The Digg Cycle
by Kyle on May.02, 2007, under Rant
Ok, everyone who even pays half attention to Digg saw what happened today. Some guys in charge of the HD-DVD key screwed up and posted it, people started freaking out and digging any news available that mentioned it resulting in Digg trying to cover their asses by banning a few people and deleting a few stories.
But this post isn’t as much about a certain event, but rather, a cycle that only the most popular of Digg trends go through (Including, but not limited to: Chuck Norris, Will it Blend, this…is…SPARTA!!):
- Immense popularity (3 days to a week) - anyone who uses the phrase or alludes to the event will be showered in a veritable orgy of approval, no matter the content, intelligence, or sanity of the comment. Digg submitters rush to scour the web for any mention of it and opportunists blog about it and submit.
- Winding down (1-2 weeks) - Every once and a while when the phrase is used in a manner that makes sense to the conversation, the comment will be dugg up. Other comments on the formerly trendy phrase/subject are ignored or buried.
- Total Digg Destruction (2 weeks on) - Mention of the phrase in any form results in the comment being dugg into oblivion. Other Digg users throw in some scathing replies for good measure.
I find two things odd about the last trend. One is that the same people using it without warrant when it becomes popular on Digg are often the same that destroy the latecomers and the second is the fact that even months after a popular phrase passing, there are still people that, as if they were stuck in some sort of Digg time capsule, come out and use it.
Just to straighten things out, I believe there are a few Digg trends that stay at position one for quite a long time. Although the last few years’ “Nintendo sucks”/”Nintendo is for kids” was boomingly popular, the success of the Wii has secured just about any positive comment about the Wii a thumbs up.
So am I insane or does this make sense?
