I will attempt address some of the most important issues, we, as active Diggers have regarding this V4. I’ll pin-point to several design changes they made (and whether they are good or bad), how the new Digg will affect power users and at the end try to make some prediction on how the new Digg version is going to look in terms of design and functionality.

The new ‘Digg’ Button

At first, you’ll probably say the same thing like me: Damn, they should make it wider so it feels like the old (current) button.

In terms of design, the new button is awesome. In terms of functionality, not really. It’s easier to click on ‘Digg’ using the current button. On this one I need to click on the center. I can’t click on the edges if I want to digg something which is a major hassle.

My news? People to follow? What the…

It’s nice if, let’s say, I love BBC stuff, to be able to see their stuff more often.

But, don’t I have RSS/Twitter for that?

Here’s the major mistake Digg did: It assumed what users wanted, instead of asking them.
This was the most dugg comment on the first front page story on the main Digg features:

I think that Digg is risking a lot by putting ‘My News’ in front of ‘Top News.’ I predict they’ll change so Top News comes in front of My News or otherwise risk ruining the visitor experience of many regular users as well as changing its core from find interesting stuff (interesting = people you don’t know really well, websites you probably haven’t heard of before) to find predictible stuff (from sites you like, people you are familiar with) and so on. I think Digg needs to focus on making things simple (like this public records search site) rather than complex.

Power users and front-page system…gone?

Digg power users will be pissed because Digg Alpha doesn’t have the usual ‘Submitted by friends’ button where they can digg their mutual friend’s submission every day. Either Digg will add such an option or risk losing a bunch of its power users.

Also I didn’t see any Front Page system. It’s simply that the most Dugg stories get to the FrontPage and this can be manipulated very easily. Definitely an issue Digg needs to pay careful attention.

Digg Alpha…………….Digg V4 (a long, long journey)

It will probably take several months before Digg rolls its final version. The current alpha version is far from perfect. I predict the following features to be added:

• Changed ‘digg’ button
• Added ‘following friend’s’ submissions (to stop the rage of power users)
• Get some portion back of its Front Page system

The idea of letting everyone has its chance to get on the Front Page is a noble one. But when you consider things like SPAM and JUNK sites then you want to be extra careful who you gonna let go and have a share of the traffic.

Related posts:

1. Digg Gets a Makeover With Upcoming Launch of Version 4
2. Add Digg Buttons To Your Blog Posts
3. Stumbled Upon Traffic vs. Digg, Facebook, Twitter and More

You can now Follow other Diggers, sorting through a list of Digg users, with their icon, display names and number of followers.   You’ll be able to Digg articles and follow only the Diggs from the Diggers you want to follow on the “My News” section, kinda like Twitter.

Back in the day, it was frowned upon by the Digg community to Digg your own blog posts, but the new format will provide auto submit by RSS and the success of your content will be much less dependent upon who you are. Take a look at the video below, which features Kevin Rose giving a sneak peak.

Based on what I see in this video, I think I’m going back to Digg very soon to have fun with Digg V4.

Related posts:

1. Digg Alpha: Review from an Experienced Digg User
2. Digg Tools and Widgets
3. Add Digg Buttons To Your Blog Posts

Prior to researching this, I really had no clue that there were so many Digg-like sites in existence. I started out with 100 or so and narrowed the list down to the top 60.

Digg-Like General News Sites
1. Plime Vote Up or Down.
2. Digglicious – Mashup of Digg, Delicious & Reddit.
3. Kikono – Kik It.
4. fav.or.it – Favorite stories.
5. coRank – Thumbs up or Thumbs Down. Each user has their own front page.
6. Thrive or Fail – Believe or Doubt, Funny or Lame, etc.
7. Content Pop – Vote for it. Group of communities promoting web content.
8. Newzly – Vote It.
9. Riffs – Riff it up/down.
10. Shoutwire – Shout or Bash

Bookmarking
11. folkd – Social network and bookmarks site. Folk It if you like it, or just bookmark it.

Unique, Funny, Etc.
12. Quadriot – Interesting, funny & strange stories. Riot it if you like it.
13. The Best Stuff In The World – Pick from image collection & Best It.
14. UrbanDictionary – Urban dictionary with Thumbs Up or Down.
15. Questionville – Ask or answer questions & vote on the answers.
16. Slantly – Share opinions on various topics, vote for others & engage in debates.
17. SimplyFired - Now this is an entertaining site. SimplyFired allows you to share stories of getting fired and Vote for others. Definitely some interesting stories to read.

