to back up both sides of an argument, when we’re talking about two successful websites… especially with no one authority on traffic! :o)

June 22nd, 2006 at 6:40 pm

Looks great!

Mike, one note from the podcast: Netscape Editors have their little box to feature 3-4 stories they like yes, but we don’t screw with the users list of the top stories… we know that the list needs to be pure.

June 22nd, 2006 at 7:20 pm

I am bit concerned about the so called changes that they have considered as they have not proven to be as effective for other related digg site copycats. These copycats have tried and failed to properly implement the digg concept to non-tech related articles. More so, the trend in this popular site has always been towards technology related news. Now, they are expanding their base to include other non-tech related categories like news and music. So, this is a bold attempt that could otherwise jeapordize their credentials as a tech news focused portal? On the other hand, will it be able to attract a more wider audience and take off? Nevertheless, I applaud them for their efforts in revolutionizing the way we access relevant information on the web.

June 22nd, 2006 at 7:50 pm

The good is getting better. Digg has become my favorite web site on the Net over the past year. Keep of the great work.

June 22nd, 2006 at 8:49 pm

“Digg is looking more and more like the newspaper of the web…And the amazing thing is that Digg does all of this with just 15 employees.”

Ummm, Digg is not the newspaper of the web. It may (or may not) be a great news aggregator and community site for discussion of said news, but it’s not a newspaper. It doesn’t publish news - it allows its audience to post links to items of interest across the Interweb, and then discuss them.

This is why it can have just 15 employees. No need to employ any journalists.

Before you go saying, ‘great’, what happens if you take all the old media out of the equation - so you’ve got no NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, BBC etc. What would all the Digg items about current world events point to?

Don’t get me wrong. Digg’s great fun, but let’s call it what it is. And it ain’t no newspaper.

June 22nd, 2006 at 9:03 pm

@Matt -

Hardly any of the links on Digg are to the NYTimes, WaPo, CNN, etc.

They mostly point to blog posts and other quirky news items.

In unrelated news…

UmmYeah.com, a relatively unknown in the industry by one guy in his basement, just did 25,000 pageviews after a silent launch 4 weeks ago.

At UmmYeah.com, we’re working on a hosted digg-esque solution that’ll allow anyone to create their own social news aggregrator.

It’ll be kind of a Blogger.com for digg-esque sites — allowing you to create a site (i.e. sports.ummyeah.com or web2.ummyeah.com) and customize it using your own theme, etc.

Speaking of which - now that there are a few major players in the industry - I think we need a term for these kinds of sites (instead of just digg-esque).

Any ideas?

June 22nd, 2006 at 11:02 pm

Here are photos from tonight’s Digg v3 launch party in San Francisco: http://laughingsquid.com/2006/.....ty-photos/

June 22nd, 2006 at 11:34 pm

It’s hard to say whether digg is going to succeed in other areas as well. Digg’s simple style is what tech geeks like. It’s not necessary the favorite of everybody. Let’s wait and see.

June 23rd, 2006 at 1:42 am

I will be waiting to see what Digg v3 has to offer. What users really need is speed and efficient web access. I hope Digg sees this need.

June 23rd, 2006 at 5:33 am

Yawn.

June 23rd, 2006 at 7:28 am

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. A chance to submit a lot more posts to Digg.

June 23rd, 2006 at 8:15 am

Looks fantastic and timing is good…I was just asking my buddy the other day if he new of a comparable site with additional categories. Looking forward to Monday.

June 23rd, 2006 at 9:12 am

You note that Digg surpassed Slashdot in page views a long time ago.

Hardly surprising. Slashdot is Digg with adult supervision and web caters to the lowest possible — not just the lowest common — denominator.

June 23rd, 2006 at 3:04 pm

@ Fez

I’d say about one-third of the posts on Digg point to traditional media sources. This is just a pretty random guess from watching the site myself, but I’d say it’s something in that order.

And if you talk about what Digg points to in terms of current events/news (ie. what newspapers report), then nearly 100 per cent of what they point to are traditional media sources (though sometimes it points to a blogger who is riffing about a traditional media report).

Most of the other two-thirds of Digg that points to non-traditional sources is tech news, not mainstream news.

Anyway, no matter what Digg is pointing to, it’s not a newspaper. That’s true whether it points to traditional sources or non-traditional sources.

The fact is it’s an aggregator of news and information, not a publisher of news and information.

June 24th, 2006 at 9:17 am

So what.
Digg is still a flawed concept.

“who knows you” - http://enfact.com/blog/?p=76

MIT Advertising Lab - http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2.....-news.html

quote

“Sixty-six percent of all stories posted on digg that make it to the homepage are pushed there by the same 60 people. Digg is essentially a community of 60 unpaid editors, and eventually the only new hardcore editors to join digg will be those with agendas and interests like the core group.”

I lost my respect for Digg when then banned me and my IP address several months ago for voicing my not so flattering opinions there. The abuse I got in response from the Digg community was jaw-dropping. It is not what it claims as defined in it’s manifesto, it’s more like a politboro.

t0nt0 commented in Jason Martinez’s “who knows you” - http://enfact.com/blog/?p=76 story:

“A small band of internet addicts cutting and pasting links to other peoples accomplishments all day; a large volume of gawkers passing through, posting one line comments, never to return. The real problem with the Internet: too many people regurgitating other people’s content without creating any of their own. Digg represents the lowest common denominator of the Internet, a link dump. You seem smart enough to realize that. Forget Digg and create something meaningful to you.”

You’re a wise man, t0nt0.