sk*rt

Way back in January, I posted about tools and sites I use to make the most out of the internet. I mentioned Digg, and said that if there was a Digg that had content for women (instead of for techie men) I would go there first everytime I sat down to go online.

There is so much that's smart about the concept of Digg. To summarize how it works:

The content is created by the visitors and users of the site. Anyone can easily register on the site. And once registered, anyone can post an item they think is interesting. By "post an item" I mean add a link to something on the internet, including a title and (very) short summary. By "item they think is interesting" I mean anything. Really truly anything.

-Someone might link to a really heartwarming essay on getting engaged they read on a wedding blog.
-Another person might link to a sale announcement they saw at bananarepublic.com.
-Or Banana Republic might link to the announcement themselves, and offer an additional discount to encourage people to their site.
-Someone else might link to a picture of their grandmother that is absolutely uninteresting to anyone but their mom.
-A person could link to a terrific time-waster site like Line-Rider.
-Or maybe someone might link to an excellent New York Times article on healthy skin.
-Perhaps someone (maybe you) might link to a smart idea you posted on your blog.
-My sister Jordan would probably link to whatever the new cool thing is from Kate Spade.

Posting an item in this way doesn't take long — maybe a minute — so it's easy for many, many people to post links to pretty much everything and anything they find online and want to share. As you can imagine, that makes for tons of content, and most of it, probably not that awesome.

That's where the fun comes in. In addition to posting links, visitors to the site can also rate any item — sort of thumbs up or thumbs down. All new items posted get put into an "unpublished category" but once they receive enough positive thumbs up, they get moved to the "published" front page. So each time you get to the site, the content on the front page has been filtered through all those users, and (here's the best part) the really excellent links are right there waiting for you.

The front page changes as people continue adding and rating links. In fact, as the number of users grows, the front page will have new and really great links every time you visit. Even if you visit every hour. You'll be able to feel in the know, all the time.

If you're the kind of person who is not likely to add links or rate links, you'll still find the site really useful because even without registering, you can use the front page to see what's cool that day. The internet is just too big for any one person to track down all the great stuff. So this kind of site creates an entire community to do the tracking down. And everyone who visits the site benefits.

And why am I so obsessed with the concept of Digg? Because I've heard through the grapevine, that a designed-for-females version is going to launch — soon.

Keep your eyes peeled for sk*rt.


embellished skirt shown above from anthropologie