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The much-awaited DiggBar has been officially launched. Here is a quick roundup of features of DiggBar:
- Digg directly on the destination site: No more awkward toggling between the story page and Digg.
- Easily share stories: You can now create a shortened Digg URL to share on Twitter, Facebook or via email. You can also type digg.com/ before the URL of any page you’re on to create a short URL.
- View comments while on the story page: Clicking the ‘Comments’ button expands the DiggBar to show the top comment, latest comment, and most controversial without leaving the page.
- Discover random stories: Click the ‘Random’ button and you’ll be brought to an entirely new, unexpected story.
Of course, there are a few more features, but you would do better to hit the official announcement for the full list.
Please consider digging this story. 
Screenshot
The above screenshot shows the announcement post from Digg blog. On the left is the actual URl. On the right, I added digg.com/ in front of the URl and got a new, shortened URl. This means that you get a URl shortener and toolbar wrapped into one.
DiggBar: potential Stumble Upon killer
Ever since rumours began floating around about a possible Digg toolbar that allows you to digg directly, shorten links, read random posts etc., I (and, as I am sure, many others) have been excited about its potential to shake up Stumble Upon’s market share.
Digg and Stumble Upon have rather different styles of users, submissions and usage itself. Digg has been a “what’s hot?” site whereas Stumble Upon always loved timeless content. Some of Stumble Upon’s biggest advantages have been a convenient toolbar, the “Stumble” button that allows you to lazily browse for hours without stopping, channels to see pages based on categories etc.
With the debut of DiggBar, a lot of these features (and many that SU doesn’t have) are available on Digg. DiggBar has a URl shortener, links to pages with related stories, random story, up and down-votes, links to share on Twitter/Facebook and user feedback.
Users like me who like topics on Digg but wished for an easier method of navigating through submissions will find the Diggbar useful. It also has a larger user base to which the Diggbar can be introduced.
As much as their niche is different, this is one battle I look forward to: Diggbar vs Stumble Upon toolbar.
Related reading
- DiggBar Remover removes DiggBar the smart way
- How to get the new features on Stumble Upon?
- How to remove DiggBar (Greasemonkey script)
- Turn off Diggbar from viewing preferences
I am still a bit confused why Digg wants to do this – they will loose a lot of web traffic. People who are using the toolbar cannot be monetized like web visitors.
Stumble upon has a different monitization strategy. Will Digg adopt that?
If Digg adopts SU’s monetization strategy, I’m not sure it will even be effective. Digg’s users are known to be several times less sticky, so those who buy traffic will be wary of the fact.
great one
hey but the post font is too small. The comments font is good