All the News That’s Fit to Digg
Ever wonder how those know-it-alls scoop everyone on the latest breaking news or celebrity gossip? Really, does anyone have that much time to surf from one news site to the next on the internet? Chance are, they aren’t doing all the surfing themselves. Instead, they probably use a news ranking website. You’ve likely seen their logos next to a news story on a site like CNN or EW, right next to the e-mail or print links. Clicking on one of these icons basically sends a stat to the news ranking website so users can see what is popular right now or over a period of time.
The original news ranking site, Digg, has been making some news of its own lately, mostly since it is falling out of favor with users over a recent website redesign. If you see, like and think others might be interested in an article, website or video, you can digg it and hope it moves up the rankings. You can even sign up for a free account and track your diggs. Even if you don’t have an account, you can still go to Digg and take a look at the top news stories from the past hour, 24 hours, 7 days or month. There are even topics to pick from if you want to narrow the rankings down to a particular subject. And, if a site doesn’t have the little Digg icon so you can Digg it, there is a submit a link box at the top that lets you paste in a web address and give it a digg.
Reddit is almost a clone of Digg, but goes further in allowing you to comment or vote on (with a like/dislike option) a story. With an account, you can even customize the front page to see your favorite topics in one list. In addition to the standard topics, Reddit adds the ability to search by subject or look at just the controversial topics.
If you are looking for a more professionally designed page that brings the best of the web’s news to you, try NewsVine. The site is set-up to look more like a tradition news website, but includes more social features than you would find on CNN or ABC. Users can comment on a story or vote on it, tag it, or even seed (vote for) articles from other sites. A free account lets you track stories you’ve commented on, customize the front page, save clipped stories and link to other social networking sites, like Facebook or Twitter. If you don’t want to get an account, the rest of the site will keep you coming back. Newsvine pulls stories from most of the big news agencies, so you can find BBC, CNN and AP in one spot. There is also a public leaderboard of top stories, an active stories area and my favorite, Odd News.
The original news ranking site, Digg, has been making some news of its own lately, mostly since it is falling out of favor with users over a recent website redesign. If you see, like and think others might be interested in an article, website or video, you can digg it and hope it moves up the rankings. You can even sign up for a free account and track your diggs. Even if you don’t have an account, you can still go to Digg and take a look at the top news stories from the past hour, 24 hours, 7 days or month. There are even topics to pick from if you want to narrow the rankings down to a particular subject. And, if a site doesn’t have the little Digg icon so you can Digg it, there is a submit a link box at the top that lets you paste in a web address and give it a digg.
Reddit is almost a clone of Digg, but goes further in allowing you to comment or vote on (with a like/dislike option) a story. With an account, you can even customize the front page to see your favorite topics in one list. In addition to the standard topics, Reddit adds the ability to search by subject or look at just the controversial topics.
If you are looking for a more professionally designed page that brings the best of the web’s news to you, try NewsVine. The site is set-up to look more like a tradition news website, but includes more social features than you would find on CNN or ABC. Users can comment on a story or vote on it, tag it, or even seed (vote for) articles from other sites. A free account lets you track stories you’ve commented on, customize the front page, save clipped stories and link to other social networking sites, like Facebook or Twitter. If you don’t want to get an account, the rest of the site will keep you coming back. Newsvine pulls stories from most of the big news agencies, so you can find BBC, CNN and AP in one spot. There is also a public leaderboard of top stories, an active stories area and my favorite, Odd News.- Laura N.
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