While there has been a rather large commotion (mostly negative) about the recent release of the DiggBar we have been watching and tracking its usage to find out how the community actually uses it.   Surprisingly, we have found many beneficial aspects to the bar, and discovered a handful of ways that you can use the DiggBar or a shortened URL( DiggURL)  help your success on Digg.

(If you haven’t seen the DiggBar yet, check the following video)

Who Sees The DiggBar

Many people will argue that framing a website is intrinsically evil.  If you are one of this mindset, I would like to say that Digg’s most recent changes have honestly attempted to make the frame visible only to those who choose to view it, though it still does frame a website.  So before we get into the benefits of the DiggBar, we can take a look at who will and will not see the DiggBar to begin with:

1. Users who don’t have a Digg account won’t see it

When the DiggBar first was released, all Digg users were sent to the DiggBar’ed story (unless they chose to always have it shut off.)  After a large outcry from casual users of the site and publishers, Digg went ahead and removed it completely on outbound links for users  who were not currently logged in with  a Digg account.

What this means: The casual bloggers/publishers/lurkers who are trolling for stories on the site will never be fed a story that is DiggBar’ed unless they are currently logged in with the DiggBar turned on. They will receive the clean link directly to the source.

2. Users with a Digg account  who dislike can opt to NEVER see it

One of the nice things that Digg did do with the bar is to make it extremely easy to turn it off forever.  There are two easy  ways that you can use to turn off the DiggBar:

• from the DiggBar Itself
• from your personal options

Now, the really cool feature of the shortened DiggURL is that, even if you have an account and someone sends you that shortened URL (and your preferences are off), you will be redirected to the story page.  The only way that you can ever see the DiggBar is if you opt to by manually typing digg.com/ before your URL .

What this means: Not all Diggers will see the DiggBar.   Unlike those horridly annoying ow.ly domains from HootSuite on Twitter, BurnURL or any other framed in service – the DiggBar is essentially only shown to those who actually want to see it.

3. If you don’t want anyone to see it, you can choose not to

While the DiggBar was intended to help Diggers find great content and vote on it, at the end of the day, it is your site and you can choose to not allow anyone to frame it.  Many sites (even the New York Times) bust frames, so even those users  who opt in to view the DiggBar will be directed to the main article.

Here are some resources on  how to break frames:

• Breaking Out of Frames with JavaScript
• Wikipedia includes a JavaScript variation that includes a popup as to why you will be redirected
• Also, if you have a WordPress blog, the plugin “Diggbarred” can be installed to block the DiggBar in its entirety.

What this means: If you finish reading this article and still hate the DiggBar, you can make sure that nobody else out there will see it … even if they wanted to.

How the DiggBar Can Help You

So even though the DiggBar does frame a website, you can use this frame to your advantage, here’s how:

1. This one of the largest ‘approved’ ways to share your content off-site

Digg has been known to enforce very stringent bannings on violations of Digg’s Terms of Use.  However, this form of promotion and sharing is not only acceptable, but encouraged.  The DiggBar allows you to share by email, Facebook or Twitter.  Emailing has always been an approved method of sharing, but now you can share your submissions directly on Twitter win a 100% approved fashion:

2. It allows for a quick check to see if a story has been submitted

Digg has not been the most receptive to the use of its API to aid users.  Instead of relying on 3^rd party add-ons or plugins, you can now simply toss a “digg.com/” in front of any address to see if it has been previously submitted.  This is a simple and easy way to see if a story you find has already been submitted.

3. You can share content and people will know your intent (& you won’t look spammy)

On Twitter or Facebook if you are attempting to share your story to increase the number of diggs, many times non-users simply don’t understand.  When sharing a DiggUrl, those who have an account and proper permission will see the DiggBar and give a vote if worthy, those who don’t participate in Digg will just be served the regular page – no harm done.  Before the DiggUrl and DiggBar, users on Twitter would try tagging tweets, sending to the Digg page itself and asking for Diggs.  The DiggURL makes it simple and straightforward; if you have an account, you understand the motive.

4. Users  who enjoy the DiggBar will have an easier time voting for your articles

Believe it or not, there are users out there that enjoy the DiggBar.  It makes it easy to see the best comments, share good links and most importantly vote on articles that they deem worthy.  Digg has been ever changing to make it harder and harder to vote for stories that users enjoy.  The DiggBar is a step in the opposite direction, as users can vote quickly and easily, without having to flip back to the Digg page where they discovered the content.  Undoubtedly, the DiggBar will increase user votes and votes for your content.

5. People can get more information on a topic w/related articles’

The DiggBar not only helps to garner votes, but can also drive more traffic to your content.  The “Related…” button will show users similar articles that have been on Digg.  These articles have already been popular, but the Related feature helps those who are passionate about a topic discover more information in a quick and simple manner.

6. Random button can get your information more views

Much like the “Related…” button, the “Random” button can help to boost your stories visibility.  The random button will display a recent story that was popular on Digg to a user.  This operates similar to StumbleUpon, and could get your content in front of fresh eyes; people who may not have clicked your link from the Title and Description alone….

Conclusion

Yes, it’s true that the DiggBar frames your content, its also true that many people don’t like it – but this doesn’t mean that you should avoid its benefits if you are active on Digg.  Also, give Digg a good deal of credit as they have made this  least intrusive “framed bars” as possible.  The DiggBar can be turned off at anytime, will never be shown to other users, and is 301′ed to the proper article – something that the popular ow.ly or burnurl can’t claim.  So feel free to embrace the DiggBar and use it to your advantage … as it isn’t going away anytime soon!

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