As expected, tech user-ranked/generated news aggregation site Digg has expanded beyond its core area into general news, entertainment stories or videos…the site will fully launch Monday. So now it will compete directly with the recently relaunched Netscape.com, except that it will probably have a tougher time selling ads, compared to the broader offering from the AOL-WeblogsInc-Netscape stable.
Digg ranks as the third-most-visited U.S. site dedicated to technology news, up from No. 8 late last year, according to Hitwise. Digg has 304,000 registered users, but attracted 8.5 million visitors in May.
It has raised $2.8 million in venture funding from Omidyar Network, Marc Andreessen and Greylock Partners, among others.
Digg vs Netscape: Leslie Walker has an interesting perspective on the competing sites: “The Netscape experiment is still early, but I am skeptical that its hybrid model will add any value to the core idea behind Digg—exploiting the Internet’s ability to give readers input on the journalism they consume. Netscape would need high-powered reporters to add first-rate commentary and fact-checking. So far, its commentary strikes me as so anemic and wordy that it interferes with the site’s real goal—letting readers see what others find interesting.”