The Digg Podcasting Problem.

Written by : Candace Holly for The Geek Media

The Digg podcasting area is a flawed system. I like Digg. I am a Digg user as well. But, when I want to find new podcasts, Digg is not the place to find them. You can not find new podcasts on Digg. Here's a few reasons why I feel that Digg needs to improve it's podcasting area.

New podcasts submitted to Digg.com's podcasting area are never seen by the public. There is no way for Digg users to find a new podcast with 0 or 1 diggs unless they search for it and hope the description contains that word or, the podcasters themselves ask for Diggs. Many podcasters do not even submit their feed to Digg.com

Which brings me to my second point. There are many podcasts listed on Digg.com with a very low number of diggs. The podcasts themselves get thousands of subscribers and downloads. One in particular is a web development podcast who mentioned on their show they received in excess of 10,000 downloads that week. On Digg.com they have less then 20 diggs. Another show I know of is a smaller gaming podcast with over 2,000 downloads a week. On Digg.com they have less then 20 diggs. There is a podcast on Digg that I listen to with over 100 diggs but, they only receive 1,500 downloads at the most. However, everytime they are on the air, they beg for diggs from their listeners which caused them to get the notoriety on digg.com.

A third reason is, podcasts never "fall" off of the pages. On the front page of Digg's podcasting area, there is a show listed that has not been produced since October of 2006. The hosts of that show have said they will no longer be producing it (unfortunate as that is because it was a good show). That show is still on the front page and, other shows are pushed down the list as a result. Which keeps users on Digg.com from seeing the other podcasts available.

And my fourth (and last) reason for this. Digg.com's podcasting area only shows you podcasts that are on the front page or, happen to get on the up and coming list. The up and coming list shows podcasts that get a certain number of diggs within a certain amount of time. Once they get too many or too little, they are taken off of the Up and Coming area and fall into the pages of podcasts on Digg.com.

There are many well-known and popular podcasts (within certain genres and circles)that can not even be found on Digg.com . Digg is a great way for a podcaster to get extra exposure but, it is not the end-all-be-all of podcasting popularity. It is also not a very social place (unlike the news area of Digg).

If I want to find a new music podcast, I will have to search through the pages to find one. The ones on the front pages are ones I've already checked out. Maybe I'll happen to find one with a title that piques my interest on the up and coming area. If I don't, I have to rely on a search or, going thru the 85+ pages of the music podcasting area.

Why can't the podcasting area be more like the news area? News is cycled constantly. You can sort by the latest news or the most popular. You can sort by day, week, month and even year. The podcasting area has nothing like that. So, a lot of the "social" aspect is taken out. No offense to the creators of Digg (because it is a great site) but right now the podcast front page looks like a big advertisement for Digg Nation, TWIT and Revision 3 . Don't pound me guys, we all know I'm a big fan of Leo Laporte!

Still, when I go on that page, I'd like to see some new podcasts. Some of the latest added. What about podcasts that got a lot of diggs that day? Or, I'd like to be able to say "Ok I want to see what podcast is up and coming in the last week. Let's sort it out." Those options don't exist.

Bottom line? The Digg podcasting area needs some work. It's a great way for podcasters like me to get extra exposure. Every day, I see at least two or three new downloads come off of Digg.com . That adds up and it's great! But, if I want to find a new podcast? I won't be able to easily at all. I'm better off searching podcast pickle, podcast alley or iTunes.

My final say on this? Digg.com is a wonderful social news site. I can always support my friends by finding them on Digg and giving them a new digg in hope they get on their category's up and coming area. The podcasting area of Digg is in Beta. So Digg, I've done the beta testing and I see issues. I am not the only one either. Other podcasters have said the very same thing to me but not one of them has voiced it. I want to see Digg's podcasting area as "social" as the news area. I want to find new podcasts, I want to see who's getting up there and who just came into the fold. I want to know what's up in the podcasting world as well.

An update: Saturday, September 22, 2007.
Oh my goodness! We're getting dugg! I'd like to point out many of the comments to this story on digg are people who have written similar feedback to digg. One in particular is "anaesthetica" who wrote a very well written letter to digg. They are the first reply to the first comment. It seems we aren't the only people who feel this way. Keep writing those letters everyone! It looks like a lot of us feel that the podcast section needs to be a bit more social and a bit less of a popularity contest!

Second update: Sunday September 23, 2007.
Wow. 768 diggs and counting. This is awesome! The community has spoken. Though we are loving the comments and feedback, we can't do anything for you guys. We don't work for or with Digg, we don't even have a friend of a friend of a brother's cousin who works for Digg (we just end up with Kevin Bacon then). Your guys' ideas are wonderful so, give them to the right people. On the "contact" area of Digg, the e-mail address is listed as; feedback@digg.com . E-mail your ideas there. Give them good, constructive feedback. It obviously gets a response!