MarketingVOX: A new generation of hidden influencers is taking root online, fueled by a love affair with a growing number of Digg-like websites that let users vote on their favorite submissions. These sites are the next wave in the social networking craze – popularized by MySpace and Facebook, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Digg is one of the most prominent of these sites, which are variously labeled social bookmarking or social news. Others include Reddit.com (recently purchased by Conde Nast), Del.icio.us (bought by Yahoo), Newsvine.com and StumbleUpon.com. Netscape relaunched last June with a similar format.
To find the key influencers, the Wall Street Journal analyzed more than 25,000 submissions across six major sites. At Digg, which has 900,000 registered users, 30 people were responsible for submitting one-third of postings on the home page.
The hidden influencers of these sites are often ordinary people who vote on hundreds of pieces of web content daily. For example, 18-year-old Smaran Dayal, a high-school student who submits some 40 stories a week on Digg, has become a go-to source there for news about Apple.
These influencers are now getting offers by marketers to vote on products and services. Though, companies like Digg are fighting back against Payola schemes, tracking and kicking off influential users who are caught ‘digging’ for cash.
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