For over a year now, a major redesign has been in the works for Digg, resulting in a much easier to use site with many new and attractive features. Digg has always been a promotional tool of sorts that has allowed websites, business and stories to get noticed. Digg was, and continues to be relevant, as it is another way to put your business out there, opening the doors to opportunities that may be revealed when people ‘dig’ your site. The new site has created a place for a more visible and active community, attracting followers that make it even more likely that Digg will get your business noticed. The main problem Digg had in the past, was the fact that it was perhaps easier to recite an entire Shakespearean play by heart than it was to get your website or business on the ‘top news’ feed of Digg. As it became such an unlikely reality to ever reach ‘top news’ stature, many shied away from using the site, as small business owners felt that their time would be better spent elsewhere.
Luckily, with a dramatic revamp, Digg is now more social than ever, with features that encourage users to ‘follow’ others and subscribe to preferred sources, enabling a more personalized approach to social news. In this way, the new ‘my news’ feature stands out from the old, putting an end to the original ‘top news’ dilemma. Your news feed, similar to Facebook or Twitter, is now centered around the people you follow. Sound familiar? Seemingly, the new Digg is falling in line with the successful methods of other sites that combine social networking and news features - a hybrid of sorts. Other new features of the redesigned Digg site include an easier content submission process, and easily sharable submissions through Facebook, Twitter and email. Also unique to the new Digg is a handy feature that allows you to save stories to read later, among other small tweaks and tune-ups.
Whether users will embrace this new format or reject its attempts at social media conformity is unclear, but if other sites of its kind are any indication, there may be another social networking giant waiting in the wings. Careful not to alienate their current user base, it is apparent that Digg has tried its best to include all the best parts of the old version, building a better site with all the notable features that really draw a crowd. What is important to take from this, is to acknowledge that Digg is now better suited to be integrated into your social media strategy. Gaining access to a new audience, a wider network, and opening new doors to enhanced opportunities through greater connectivity is what Digg now offers. So check out the new Digg, and you may just be pleasantly surprised.
