Timing is key to Digg success

So says a report by Hewlett Packard anyway.  They analysed all the diggs submitted on the site in the second half of 2007 and came to the (startling) conclusion that most diggs were made during peak traffic hours on the site.  For instance, a story submitted at 12pm US time will get approximately 400 diggs in the first 2 hours, whereas if it was submitted at midnight (US time) it would get half as many.  Check out the charts below:

Based on this study here are the take away points for me.

1. Success breeds success

Considering some 72% of all Diggs go to those stories that make it popular, ensuring you submit your story at the peak time to enable this is crucial.

2. The importance of sustaining success

Some 11% of all submissions peak after just 1 hour.  That is, after 1 hour they have received all the votes they will ever receive.  The average voting time is around 7 hours, so you can see the importance of submitting at the right time to ensure votes are sustained.

3. Geting success in early

I think the last point is so important that it’s worth repeating.  Nearly all of the votes for a particular story will come within the first 7 hours of it being submitted onto Digg.  We’ve already shown that time of submission is key to getting your story off to a strong start and this merely reinforces that point.

4. Digg on an empty stomach

The majority of diggs seem to occur around lunchtime US time, so if you want to give your submission the best chance of success make sure you submit it around 12 noon US time.

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Tags: Digg, Hewlett-Packard Company, Submission