Is Twitter going to kill Digg?

The more I use Twitter, the more it becomes my source for finding interesting things on the web to read/investigate.  I used to use Digg for that purpose but today I find myself using Digg less and less.  And that means I’m digging things less than I did, which means Digg is starting to lose some of its value.

The idea of Digg is that people “digg” items on the web that they think other diggers will enjoy, then sites that get the most diggs move up the chain and become the most popular sites at that time.  It’s a great tool but its downfall is that it requires users to perform an action to digg something.  With Twitter, the action is simply embedded in the way we use the technology.  We pass on links and RT things that are interesting and tools like TwitScoop allow us to see what the most popular words/links are.

So my question is, is Twitter slowly killing off Digg’s usefulness?  Love to hear your (and @kevinrose‘s) thoughts on this.

8 Comments

  1. @smrosenberg on February 25, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    I agree.

    Any technology that’s not completely ubiquitous with our browsing habits will ultimately fail.



  2. @smrosenberg on February 25, 2009 at 10:46 am

    I agree.

    Any technology that’s not completely ubiquitous with our browsing habits will ultimately fail.



  3. Frederic Bien on February 25, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Jeff, if you worry about these things, you have too much time on your hands!
    Just kiddin’.

    But seriously, it sounds to me like a question of push vs. pull. Twitter is a very efficient system for busy people, because info is pushed at you after you’ve selected who you want to hear from. Digg is more complete and has huge depth, but requires more effort…

    TwitScoop.com is interesting. I need to start using it more. Thanks for the tip!

    Btw i found your post through your LinkedIn status. Another good info channel!



  4. Frederic Bien on February 25, 2009 at 11:46 am

    Jeff, if you worry about these things, you have too much time on your hands!
    Just kiddin’.

    But seriously, it sounds to me like a question of push vs. pull. Twitter is a very efficient system for busy people, because info is pushed at you after you’ve selected who you want to hear from. Digg is more complete and has huge depth, but requires more effort…

    TwitScoop.com is interesting. I need to start using it more. Thanks for the tip!

    Btw i found your post through your LinkedIn status. Another good info channel!



  5. Jeff Hilimire on February 25, 2009 at 5:26 pm

    SM, that’s a great way to put it and I completely agree. Things that require “work” aren’t going to survive.

    Frederic, yes I (like you) probably spend too much time thinking about social / tech on the web. For Digg I think its going to be a tough road, I’d love to see a breakdown of their growth over the past several months compared to the same time last year.



  6. Jeff Hilimire on February 25, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    SM, that’s a great way to put it and I completely agree. Things that require “work” aren’t going to survive.

    Frederic, yes I (like you) probably spend too much time thinking about social / tech on the web. For Digg I think its going to be a tough road, I’d love to see a breakdown of their growth over the past several months compared to the same time last year.



  7. @dennisdube on February 25, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    Absolutely.

    Not only is it “killing off” Digg as you say, Twitscoop is also minimzing my reliance on RSS and Newspaper sites.

    Appreciate your encouragement for the “Twitter Challenge.” I’m using that phrase and description (10 minutes a day for 14 days) to get others engaged in the tool.



  8. @dennisdube on February 25, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Absolutely.

    Not only is it “killing off” Digg as you say, Twitscoop is also minimzing my reliance on RSS and Newspaper sites.

    Appreciate your encouragement for the “Twitter Challenge.” I’m using that phrase and description (10 minutes a day for 14 days) to get others engaged in the tool.



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