AuditoriumA is the anti-Digg

AuditoriumA is a thoroughly ancient idea wrapped in a modern interface. The site is a collection of links (with commentary), hand-chosen by the site's editors and with the occasional help of the audience. It's the fanciest link-blog I've seen, and the stories are of high quality. At least it appears so to me--and it also appears that founder Tony Mars and I have similar tastes in content.

AuditoriumA's blog directory. Hey! We're on it! (We'll see how long that lasts...)

There will be a paid version of AuditoriumA when it is released later this year.

But as much as I like the content on the site, I question the business model. A paid directory? What is this, AOL? While I may bemoan the quality of community link sites like Digg, I still spend hours on it, jumping around the entertaining and informative sites to which it links. The basic model makes more sense for both users and the people who run sites: Find a community you like, and let the hive-mind drive. See StumbleUpon, for example. Or Del.icio.us.

Mars says that his site's hand-picked content will be compelling to people who don't have the time or inclination to participate in a community site. He wants to reach people who want great content but don't want to work to find it. And he thinks some people will pay his company to do that work for them.

Maybe some will, but it's a big, big gamble. You can try out the private beta yourself. Use this link for a special Webware sign-up.

See also: Mahalo.

[auditoriumA.com]

Thanks for the review Webware!

It looks like a lot of people agree with you about the spotty quality of link sites like Digg and are willing to give the new kid a try. We?ve been flooded with invitation requests since your story was published.

Imagine having the best things you love about Digg - audience participation and voting - but with all of the junk filtered out, and all of the quality beautifully presented within - that?s what we?re all about and people really seem to love the results.

After the Private Preview there will always be a Free Edition of the service available as well as several paid plans. Of course, buying a paid membership from us is unlike buying a paid membership anywhere else since your $4.95/month buys a professionally run content discovery service that helps you unlock the best of the entire web not just a single site.

It?s The New York Times meets Digg.com.

Tony Mars
auditoriumA.com