Targeted Topic Sites
18. Dig a List – Lists. Submit lists & Click Up or Down.
19. Change.Gov – Political. Change.Gov offers reader input, using a Digg-like system. Submit questions and check or X existing questions to help get the best questions to the top. Here is the previous questions session.
20. g-Log – Geek News. Vote for or Bury random Geek News. Gadgets, technology and humor.
21. Stack Overflow – Programming Questions. Ask or answer programming questions & Vote for or against.
22. Tip’d – Financing, Investing & Business. Submit a story or Tip It.
23. Armchair GM – Sports. Post a story & Score It to help vote other great sports stories.
24. Prayerit – Religious. Prayer It or submit your own prayers.
25. FreshPips – Forex Trading. + Your favorite submissions.
26. DigStock – Financial News. Tagg It if you like it.
27. Autospies – Auto Enthusiasts. Vote for articles specific to auto enthusiasts.
28. Care2 News Network- Environment, Human Rights, Etc. Promote articles.
29. Daytipper: Tips. Post a tip & the community votes “Yes or No” to determine if it’s Useful.
30. newsgarbage – Technology. Bag it or Bin It.
31. Future Scanner – Future-based News. Vote Up or Down.

Freeware, Software & Apps
32. Betamarker – Freeware & Software site. Download & Mark It if you like it.
33. I use This MAC OS Software – For Mac OS . Click “I use this”
34. I Use This Iphone Software – For iPhone Apps. Click “I use this.”

Design
35. dZone – Submit links & Vote up or down these various developer’s resources.
36. Developer’s Niche – Another developer’s site that enables you to submit & Vote resources.
37. Pixel Groovy - Pixel Groovy lets you Groove the best tutorials from many different programs (i.e. Photoshop, CSS, Windows, etc).
38. Design Snack – Submit XHTML & CSS website designs and Vote for your favorites.
39. CommandShift3 – CommandShift3 uses a unique system that displays 2 different websites and allows users to click the one they want. Click the one you like better and clicks are tallied on the Best and Worst Page.
40. Design Bump – Click it or X it if you like or dislike any of these submitted designs.
41. picli – Like any creative picture or design, Vote It.

Music, Movies, Games & Books
42. Thesixtyone – Music artists upload their music & you Bump It Up if you like it. Find some of the best undiscovered artists.
43. Cherrypeel – Find songs & artists you’ve never heard of. Your vote gives them points as they climb the charts.
44. itBreaks! - Listen to and Vote for songs that artists upload.
45. CC Hits – If you find a song you like, click “Like It” & watch it rise to the top.
46. Bloodee – Vote if you like these Horror Film related articles, videos, etc.
47. bookrevyoo – Like a book, review it or click “Interested” to watch it rise to the top.
48. FLURL – Site dedicated to videos. Like a video, Thumbs Up or Down.
49. Wordsy – For Books and readers. Word Up.
50. GameRefresh – Play & Vote for various free flash games on the net.
51. QuickJump – Site dedicated to games, hacks, PSP, etc. Jump It if you like a story.
52. Tribalwar – Site for gaming news. Bump stories if you like them.

Blogging, Internet Marketing, Etc
53. Earners Club – Internet Marketing, Blogging, Making Money Online. Vote or Bury.
54. WpVote – WordPress topics, themes, plugins, news, ressources and hacks. Vote Up.
55. Undrln – Use Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down for this advertising, marketing & design site.
56. Spinn – Sphinn a story it if you like it, with this Internet Marketing site.
57. tagne.ws – Submit & Vote stories in internet marketing, trends, blogging, etc.

Shopping
58. Dealnews – New feature from Dealnews allows you to vote Good or Bad for each new deal.
59. Deal Comet -Vote +1 or -1 for Deals & Coupons. See total points for each.
60. dealspl.us – If you like a deal, +Plus It! and watch the point value rise.

“Updated” Great Additions From Reader Feedback
61. BallHype – Sports. Hype it up or Vote it down. Mistakenly left this off the list.
62. NoiseAddicts – Music. Social music site for musicians & music lovers. Vote it up.
63. bandBuzz - Music. New & unknown bands. Buzz it to hype up various songs.

Do you have any other great sites that you’d like added to the list? Have you tried any of these sites before? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions, etc.

Related posts:

1. Digg Tools and Widgets
2. Digg Alpha: Review from an Experienced Digg User
3. PC Magazine’s Top 100 Undiscovered Sites (1-48)