Wanted: Someone to Game Digg Because My Articles Suck

So this is what it’s come to:

Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Reddit, Propeller -Powerusers wanted

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Reply to: ass@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-02-12, 1:12PM EST
We are looking to promote some articles online through these social news/bookmarking sites. Looking to create a possible long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. If you have a poweruser (or a user of significant weight) on any social bookmarking site, we’d love to hear from you.

• Location: Boston
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
• Compensation: Negotiable by power of user, frequency of promotion

Remember back in the day when all it took to hit big on Digg or another social media site was to write a good article or blog post? Those days are gone, my friend. Now social media networks abound. Digg Powerusers are accepting big money to ensure an article hits, even if it sucks.

How much do you suppose a front page Digg goes for these days?

The Craigslist Curmudgeon is broke and doesn’t believe in paying for glory. My low traffic speaks for itself.  The writers with the big bucks are the ones who make the front page of Digg with articles entitled “101 Cheerleaders Who Drive American Cars” “Top 10 Cat Breeds You Never Heard Of” or “10 Reasons You Need an Ant Farm in Your Kitchen.”

Every day I receive requests to “Digg this…” or “Stumble that…” and not too many of them come with a “Hey, how are you doing? What are you up to nowadays?” People I never even heard of are sending me “shouts” in hopes their articles will make it big and throw them a wave of traffic.

A well-written article used to speak for itself. Sadly, they’re not the ones getting the glory nowadays. Maybe I should write an article called “32 Ways to Write Blog Posts that Won’t Make it On Digg.” Bet it hits the front page.