I was wondering why a story I submitted to Digg wasn't getting dugg and I was hoping for a critique of the story. Am I missing out on something? http://digg.com/technology/Pros_and_Cons_of_Hybrid_Cars And the story is here: http://hybridreview.blogspot.com/2006/04/pros-and-cons-of-hybrid-cars.html
I suppose I understand why this was moved to website review, although that wasn't what I was interested in. I was more interested in why this story wasn't being dugg, or at least suggestions on what makes a good digg story, as opposed to a site review.
Hi Mike! Not to sound mean, but did your article have any information (yes, I did read it) that the average DIGG user (this is important) doesn't already know? Not to say your article was bad - it is just the audience at Digg is very technical and you have to come up with something ORIGINAL. Original as in "I have documented proof that Hybrids are using Alien technology" not just "Hybirds are good cause..." Yawn! If you are creating good content - don't worry about Digg - just worry about creating new content!
That's not mean, just honest evaluation and exactly what I'm looking for. Do all digg users know this stuff? I was thinking that a review of what was known about hybrid cars would be of interest to a technical crowd.....
No digg person is going to dig this page. Look at the page, its obviously designed to get adsense clicks. Its the primary "content" on the page when it loads (4 pictures plus an adsense block). Then you have some generic content underneath. If you want people to take the site seriously, you shouldn't throw an adblock right in their face and as the poster above said, say something different about hybrids, besides their pro's and con's.
So Digg readers in general are offended by ads? I'm rather limited in how I can present ads that have a good CTR on blogger. I would rather wrap the content around the adsense, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that. Nor do I think this site is just for adsense, although I have tried to optimize it. Also, I can't shut off the ads for this particular article and not do so for all the others. I think it's fair to make money off your site, and I really didn't expect anyone coming from digg to click on the ads. I'll have to think some more about what an original story on hybrids would be. I thought the section on hypermiling isn't well known, nor the information on hybrid batteries. But the more I think on it, I can see your point. Maybe this article would do better if I submitted it to various article for publication sites.
DIGG users generally don't click on ads anyway as they see them all day... even if you make it to the front page, your ad CTR will be very poor. If you want to know what DIGG users read, just watch the front page for a few days. It is primarily about technology *news* and breaking stories -- not just information. If your page is only about information and not news, it should probably be about AJAX, Apple, or Vista.
Would this be of more interest to Digg, then? I believe this is more unique material. I'm not sure what I can do about the advertising, however. I'm not willing to shut it off, and placing it below the fold just doesn't seem to make sense to me. http://hybridreview.blogspot.com/2006/04/woods-dual-power-hybrid-car-of-1917.html
It is interesting but it is not news. I'm not sure why you're so keen to get on DIGG; the ad revenue is really pathetic for the beating your server will take. Plus, anything with obvious Google Adsense (especially above the fold and with images next to it) will NOT get dugg by the average user because it looks like a made-for-adsense page... which is why I assume you want the DIGG traffic? Install an iPod running Linux in the dash of that car.. then you'd have a DIGGable story.
If you aren't digging for adsense, then the only other reason is hoping that people blog it and link to the site or something. I think there are easier ways to get that to happen. Digg is just a middle man, in that regard.
Actually, that might be Digg-worthy! It is a unique twist on the "same-old-story". I think old technology that parallels today's technology hits that sweet-spot that makes Digg users interested. I agree with everyone else - why so Digg-centric? In fact, before trying to get onto Digg the first thing I would do is get my OWN domain. Anything on BlogSpot kinda makes me second guess the information - it is just a perception thing on my part! You can get your own domain name and complete WordPress blog for like $8 a month.
That's what I'm going for. Linking to the site by people who (I believe) are technically advanced and probably have technically advanced readers who would come to my site. I'm trying to build up a readership, of sorts. Yes, Digg is a middle man of sorts for that sort of thing, but it should be an effective one. I'm also advertising my site via other methods and I thought this would be a good way to go, as well. Hoff: As for the beating my server will take, unless blogger kicks me off for doing so, it's not my server to worry about. Eventually I hope to make some money and use that to get my own site, but for now... Again, I assumed that Digg readers wouldn't click on the ads (unless they really are interested in buying or reading more on hybrid cars, which I doubt). But I can't just turn off the ads on this article, either. Being on blogger is limiting that way.
You'll need a catchy headline...... "People were driving hybrids.... 90 years ago" "Hybrid car in 1917 cost the equivalent of $500,000" "Scientists unearth 90 year old hybrid car.... fossilized owner still has smug look on his face" etc