Digg is dead. The signal to noise ratio flipped negative last year before the election and amazingly, it keeps getting worse. Today I've finally removed Digg from my "Daily" bookmark list and doubt I'll ever return.
I think many of these social network web 2.0 companies are battling the same issues with having their population drive content. (I'm talking home page content for general consumption, not personal content like facebook, etc.) I think wikipedia is doing the best job, but they've had to change how they do things to keep the signal to noise ratio in the positive. Its not that they wanted to make those changes; they had to. They'd be in the same boat as Digg had they not.
So many folks are gaming these websites its amazing and while some are trying to do something about it, the smart ones are figuring out how to monetize that to their advantage while keeping everyone happy. Those are companies I'd invest in. The ones that either do nothing or fight it to keep things a utopia will be road kill. Digg has slipped and lost its appeal to many - so what's going to take up the slack in the economy? Its not going to be anything like Digg that's for sure (sorry Netscape, you placed a bad bet with your Digg clone) and somewhat I think the bloggers (techcrunch, engaget, etc.) are providing some of the fill.
There's a lesson in Digg for all social network companies. The question is, do they get it or do they have to learn it firsthand?
(While I'm done with Digg, I'll still watch Diggnation. Those two just crack me up!)
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