Why Digg should absolutely be in Google’s search results.

Big discussion going on at Search Engine Journal about this question:

Should Digg’s “diggs” be in Google’s search results?

My first response was “well, why the hell not?” At its most basic, Digg is a community-run search engine, much like the Wikiasari juggernaut that should soon be coming our way, freeing us from the chains of our Google overlords and heralding in a whole new way of searching the Web, making information available, finding my lost cell phone cable – heck, it probaly could do pretty much ANYTHING, people. You’ve been warned.

What was I talking about? Oh, yes – Digg. Well, let’s look at a few things here:

• Digg helps make searching productive.Type in freeware to Google and you’re going to get a hot mess. Jumbles of pretty much crap that the uninitiated (read: those who actually have a life outside the computer world) will have little patience sorting through. Type in freeware to Digg and you feel like you just entered the Members Only club in Disneyland. No waiting, no crowds, and you’re riding the ride you want to ride. Of course, you do have to put up with quite a few wankers, but that’s a small price to pay for instant access.
• If Digg shouldn’t be in search results, then neither should Wikipedia. Shoot, if we’re going to go all hardcore on Digg results, then let’s kick out all the community-oriented stuff, shall we? So no more Wikipedia, no more Flickr, no more Slashdot, no more anything that has links. Which, I’m pretty sure, cancels out say about 99%of the Interwebs. Huzzah – let’s party like it’s 1991! Go Tim Berners-Lee, it’s your birthday, it’s your birthday!

Honestly, I find this very perplexing. Sure, Digg could stand to clean up their system QUITE a bit (see above for wankers explanation), but actually kicking them out of Google? Kind of a pointless argument to bring up the fact that Digg SERP’s are links pointing to links, because golly gee whillikers, Bobby: that’s what the Web is, you know, kind of MADE OF. Links.

Now, if you really just can’t live through the day without getting your panties in a bunch about something, then I suggest that we all move on from the whole non-issue of Google and Digg SERP’s and move on to the very real issue of HOW INCREDIBLY CRAPPY GOOGLE’S RESULTS ARE STARTING TO BE. Holy Spamalot, Batman. I mean, seriously.

See, once upon a time when the Web was (relatively) new and Web 2.0 was just a distant buzzword, you typed in something to Google and you got something back useful. Wild, eh?

I’m a big Google fan myself – in fact, you won’t find a more fanatical Google cheerleader then this chick right here. But I think it’s time to take the old girl in for a tuneup: flush the spam filter, tweak the peripheral services, and maybe take off some of the “useful” widgets and put on something more useful, oh, I don’t know – say like ANYTHING. I can’t stand cute little widgets that don’t do anything but suck my system resources.

Well, enough rantings. To summarize:

• Digg in Google SERPs: Good!
• Spam in Google SERPs: Bad!

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