Facebook, MySpace… any social media Website… have one thing in common: they rely on people (their audience) to remain interested in their platform or content. Social media Websites are just that – social. Without an audience these sites are in doom of failure. And the only thing keeping a “hot” social Website hot is relevance. Why should people care.

Here’s an interesting article about Digg, a Silicon Valley darling that had it all. But like most businesses that rely on popularity and novelty, Digg changed its format, annoying users, and fell prey to competition from Twitter which duplicated its primary services – sharing “top” stories.

So learn from Digg. No matter your online presence – whether it’s a blog, an app or anything in between – maintaining an audience and keeping them happy is the number one key to online success.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/24/digg-a-cautionary-tale-for-web-2-0-companies.html