Ningin - Digg for Asia

Regional communities on the Web have been documented to a lesser degree by blogs and online news networks than more diverse stories this year. However, we all have a need for media that spans its coverage at the town, city, state and regional level too. In fact, our community needs in the physical world essentially mirror what we want in Web based distribution of content.

Mixr Media announced the launch of Ningin.com yesterday, the premier of yet another regional insertion for the Asian market. The community is a social news site that lets users find new content through a single hub. The stories on Ningin will be submitted and voted on by members in a way similar to Digg and Netscape and the system will include photo and tagging options.

A release from PRWEB quoted Hoc Poeng, co-founder of Mixr Media as saying: "Ningin provides a vehicle to enable users to submit, rate, and discover all types of news and content that will be of interest to Asian media fans like ourselves."

I think some of the larger news sites could take a few hints from this Asian version. The site is colorful and tasteful, while providing function and presence for its members. Their method of rating stories is far superior to Digg or Netscape in that users simply add of subtract popularity rather than burying or sinking the stories. One has to wonder if the western counterparts did not just add bury or sinking buttons to satisfy some adolescent need to vent on their popular versions.  

I really like this addition to the Web community, and even though content has not gotten to the level of more familiar sites, it is easy to see that Ningin is going to be a smash hit for the Asian market!