Digg & Google Share the Same Evil

Hi all,

I wrote a column this morning that compares the recent changes at Digg to those that Google made back when they went public. It was, to be honest, a complete slap in the face for the tech community.

Kevin Rose even admitted recently that Digg will eventually become a "general use" site, leaving the community that made it big in the dust.

Didn't Google do the same thing?

Anyway, you can read it here, and then back to discuss. I would be interested to get some different opinions on this.

Excerpt:

-Eric

 

why do you hate google? Because you buy links? I don't think there is something wrong with them.

 

Digg is already past its prime anyway. Its members are very immature and quite honestly, not as intelligent as Slashdot or Reddit users.

The voting system is cool, but when users are thick enough to Digg up anything that has Apple or Mario in it, it doesn't work. Look at this article that made the frontpage a day ago. The article had nothing to do with web 2.0, yet it made the frontpage! Few of the Diggers realized you can't even copyright a name!

If you want tech news, go to Slashdot. They have been around much longer and know what they're doing.

 

Who said anything about hating Google?

I fully agree. I've yet to get into Slashdot but probably should soon. I guess it's just hard letting go of an account that you've worked so hard establishing.

 

In Digg, there is a feature where you can only view top stories on topics that interest you.

 

It doesn't matter, because the same people who are Digging up stories and doing all the burying in topics I DON'T want to read are also doing it in topics I do want to read.

The mentality is spread across Digg, not just one category.

 

You must hate money or something.

If you don't like it, you can be a hippie and be like craigslist or wikipedia. Two large sites that can make millions overnight, but are not interested in money.

 

You must not have read the full article. My premise is that Digg and Google MUST move in the direction they did because of money. It was inevitable.

But in the process those of us who made it all possible were thrown under the bus.

 

Zman I really don't get the comparison between the Digg and Google....I guess that's why you are being asked if you hate Google...I like Digg...Lately I don't like the stories that have been appearing on the first page, they do seem a bit immature but I just block certain categories.

 

How do you not get the comparison? Both were built catering to the Tech community, and both bailed on that community when they saw more money elsewhere.

 

I don't know much about Digg's history but to my understanding Google's main focus during its beginning was search algos and information for the masses, not anything specifically tech related.

 

Who was using Google in the beginning, and what content did Google rely on to become what it is today?

 

Seriously I like Reddit and Netscape better than Digg users. But the main reason that I never visit Digg as often as I used to is the number of junk article and some people who advertise their service then submitting it to digg.

 

how did they bail on the tech community? i think the tech community bailed on them once they went public..

 

Everyone was using Google in the beginning and Google relies equally on all content that it indexes. You could just as easily say that Google has turned its back on the animal lovers and that factual content about animals gave Google its start. Google has never in its history spidered and indexed only specific niches.

Come on, the Google hating is going a bit far when people take the time to write articles that attack the company for nothing at all. I think its time to make peace with Google zman

 

I don't see any "evil" in the excerpt you quoted, and I see enough wild bias to not waste my time following the links.

Do you really think Digg ever wanted to limit themselves to the nerd community? What for-profit publication of any kind doesn't want a broader base? Instead of saying Kevin Rose is "evil" for doing what he's in business to do, put together your own site to cater to the original Digg community. It's a hell of a lot easier now than it was 50 years ago to start to compete.

And as long as we're throwing the word evil around, stop and take a moment to read about the scorched earth campaign of genocide in Darfur, and then come back and tell us why Google is "evil." How many people have they burned alive lately?

 

Good points on the Digg thing. No matter their history you can't fault them simply for growing.

 

The same people are using Google today that used it in the beginning. That demographic is generally called "people who use the internet and want to find specific information."

Think for a minute why you've had to tell everybody who responded that they're wrong or just don't understand. There are 600 people in an ice skating rink, one of them didn't hear the message it's time to sake in the other direction, and he thinks everyone else is crazy.

Seriously, when the consensus is that your comparison just doesn't make sense, the least that can mean is you haven't expressed yourself very well.

And when people responding from around the world, some of us with English as a primary language and others as a second or third tongue, when we can all read between the lines and it's obvious to all of us you hate Google, you can stop asking us who said anything about hating Google, and start asking yourself about your writing style.

 

If I could give you green rep twice in a row, I would

 

Looks guys, it is what it is.

I'm more than happy to agree to disagree. If you don't think Digg left the tech community in search of a wider audience, you've slipped into a naive realm of false reality.

Either way, it's ok to disagree.