Back in August of 2010 you may recall the update made to Digg – they announced a relaunch and revision into 
cialis online alt=”reddit vs digg” width=”342″ height=”1506″ />“version 4″. As the update was put into effect, Digg was down for the better part of an entire day and those loyal users who loved Digg were locked out. Unable to search it, submit to it or use the site in any form. Once the new version went live, people had a strong dislike for the new interface and the feature changes drove regular users away.
Why make the changes that would ruin the experience for loyal fans? The higher-ups at Digg pointed that the modifications to the social platform were meant to increase revenue for the site while giving companies and business owners more direct control over content – specifically the exposure of their own content.
This is the kind of thing that rubs regular users wrong – this goes against what many people feel is the point of a social site like Digg. Taking away the ability of anyone to get on the front page meant people were going to search elsewhere for an alternative and they did; traffic began to bottom out and Digg has been trying to rebound since that fateful version upgrade.
Embracing the Corporate Fat Cats
Switching over to love on the corporate suite isn’t new for social sites; every social media platform has made some kind of change (often more than one) to make money from business owners. There has always been more focus on the corporate income and investment than on the user.
Is that wrong? Not necessarily. Business is businesses and a business has to make money – but where did the Digg community run off to when they sought to maintain the community aspect?
Reddit.
Reddit continues to be the primary competitor for Digg as they work within the same principle, that users are able to submit content whereby other users then vote that content up to increase buzz and exposure.
Reddit works the way Digg is supposed to work – encouraging interaction, debate and general discussions surrounding posted topics. The more you contribute within the community the more value you’re seen to add, which is tracked by “karma”.
Why Reddit is Taking Over
On April Fools’ Day of 2011, one of the community users that carried some clout on Reddit suggested that a great prank would be to select a video from the YouTube library and send it a ridiculous amount of traffic followed with positive comments. The prank of course was the ultimate surprise at an explosive viral video hit on something rather normal.
With the video selected, the ‘prank’ was pulled. It was later discovered that the Reddit user with the clout had actually planned the marketing stunt with his friend, whom owned the video in questions. Naturally the community was in an uproar and expressed widespread disappointment in the once-prominent Reddit user.
So what’s the point here?
The reason Reddit is so relevant is because it’s one of the few remaining social communities that actually puts the user above all other things. The community is functional and whole, unbroken by corporate identity and sell-out structure. In the changing social web – we wonder how long that type of model will last.
