Finding New Content – 20 Sites for Inspiration
by Kevin on October 4, 2009
Tracking what others are searching for on the web can be difficult at times, as there is simply too much content. Think about YouTube’s statistics for a minute – more than twenty hours of video is uploaded every single minute to the site. Thousands of blog posts are published every hour, and millions of blogs have been created.
How do you separate this content and decide what is relevant from what may not be? It sure can be difficult, especially for people who do not know where to look. Many of the sites below have been inspired by social networking sites, as they are geared towards sharing content that has been user-generated. Additionally, they can be placed on your blog in a manner that makes it easy to share content with others – “digging” and “re-tweeting” are popular widgets included on blogs today, and they are easy to implement.
As stated in a previous post, make sure these features are well visible on your site, otherwise they are pretty much useless in helping promote and expand your blog into new arenas online.
1. Digg
Often appearing first on lists like this, Digg isn’t as targeted as many of the other sites, but certainly has the most diverse set of content anywhere. The most popular stories, video, and general websites can be found across the site. Most ideal for news and off-topics sites.
2. StumbleUpon
With new content added around the clock, StumbleUpon is great for finding random inspiration from around the web. You can separate content by what type of site you run – Computers, Humor, Arts, Online, etc.
3. Mixx
Mixx is great for various sources of content, ranging from news to entertainment to fun. Niches and groups can be created through the site, making the site better for promoting your content to others who may find your site interesting, at least compared to other sites.
4. Delicious
Delicious is a social bookmarking site, allowing you to share your favorite sites on the web. Popular and recommended bookmarks can also be found through the simple front page, along with a search form for discovering new content.
5. Buzzup
Largely promoting news-related stories, you’ll find various technology-related tips and news from around the web on the site.
6. Reddit
Again, Reddit is similar to Digg and makes submitting new content and discovering relevant posts on the web extremely easy.
7. Popurls
Aggregating content from the top social bookmarking and networking sites, this site was one of the first of its kind, making it easy to find what others find interesting.
8. Alltop
Beginning with only a few main topics, you can now find recent stories from thousands of blogs and hundreds of different categories from sites across the web.
9. TweetMeme
Separate what is truly useful on Twitter through TweetMeme. Content from various categories and timeframes can be found. It’s ideal for people who don’t want to browse through millions of tweets, and those who want a quick glance at what is popular.
10. TechMeme
Aimed at technology writers, TechMeme covers more on what is popular across all technology blogs. It has helped define how people find and interact with one another, as it was launched nearly five years ago.
11. MyBlogLog
Although MyBlogLog is a community for blogging, you’ll find new content here, as it is aimed at the blogging community.
12. FriendFeed
FriendFeed has similar functionality to Twitter and has been recently acquired by Facebook, ideal for sharing content with others.
13. Yahoo! Buzz
Although Yahoo! Buzz aimed at medium-sized blogs initially, it has largely become a source for traditional media to promote their content. You can submit your own content, but there really isn’t much functionality other than for bookmarking.
Find content from various sources, including smaller blogs, as new posts are added just a few minutes after they have been published.
15. Newsvine
Containing posts from various sites and categories, you’ll find new content on this site easily, through a well-designed layout.
16. Diigo
A rather new site (at least for some people), this site focuses on research, sharing, and bookmarking.
17. Blinklist
Said to be able to find saved links within 0.18 seconds or faster, this site makes sharing and saving bookmarks (and useful articles) easy.
18. Faves
Find new content from others by category and create your own topics, sharing your own links.
19. Clipmarks
Browse through the most popular content, including text, images, and video through a simple rating interface.
20. dZone
Primarily aimed at web developers, you can find relevant links and resources on this site. More ideal for inspiration than writing new content, you’ll be able to help grow your blog using the resources.
Conclusion
Please share any other sites you may have discovered that are great for discovering new content.
2 comments
I like mybloglog the best because most of the mentioned sites are in the users Services.I like mixx but find most of these Sites a little hard to Submit to unless it’s you Own content. A few weeks ago I was the First to Comment on a Digg hit which got more than 2000 Diggs. I was crawled like crazy by Google but no visitors.So I think Digg can Be Good in that way and can get your blog quickly indexed .But you have to be very lucky to g on the front page. As for Readdit the Traffic is very impatient and the community is a little rude so be careful of that on I say.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Tricking the people that Steal your Work =-.
by Chris on October 4, 2009 at 9:54 pm. #
Digg and similar sites often have such a diverse set of members – millions of them, after all – so there are bound to be disagreements between members. Recently, they have favored “traditional” media, ensuring that the most popular sites get the most return. If you can get “dugg” or “stumbled” within the first few months of starting a blog, it is great, as you open your blog up to thousands of new visitors in a relatively short period.
by Kevin on October 4, 2009 at 11:18 pm. #