WriterRiver.com is a social news site intended for technical communicators. If you’re familiar with Digg.com, it works in much the same way. Users can submit news articles (called “stories”). Newly submitted stories initially appear on the Upcoming Stories tab. When five people float the article, it moves it to Front Page Stories tab, which is the default site view. You float the article by clicking the Float link on the blue Vote button to the left of an article.

This site is powered by Pligg.com, which is a Digg.com clone. As a long-time fan of Digg and the Diggnation podcast, Tom wanted a similar site for technical writers. He also wanted to highlight the many excellent blog posts that are being written by 200+ technical writer bloggers, and enable a news mechanism where anyone can discover cool content on the web.

Below is a little blurb about the man who created Write River Tom Johnson:

“This may sound a bit boring, but really technical communication touches many areas, such as usability, marketing, information architecture, content management, XML, Web 2.0., management, graphic design, web design, and of course just plain writing. Technical writers are often learning and working with the latest technologies. I touch upon many of these topics in my blog.”

If you would like to know more about Write River or Tom Johnson just visit his personal blog I’dratherbewriting.com.

Written By : Michelle Amos

It seems that the small blogger is stuck in his cubicle unable to climb the corporate digg ladder. Why?
Day to day the digg top stories come from the same blogs and websites with very large existing communities. Will there ever be a Cinderella story for the little guy and Digg?  Honestly, my gut says no. Even if you reach the top, you run the risk of a ‘front page fascist’ reporting you as spam.  My blogger conspiracy theorists think that the large existing community doesn’t want the small blogger to climb the digg ladder and destroy their reputation.
My advice is to find other avenues. Other social media and bookmaking sites such as “STUMBLEUPON” can drive as much if not more traffic than digg.
From one blogger to another your biggest concern always needs to be quality, regardless if your golden piece of content reaches the front page or not.

Israel F. Swanson

Community Development

Yovia.com