Well…I did an ole’ fashioned LOL last night. Being the relied upon technical guru in my family (something I shouldn’t be), a family member asked me about the website Digg. Before I could get out my response about it being a place for “news” to surface itself using the wisdom of the crowds, this beloved member of my family asked me if it was related to Digg Doug?

I was taken back at least 20 years to the infamous fat little white dude with the, of all possible weapons, dangerous, death wielding quick action hand pump.

I quickly explained the vast difference between the two. The concept seemed a bit exciting but then the question of, “what if there is a story I don’t like?”. I, of course, explained that you would then BURY IT. Any normal human being would have asked the next question, Don’t you have to dig in order to bury something?

So who’s problem is this? This is a very smart family member, smarter than me. Reads more books than me, can spell better than me, knows history better than me, -insert any word here- better than me.

Echo: So who’s problem is this? I think a slow revolution is among us, one where people treat their computers like they treat their toasters. Put in bread, push button and BAM…you get your result.

Entrepreneurs…pay attention, the hype is fading, don’t be a flash in the pan and cap your audience with poor branding, poor design.

Spend more time with your users than with Techcrunch. Spend more time listening than you do trying to emulate other websites, and most of all, I suggest that you whip out your hand pump (uh, whoa) instead of your shovel.