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The Wizards of Buzz
A new kind of Web site is turning ordinary people into hidden influencers, shaping what we read, watch and buy.
By JAMIN WARREN and JOHN JURGENSEN
February 10, 2007; Page P1

This winter, many parents across the country are sitting on the floor with slabs of cardboard, box cutters and special rivets, and building pirate ships for their kids. How did this happen? Thank 45-year-old Cliff Worthington.

An English teacher in Osaka, Japan, he mentioned the box projects on a popular Web site called Digg.com. Soon, supplies of the rivets needed to make them sold out at MrMcGroovys.com.
[Cover Art]

"It would have taken me a year to sell that many rivets," says Andy McGrew, owner of Mr. McGroovy's, which offers free blueprints for the homemade pirate ships and other projects.

The next time you visit a buzzy Web site, see a funny video clip online or read an unusual take on the news, chances are you owe it to someone like Mr. Worthington. A new generation of hidden influencers is taking root online, fueled by a growing love affair among Web sites with letting users vote on their favorite submissions. These sites are the next wave in the social-networking craze -- popularized by MySpace and Facebook. Digg is one of the most prominent of these sites, which are variously labeled social bookmarking or social news. Others include Reddit.com (recently purchased by Condé Nast), Del.icio.us (bought by Yahoo), Newsvine.com and StumbleUpon.com. Netscape relaunched last June with a similar format.

The opinions of these key users have implications for advertisers shelling out money for Internet ads, trend watchers trying to understand what's cool among young people, and companies whose products or services get plucked for notice. It's even sparking a new form of payola, as marketers try to buy votes.
WSJ.COM PODCAST

[Go to podcast]
John Jurgensen talks about the growing influence of social bookmarking sites -- and who's behind the scenes. Hear t

The Wizards of Buzz
A new kind of Web site is turning ordinary people into hidden influencers, shaping what we read, watch and buy.
By JAMIN WARREN and JOHN JURGENSEN
February 10, 2007; Page P1

This winter, many parents across the country are sitting on the floor with slabs of cardboard, box cutters and special rivets, and building pirate ships for their kids. How did this happen? Thank 45-year-old Cliff Worthington.

An English teacher in Osaka, Japan, he mentioned the box projects on a popular Web site called Digg.com. Soon, supplies of the rivets needed to make them sold out at MrMcGroovys.com.
[Cover Art]

"It would have taken me a year to sell that many rivets," says Andy McGrew, owner of Mr. McGroovy's, which offers free blueprints for the homemade pirate ships and other projects.

The next time you visit a buzzy Web site, see a funny video clip online or read an unusual take on the news, chances are you owe it to someone like Mr. Worthington. A new generation of hidden influencers is taking root online, fueled by a growing love affair among Web sites with letting users vote on their favorite submissions. These sites are the next wave in the social-networking craze -- popularized by MySpace and Facebook. Digg is one of the most prominent of these sites, which are variously labeled social bookmarking or social news. Others include Reddit.com (recently purchased by Condé Nast), Del.icio.us (bought by Yahoo), Newsvine.com and StumbleUpon.com. Netscape relaunched last June with a similar format.

The opinions of these key users have implications for advertisers shelling out money for Internet ads, trend watchers trying to understand what's cool among young people, and companies whose products or services get plucked for notice. It's even sparking a new form of payola, as marketers try to buy votes.
WSJ.COM PODCAST

[Go to podcast]
John Jurgensen talks about the growing influence of social bookmarking sites -- and who's behind the scenes. Hear

Why Aren't Newspapers Breaking Out of the Box?
Why does the newspaper industry, for the most part, have so much trouble adapting to the changing of the media environment brought on by the Internet and digital communications technologies? Some newspaper new-media managers and workers talk frankly about what they see as their companies' flaws.

By Steve Outing

(September 25, 2006) -- What's wrong with the newspaper industry? Why does it, for the most part, have so much trouble adapting to the changing of the media environment brought on by the Internet and digital communications technologies? What are newspapers doing wrong -- what are they failing at -- that's causing stock valuations to plummet, investors to revolt, readership to slide, and advertising to drift off to other (newer) media?

Over the last decade-plus of writing this column (and other related activities and employment focused on the news industry), I've met lots of smart people people working at newspapers on the online side of the business. My sense is that in many (but not all) cases, these people possess a good vision of where newspapers need to go in order to survive in the coming decades.


But some of that vision -- perhaps much of it? -- is not allowed to be translated into action, into transforming the companies. (So you don't accuse me of over-generalizing, there are some newspaper companies that have allowed online visionaries who they've hired to truly push the envelope.)

So, I thought it would be interesting to hear some uncensored thoughts about what newspaper companies are doing wrong from the online side of the office. I asked newspaper new-media managers and workers to speak freely about what they see as their companies' flaws.

And I guaranteed them anonymity if they requested it, so they were free to criticize their employers. Everyone took me up on that offer.

The problem at the top

A common theme ran through the responses I got from newspaper online folks: A hu

Why Aren't Newspapers Breaking Out of the Box?
Why does the newspaper industry, for the most part, have so much trouble adapting to the changing of the media environment brought on by the Internet and digital communications technologies? Some newspaper new-media managers and workers talk frankly about what they see as their companies' flaws.

By Steve Outing

(September 25, 2006) -- What's wrong with the newspaper industry? Why does it, for the most part, have so much trouble adapting to the changing of the media environment brought on by the Internet and digital communications technologies? What are newspapers doing wrong -- what are they failing at -- that's causing stock valuations to plummet, investors to revolt, readership to slide, and advertising to drift off to other (newer) media?

Over the last decade-plus of writing this column (and other related activities and employment focused on the news industry), I've met lots of smart people people working at newspapers on the online side of the business. My sense is that in many (but not all) cases, these people possess a good vision of where newspapers need to go in order to survive in the coming decades.


But some of that vision -- perhaps much of it? -- is not allowed to be translated into action, into transforming the companies. (So you don't accuse me of over-generalizing, there are some newspaper companies that have allowed online visionaries who they've hired to truly push the envelope.)

So, I thought it would be interesting to hear some uncensored thoughts about what newspaper companies are doing wrong from the online side of the office. I asked newspaper new-media managers and workers to speak freely about what they see as their companies' flaws.

And I guaranteed them anonymity if they requested it, so they were free to criticize their employers. Everyone took me up on that offer.

The problem at the top

A common theme ran through the responses I got from newspaper online folks: A hu

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We publish the most important news from the Web and the blogosphere based on the stories you link to most.

1. browse the Web for news and blog posts

2. bookmark your favorite stories as you go. Drag the Add to CommonTimes button to your browser bar for easy access.

3. visit our site for the most widely shared headlines