The 'YouTube-ization' of Digg

Richard MacManus over at Read/WriteWeb calls this the YouTube-ization of Digg:

The most significant of the changes is the increased focus on multimedia as a way to reach their audience. With podcasting and more video added to the mix, Digg can perhaps tap into the YouTube/MySpace user base some more... I think it's a great move and one that is likely to appeal to a younger - less techie, but more media savvy - audience that up till now probably hasn't been aware of Digg. You could in a sense label this move as 'The YouTube-ization of Digg'.

Another new feature is the top ten list. From TechCrunch:

"The... 'Top 10 Stories', (is an) area of the site where users can see the hottest stories at any given time, including stories that have fallen off the home page but are still seeing lots of votes and discussion."

Of course, if a story hasn't fallen off the front page but was pushed (i.e. buried), it won't matter how many votes or how much discussion it receives - it'll never appear in the top ten list. That aside, any efforts that Digg makes to attract new and greater numbers of users is a welcome one. For all the talk of the wisdom of the crowds etc. a story still makes the front page with as little as 60 diggs, and can be buried with even less votes. Having a greater number of users participate (therefore generating a larger and wiser crowd?) will help to make the Digg model that little bit more healthy.