Web 3.0 is (probably) being built as we speak

May 27, 2008 by 3 Comments

Web 3.0Is consolidation the road to Web 3.0?

I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog that I believe the “Web 3.0″ revolution will be ushered in by Social Hybrids. We are starting to see large Web 2.0 companies getting eaten up by the larger Internet powerhouses — AOL/Bebo, eBay/StumbleUpon, Yahoo/del.icio.us, etc — but there hasn’t been a true consolidation of web properties that combines social media with social networking.

Are we seeing the Genesis of it now? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Digg, Facebook, Featured, Social Freshness, Social Media, Social Networks Tagged With: , , ,

New Blogs Focus on What Did NOT Hit the Front Page of Digg

May 24, 2008 by 1 Comment

PopFAILOn an episode of The Drill Down 3 weeks ago, MrBabyMan, Zaibatsu, MSaleem, and about 50 people in the chat room of their Ustream broadcast discussed putting up a site where stories that didn’t make it to the front page of Digg could “find a resting place.”  After a quick brainstorming session, Lost Shovels was born.

While it hasn’t taken off yet as hoped with only 4 stories posted there currently, a variation of the idea was created at PopFAIL.  This one has much more activity currently (I am one of the contributors) and each submission is accompanied by an analysis of why it didn’t make it and why it should have made it to the front page of Digg. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Digg, Mixx, Propeller, Reddit, Social Media, StartUps Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

10 Great URLs with Bad Websites

May 16, 2008 by 3 Comments

Dennis Kucinich on Hot dot comSometimes, a URL leads you to exactly what you expect.  Other times, it takes you to blank pages, advertising link pages, or just plain dumb stuff.

This list of 10 (plus 4 dishonorable mentions) includes excellent domain names with great type-in traffic (at least they did back in the day when people still relied on type-in traffic) that just don’t give you anything that you can use.

Our personal favorite: Hot.com takes you to a campaign video for Dennis Kucinich.  Not all that hot anymore, if he ever was hot.

10 Great URLs.

Filed Under: Social Freshness Tagged With: , ,

Digg Town Hall Prompts New Site Announcement

May 12, 2008 by 1 Comment

From Soshable, one social media site in the works lays some cards on the table in an effort to generate the funds necessary for launch.

Digg Town Hall

The Digg Town Hall Meetings so far have been like bad sex in a bad relationship. There’s too much time in between causing a buildup that has to be released. When the climax finally comes, it’s too short and completely disappointing.

Mashable.com, who hosted a live blog with the help of The Drill Down crew, put it very eloquently when they summarized the event:

If you were to sum up what we learned from Digg Townhall #02, I would have to say it was… er… well… Jay Adelson really, REALLY loves Vernors Ginger Soda.

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Read the whole story on Soshable.

Filed Under: Digg, Social Internet, Social Media, StartUps Tagged With: , , , ,

If Digg Won’t Listen to its Users, We Will

May 12, 2008 by 16 Comments

Digg Town Hall

The Digg Town Hall Meetings so far have been like bad sex in a bad relationship. There’s too much time in between causing a buildup that has to be released. When the climax finally comes, it’s too short and completely disappointing.

Mashable.com, who hosted a live blog with the help of The Drill Down crew, put it very eloquently when they summarized the event:

If you were to sum up what we learned from Digg Townhall #02, I would have to say it was… er… well… Jay Adelson really, REALLY loves Vernors Ginger Soda.

They keep saying it’s coming. The changes are coming. Listening to the community is coming. In the meantime, the promotion algorithm seems to be in a regular state of flux — sometimes active members can’t hit the homepage with 200 diggs, other times they’re hitting 10+ times in a day.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Digg, Facebook, Featured, Social Freshness, Social Media, Social Networks Tagged With: , , , ,

Microsoft Buying Facebook would be like Exxon Buying Greenpeace

May 8, 2008 by 5 Comments

Facebook MicrosoftI’m late on chiming in on this one, but with a reason. I had to pinch myself first, then wait to see if I was getting punk’d.

As many blogs have stated, the rumor that Microsoft is pursuing Facebook is, well, just a rumor. Still, things like these don’t just pop up randomly (very often) without some credibility, especially when it makes sense as a ploy to pressure Yahoo. With that said, I still feel the need to point out why this won’t work. Call it abuse of the hypothetical, but blogs are made to explore the possibilities.

Many, perhaps most, Facebook users do not want Microsoft. They were a little upset when they purchased under 3% of the company. If that becomes 50+%, we will likely see a large-scale exodus. Sadly, it would happen right after Facebook passed MySpace on Alexa. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Facebook, Social Freshness Tagged With: ,

Tagsum Gets New Name, Fresh Look

May 8, 2008 by 1 Comment

Public BlendSocial media site Tagsum no longer exists. Well, it does, but not the way it used to.

Recent updates to the site and a redirect from the tagsum domain highlight the grand “re-opening” of Public Blend. New features include a personalized PublicBlend page similar in concept to Mixx, but with a little more functionality.

We will be surfing, prodding, and poking through the site over the next few days. In the meantime, check it out and tell us (or more importantly, them) what you think.

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Social News — you’re here.

Read more on this social news media blog or visit some of the sites we recommend.

Filed Under: Social Internet, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,