Social Networking sites with bizarre names like Digg, Reddit and Delicious are the new trend in online entertainment and have been sprouting up all over the web. Part of a movement coined “Web 2.0,” these social networking sites have become very popular among heavy web users. The phrase “Web 2.0” isn’t referring to any kind of update for the Internet but rather a change in the way people are using the Internet. Social networking sites, wikis, and other communication tools allow Internet users to share information and input their ideas and opinions on other sites and blogs. The overall idea of “Web 2.0” is that users create the content on the Web instead of webmasters and writers.
As a forerunner driving such grass roots content distribution, Digg.com allows users to submit their articles and writings and then lets other Digg users vote if they like or dislike their articles. The highest ranked articles appear on the front page of Digg with a link to your web site or blog. The popularity of Digg and the high number of visitors has in turn made it very competitive to receive one of the coveted spots on the front page. If you are fortunate enough to be listed on the front page, you have a very good chance of receiving lots of new visitors which can be very financially lucrative if your web site is a source of income or if you are trying to boost your placement in search engine rankings.
The potential to drive thousands of new visitors to your web site has turned Digg and other social networking web sites into a prime target for Internet marketers as well as spammers. Marketers try all kinds of techniques, some ethical and some not, to manipulate the rankings on these networking sites.
One technique that Internet marketers have begun using is “content generation services” where they sell stories to different web sites just to try to get them listed on one of the social networking sites. In their stories, they feature very popular topics that attract lots of readers. While some stories are legitimate, many are filled with useless information that are of little use to anyone. .
Another tactic called “link jacking” is popular among Internet marketers but is considered highly unethical. “Link jacking” is basically stealing content from other people’s web sites and listing it as your own for the purpose of gaining high rankings on one of the social networking sites.
One of the more expensive techniques used to manipulate social networking sites rankings is paying people to promote a specific article in order to get it on the front page. This can be very expensive for marketers but also very attractive for those looking to make easy money. Companies looking to climb to the top of Digg have been known to pay as much as $15,000. There are numerous sites offering these services. They pay Digg users a small amount to vote for their clients stories.
How does Digg and other sites protect themselves from these marketers and keep their results from being manipulated? Digg’s Chief Executive, Jay Adelson claims to have technical information that is private to their company that flags them when they suspect someone is trying a marketing technique to boost their Digg ranking but Adelson declined to go into any more detail about this method of detecting spammers. Perhaps the strongest source of fighting Internet marketers and spammers and keeping them from using unethical techniques is the ability for Diggs 680,000 user to vote down an article when they believe its sole purpose is just for rankings manipulation.
