Tag Archive | "social networks"

Using Social News Sites Like Reddit, Stumbleupon, and Digg

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.

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Social Media Sites: What Are They?

Social media is a way for people to share information from numerous sources. One of the real advantages to using social media to disseminate information, is it is shared in real time, meaning that when you share it, people can read it immediately. Social media sites facilitate this by giving users the platform to share information and connect with many people. Users can share this information through posts, articles, news stories, videos and more.

FaceBook is another such site. Here, users can create online profiles, upload photos, and share information with friends all around the world. Users can even make friends with people located all the way around the world and share information with them through their friend pages.

Twitter is also considered a social media site. On this site, users are asked the question, “What are you doing right now?” They may answer in any fashion they wish, though responses are limited to only 140 characters, including spaces. Other individuals may choose follow a person on Twitter and be able to view any of that person’s posts, called “Tweets.”
Flickr is a social site that allows individuals to upload photos and share them with other users.

In addition to the examples mentioned, the internet contains thousands of forums where people with similar hobbies, jobs, tastes, and other traits can visit and post discussions of these interests. Other users have the option of making a direct reply or posting a comment on the post and sharing this other readers as well.

Users also have the option of creating Blogs, user generated sites where an individual can compose and write his/her own content about any subject. The content of these entries immediately becomes searchable on the internet and can be viewed by anyone with access and an interest in the topic of the content.

Social media sites were created for the use of individual users who wished to share information. More and more businesses are finding that these sites are useful tools for them to use in raising product awareness. They can use these sites to generate trust in their opinions and expertise. However, directly trying to push a person to buy a particular item does not work on these sites and could get a business banned from access. Consumers are usually repelled by such overt advertising techniques.

The most important thing one needs to know about social media sites is that 100 percent of the content is generated by users of the site. This content is fluid in that it can be edited or changed at any time by anyone. These sites allow individuals to reach a worldwide audience and to interact with others located anywhere in the world, often in real time conversations.

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