I’m still quite upset with Digg, as it continues to bring too many news stories into my inbox daily.
When an ‘algorithm update’ was was hinted at by Digg outsiders, better filtering of stories was promised. Apparently, they had come up with some sort of program which manages itself, which meant that what gets onto the Front Page (and so onto the RSS feed) was going to be fewer, better stories.
What a load of old balls.
Not that they officially said this or anything, but the performance of Digg has not increased at all over the past few weeks/months.
I am really quite amazed at the way Digg are spending their time at the moment. Instead of actually improving their main product, the Digg RSS feed and Home Page content (and let’s face it that’s what Digg is all about), they’re messing around making totally useless gadgets that nobody probably uses because they are worth shite.
Keeping a dynamic product in good shape
Imagine if Google just kept on making little inventions like Google Sets, rather than keeping their search at peak performance. Google wouldn’t be so great.
Luckily, Google do spend loads of time working on the ‘unsolved problem’ that is search. Digg, however, don’t appear to be even slightly concerned about the unsolved (but not exactly difficult) problem that is Digg’s Front Page.
I’ll concede they have done a rather good job combating spam (for the moment), but to be frank there are enough clear solutions to the Front Page dilemma for them to be quite embarrassed about themselves.
The post may be harsh, but really I just want to spur a little change in one of the simplest, potentially greatest yet horribly underachieving Web 2.0 sites out there.
I’ve always thought that they should have an RSS feed that updates at the end of every day that shows the top x amount of stories for that day. x could be specified by the user, this way you’re not killed by the tons of feed items.
I think you’re wrong.
What do you expect to happen?
I think there are too many dupes, but slashdot has shown that even with a careful editing process that happens.
Welcome to the firehose of the internet. If you want a tap, go somewhere else.
“Digg, however, don’t appear to be even slightly concerned about the unsolved (but not exactly difficult) problem that is Digg’s Front Page.”
Then you solve it. Come up with a better solution and sell it to them. You may find that it’s a slightly harder problem than you think.
Seriously, if you’re going to make a “harsh” post, at least try and constructive instead of just going “be better! you don’t work in the way I want you to!”.
@ Phil: You’re quite right - I was in a bit of a bad mood when I churned this one out, but I do still think they’re not moving fast enough on this one. I woke up to find 200 new stories today from Digg… it’s just too much.
The thing is, they have a load of data in the form of Diggs to be able to select which stories are the top ones.
Could they not give users the small choice of subscribing to all front page stories, or just the top 50% or 75%? That way other users won’t be disturbed.
Or how about thinking a little more creatively and making a page which displayed stories which had been Dugg more in the last few hours more prominently?
There are shed loads of options because 1) they’ve got the data 2) they’ve got the skills.
Imagine how great a custom Digg feed would be! Facebook, which is doing a pretty outstanding job of bring well-considered new features out recently brought out a slider pane which allows you to visually ask for how much of each type of story you want.
That’s something which might not be so easy to produce, but certainly is possible - and far less demanding for Digg’s hardware.
Not even considering the abundance of news, they’re in a position to produce something so brilliant here with customised feeds that it’s truly confusing seeing them not actually follow through!
Imagine a free, online news source which always has fresh stuff and can be customised to your exact tastes. That is what Digg could be if they put their backs into it.
But perhaps they really just want to flip Digg off? Maybe they’re focusing on prospective buyers right now?
Bah!