On September 22, after the first large round of bannings on Digg for script useage, Social News Watch posted an article saying that the bannings will continue until morale improves.  Part of it was right.  The other part hasn’t really happened yet.

In a spree earlier this month, Digg laid down the hammer on 50 more users, bringing the total number of top 1000 users banned to over 100.  It appears that they are cleaning house for some reason.

Friday, 10/3 on The Drill Down, there was a lot of discussion and speculation about why the bannings are ramping up so much.  It is assumed that it goes beyond Digg’s public stance of no scripts.  They aren’t damaging to the site, other than the pageviews.  But if that’s the case, why make it a permanent ban?

The speculation seemed to migrate over to either it being a condition for their recent round of funding or in preparation for future sale.  Regardless, one thing is clear.

Morale has not improved.  The most active users of the site are scared.  It seems that with names like Tamar, Zaibatsu, DiggBoss, and Supernova, nobody is safe.  Who’s next?

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Read more Digg News on Nethackz.

Many in the business and education field have found that the use of computers and the various tools on them is a great way to give a compelling presentation.  One can use photos, videos, PowerPoint presentations, websites, and other documents to help get the point across.

While this is an effective way to give a presentation or lecture, there are times when it is important to stand in front of the crowd, staying mobile and truly engaging the viewers.  The problem is this: how does one accomplish this if they also have to be at the computer running the visual show.

The solution: using a portable media player to have a compelling and interactive experience for the viewers.
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In the world of social media, there are really only two names that stand out.  Digg, the leader in the business for over two years now, and Reddit, the simple alternative to Digg, have been 1 and 2 for a while and show no signs of relinquishing that position.

StumbleUpon is arguably in the mix, but it is not a true social media site.  Delicious and Slashdot have their own claims, but again, they don’t fall into the same realm of true socially driven media sites.

Which brings us to the topic of this story.  There is Propeller, formerly Netscape, the once proud pioneer in the web browser world that transformed itself into the ultimate Digg-killer and fell short.  In the other corner is Mixx, the spunky startup that grew as the Digg alternative with innovative features and speedy adjustments to its identity.  As of today, they are neck and neck on Alexa. Read the rest of this entry

The first story about Sarah Palin to hit the front page of Digg had the neutral title “McCain picks Alaska governor as running mate”.  It was a CNN piece that broke the news and shot up the Digg “Top in All Topics” section to get over 5600 Diggs.

It’s all gone downhill ever since for the Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate as far as Digg users are concerned.

Ever since the first neutral story announcing John McCain’s selection, there have been 150 front page stories in 11 Days about Sarah Palin.  All of them have had a negative spin.  As far as Digg and social media is concerned, Sarah Palin is pure evil.

The first mini-wave of attacks focused on her opinions on the environment.  Four stories hit the front page on the first day denouncing her stance on green issues with headlines such as “Palin denies global warming is man-made” and “Sarah Palin: A Champion For Big Oil“.  Once that was established, the real attacks started hitting.

The weekend offered several interviews about Palin from friends and enemies all spun to depict her poorly in one way or another.  There were several rumors offering proof that she was actually the grandmother of her youngest child.  Scholars, former colleagues, and other political experts ripped her experience and choices made in the past.  All of this was simply a precursor for the bomb that was about to be dropped on Monday.

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