SOCIAL IMPRESSIONS

When I first started in the social media space, I wrote a post regarding the general hierarchy on Digg. I accused some of the top diggers of being elitist and exclusive. Less than a month later, I have a completely different perspective. I am woman enough to admit that I made a major judgment error. Whoops!

First and foremost, I wrote “Gaining Popularity on Digg” prematurely. The experience I had on Digg at that point was poor. I had limited knowledge of the space and didn’t really understand the intricacies of it. Thanks to the comment Zaibatsu made on my blog and a follow up conversation on the phone, he explained why I was struggling to make connections and proved me absolutely wrong. This weekend, I also had the great opportunity to have lunch with Muhammad Saleem. He is a great guy with a Diet Coke addiction much like my own! I have also been chatting with many other top diggers online who have been wonderful and extremely helpful.

What steps did I take to bridge the gap?

1. Researched top online users and learn about Digg. There are many resources online that will explain the space. Sit back, watch and learn
2. Modified my friends’ list to include diggers who submit quality content relevant to my interests
3. Many diggers offer IM contact information in their profile page. I added them to my contact list and sent them a message letting them know that I like their submissions
4. I constantly Digg their submissions early and fast
5. I rarely use the Shout feature and don’t ping them just for a Digg
6. I am on Digg morning, day and night

Just like human interactions, you have to earn the respect of the movers and shakers on Digg. You click with those who have similar interests and enjoy the relationship with those who have different backgrounds. If anything, I find myself cracking up daily at the hilarious interactions we have online. Although I am not yet part of the “in” crowd, I am slowly gaining their trust. Thank you top diggers for proving me wrong.