Content Quake

Buzzfeed is the latest company to throw its hat in the Social Media ring this week with its release. One of the more interesting notes is that Jason Kottke, author of the super-blog Kottke.org is one of the main editors. Kottke was one of the professional blogging pioneers, which makes me want to read more about this new venture. Here are the details about Buzzfeed.

1. Buzz Detection - We automatically detect new buzz by crawling 50,000 of the very best web sites, blogs, and news sources. Then our technology crunches the raw data from these sites to identify new buzz that’s just starting to spread. We developed the technology to find new things just when they start accelerating in popularity and provoking interesting conversations. Our technology is also supplemented by a network of human taste-makers and tips submitted by BuzzFeed readers. These savvy humans can spot subtle trends our robots might miss.
2. Editorial Commentary - The moment we detect new buzz, it appears in a special terminal interface used by our editors. The terminal is a sophisticated interface that shows trend data from multiple sources. Our editors are experts at using the terminal to publish a quick summary that highlights the newest and most interesting buzz on the front page of BuzzFeed.com. The editorial process transforms a messy jumble of buzz data and submissions into a quick, fun summary of the hottest new buzz.
3. Buzz Tracking - Finally we track the buzz as it spreads through word-of-mouth and blogs. Our trend pages link to the most interesting commentary, videos, news articles, and debate — so you can track a movie, band, person, or idea as it grows in popularity. For each item on BuzzFeed, you can watch the number of links grow as we link to more people fueling the buzz on their own sites and blogs. When something we are tracking gets especially popular, we bring it back to the front page of the site to show how far it has spread since it was first detected.

My initial thoughts are that this is not that different from sites like Blinkbits and alot like Tailrank. So what will Buzzfeed bring to the table that those sites and Digg have not been able to do? A more savvy algoritm? A more intelligent staff? Maybe, only time will tell.

CNNs Money had some thoughts on the rise of sites like Buzzfeed and TechMeme and the fall of Digg. The pendulum appears to be swinging.