Social media has revolutionized the way people use the Internet. How has it done this? People can now rate how valuable information that is provided by a website. With sites like Reddit, Digg and Stumbleupon, there’s less sorting through garbage, since the top rated information is always at the top of the list, unlike the search results of a traditional search engine.
These sites provide news, much like other news sites on the internet. The huge difference is that the users of the site submit the articles they find interesting. Moderators choose the stories that are posted to the front page. Afterward, users are allowed to vote on the stories they like best. Based on the votes, stories are moved up or down in the site rankings.
Many people use these sites because they are able to find relevant information that might be of interest faster. In many ways, these types of sites are becoming more used than search engines by individuals seeking certain information. This is because the votes give them an indicator of the relative value of one article over another when both cover the same topic. In this fashion, social news sites are beginning to gain recognition as intelligent search engines.
One major difference that many people should know about between these sites is how negative votes affect the ratings of stories. For instance, Digg allows users to vote to Digg or bury and article. Enough votes to bury it will get an article killed. Otherwise, the negative votes do not send down voted articles lower in the ranking. Reddit, on the other hand, applies the votes in both directions. Favorable votes get articles ranked higher while negative votes bump them down in the rankings.
In addition to allowing users to vote on the articles to determine their placement on the page, many of these sites allow users to comment on the articles. These comments can develop into a full blown discussion of the information provided in the articles and its relative merits. The comments are often voted on in much the same way as the articles so that more popular comments rise to the top of the comments list.
Social media in general has greatly changed the way people connect on the internet. The evolution of social news sites has impacted the way people gather news about world events and topics of interest to them. Some feature specialized types of information such as news about technology. Others are more general in their offerings.
Using social news sites like Digg, Propeller, and Reddit is impacting how people search for information as well as how they gather it. Because the articles are contributed by other users, many people use these sites to establish themselves as experts in their chosen fields. This contributes greatly to creating a brand for themselves that people can connect with.
Providing interesting content that people find useful helps to build a sense of trust that will help web entrepreneurs succeed in their attempts to drive traffic to their sites.
