Journal Week 11

Journal Week 11

           I found Digg.com after searching through several social media sites on the web -- I found Digg.com particularly interesting and spent a good amount of time poking around on it. Digg is a web site devoted to the most interesting stories being currently talked about online. In a sense, it's a shortcut to getting the "hot topics" that are circulating the web. This is a very smart use of a social media site. With the immense amount of information we have to sift through on a daily basis to find what we are looking for, Digg does a nice job of providing important stories right up front, no searching required (or no 'digging' required). Not only is this nice for people with busy schedules who do not have time to look up current news everyday, it is a reliable way to get updated on current stories.

          So what does Digg.com do well with their social media site? The first thing I noticed and valued when I visited the site was the "main" story, and how it was enlarged to catch the viewer's eye. In this case, it was a story about the presidential election and voting, with a large picture of President Obama and Michele Obama in an embrace. Right away, my attention was peaked, and I was intrigued enough to click on the article. Digg does an excellent job in hooking their audience member, which will thereby cause more people to stay on the web site. Another thing I thought they did well was their organization. Although it is very simple, a plain table style layout separating each story, I think this simplicity is very well done. It keeps the vast amount of information being offered from being overwhelming to the viewer. Instead, it is easy to scroll down the page and look at each story individually. Lastly, I really like how if you hover over a story, options pop up: You can "like it," "share it," or "share it." This is a nice touch by Digg, as it really makes them a true social media web site. Viewers who find an interesting story can easily save it for later or so they can look into it more at another time, and the share option allows someone to forward the article on to others who they think may also like to read it.

           Digg.com is all about what is current in the media and news. They do a great job finding topics that are being widely discussed by the public, and promote these stories on their site. So in this sense, Digg is all about the public, and what people are talking about. Just to give an example of a topic they have right at the top of their site --"Why Gamers Shoot" -- focusing on gamers and the worlds of Xbox and PlayStations. Gaming and the wide use of technology has been a very hot topic as of lately, and Digg appropriately has this story right at the front to promote it. This is a great way to spread information and educate people about current topics circulating the public. If I were to change anything to Digg.com, I would suggest they include their "about" tab at the top of the page, versus at the very bottom. For a new viewer to the page, it would be helpful to easily be able to find out what the site is about. I would definitely encourage people to check out this social media site. I really like it because it is engaging and interesting at the same time. If you are interested in finding out what's being talked about on the web, or just like to find out interesting tidbits, see what you think of Digg. Your curisosity will most likely be peaked!

http://www.digg.com