Diggers digging their own hole?
Monday, January 28, 2008
With social news networks like Digg around for some time now, the interesting realities of human behavior on these types of sites are being revealed.
Last week, Founder Kevin Rose announced that a new algorithm would take control over Digg, changing the way stories make their way to becoming popular on the network.
Leaving complexities aside, the basic idea is that from now on, the diversity of people digging stories will be taken into consideration in deeming which articles are catapulted to the top of Digg and which are buried in its depths.
For prominent Diggers, this change might mean a sudden fall from grace. Apparently, there is a group of them that has invested such an avid participation in the site, that they, in principal, control it.
This means that the “popular” stories we read are really not popular by true definition. Rather, the Diggers in this specific and relatively small group are the ones who deem articles to be “popular.”
Obviously, news of the changed algorithm caused an uproar among these Diggers. After all, no one likes to be stripped of their power, no matter how mediocre it might be.
Fortunately, Digg founders did not ignore their devoted fans despite their dictatorship-style tactics. Rather than admonishing them for turning Digg into their own personal platform, Kevin Rose and his fellow Digg leaders talked things out with some of these high profile Diggers, who were charging them with abandonment.
This scenario is an interesting two-sided coin. On the one side, these dedicated Diggers are the pulse of Digg. On the flipside, though, those who visit on a less frequent basis might feel - and some apparently do (see comments) - that Digg is a pointless endeavor. This sentiment discourages recurrent use of the program, stripping it of hits, which equal value.
It seems that morale has won this round. However, in time, I predict that we will see more of these types of situations. The basic elements of human behavior are inherent no matter if we are interacting in the real or in a virtual world. In a social group, there will always be those who take charge, while the majority remains largely apathetic.Labels: digg, Internet, social media, Web 2.0
The SEO Firm & New York
Friday, January 18, 2008
Madison Avenue is the home of advertising agencies and PR has often times found itself at the heart of New York City. But SEO has yet to be pinned to one specific geographic location.
Having been in the SEO business for about 10 years, we seem to be dominating the SEO space here in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. Perhaps our chic locale will start a trend.
In our increasingly interconnected world, however, we might soon find location to not be as relevant as it once was. After all, we are doing business with companies outside of our little neighborhood. We are even branching out internationally.
Being competitive and offering truly unique services is thus the top priority for companies dealing with the online space. In a recent ClickZ article, Mike Grehan warns SEO-ers that we need to step up our game in 2008. Years before, when search was more rudimentary, SEO was pretty straight forward. Streamline a company’s website and they are on solid ground for months.
With the evolution of our search habits, SEO is just not that simple anymore. We have to get beyond the basics and truly add creativity to our practice.
It’s a good thing that Connors recognized this years ago. We have always banked on the long tail concept, knowing that the majority of hits to a site originate from people searching on material that is only remotely related to it.
For example, let’s say you type “French restaurant NYC” into Google. You then see a French cookbook in the midst of your search results. You click on the book and, since you are craving French food, you buy it. So, even though you were not aiming to buy a French cookbook, you did anyway. It might go against the grain of your common sense, but that often happens with human behavior.Labels: 2008, Google, New York City, search, seo, Web 2.0
And they’re off
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
With the primaries well on their way, we are beginning to see the real impact social media is having on the voter turnouts as well as the actual votes cast. For reference sake, I will note that on Facebook, Obama has an overwhelming lead with 61% of participants of the US Politics feature supporting him. Clinton has just 18%, and Edwards comes in 3rd with 10%.
On the Republican side, surprisingly, Ron Paul is the front runner with 37%. The support for the other candidates is split fairly evenly. In order, Huckabee is 2nd with 19%, Romney 3rd with 14% and McCain 4th with 11%.
Facebook doesn’t break down these figures further, for example, indicating the median age of supporters. However, it can be safely assumed that the majority of these folks are in their 20s and 30s and, thus, represent a voice younger than that captured by the polls conducted by CNN and other traditional news organizations.
With that said, the argument can be made that social media is having a relatively big impact for Democrats. In Iowa last week, where Obama was victorious, young people came out in record numbers. According to Time, “[t]urnout among the youngest slice of the electorate more than doubled from 2004.”
The same was true in New Hampshire yesterday. In a press release today about the state’s voter turnout, the presence of youth - deemed as adults under 30 - increased 25% from 2004, from just 18% to 43%.
An article from MTV.com about Clinton’s win in NH broke down the numbers. In Iowa, just 10% of Democrats aged 17-24 voted for her, while 57% voted for Obama. In New Hampshire, 22% of 18-24 year olds supported Clinton, but an astounding 60% rallied for Obama.
So how did Clinton manage to win in New Hampshire? While young voters are taking the most active role in history in the primaries, so is the rest of the population! In that same article, strong support from women, 46% to be exact, was cited as the reason for her win in NH. Apparently, women in Iowa don’t care much for other women.
Perhaps what’s even more telling about the success of social media in these elections is CBS’ announced plans this week to partner with Digg on coverage pertaining to the campaigns. It’s a you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours kind of deal. CBSNew.com will feature stories rated highly on Digg on their site and Digg will feature articles from CBSNews.com.
It’s nice to know that when all is said and done in November, our country is already well on its way to creating real change. Through the integration of social media, apathy is quickly becoming very passé.Labels: 2008 elections, digg, Facebook, new media, politics, social media, Web 2.0
Welcome 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
The New Year is upon us. In the past couple of weeks, we have been bombarded with predictions for what 2008 will bring. The common theme among them, of course, is the notion of change.
Perhaps this feeling is propelled by our political climate. After all, we will be ending the year with a new President. But along with that, we are also seeing that the technologies and industries to which we have become accustomed are morphing instep with the future.
The music industry, for example, is being transformed. In 2007, we saw popular artists such as Radiohead and Madonna reject the old conglomerate music machine by taking more of an active role in how their music is sold. With news yesterday on album sales at record lows - down 15% from 2006 - they are probably doing the right thing.
And just today, Catherine Holahan from BusinessWeek reported that Sony plans to sell its music DRM-free, meaning their songs will be sold without the copyright protection software that makes it impossible for songs to be bought online. Sony is the last of the top 4 big music companies to do so, solidifying what we already knew. Buying and sharing music online is not a fad and if you don’t get on that boat, your ship will sink.
It is thus probably safe to say that we will see more artists taking control in new creative ways in 2008. What’s not certain, though, is if the quality of music will improve. With Britney in the hospital, there is some hope.
Another interesting development to watch this year is the impact the g-phone or Android will have on mobile telecom. The iphone made mobile web browsing truly possible, but the expense and having to be an AT&T subscriber kept many from being able to take advantage of the technology. 2008 might mark the year we all go online on the go.
From these few examples, it is clear (and not surprising) that the Internet is going to play an even bigger role in our lives this year. It’s a good thing we’re in this business!Labels: 2008, Internet, music industry, telecom
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