Image by luc legay

When you think about social media you instantly think of Digg, StumbleUpon and possibly Mixx at a stretch. But there are numerous social media news sites out there which receive substantial visitor numbers, many based around specific niches where your audience may congregate.

We’ve compiled a list of the top 25 social media sites ranked in terms of traffic - including social news and bookmarking sites but excluding social networks such as Facebook and microblogging platforms such as Twitter. The idea is that the list is long enough to allow niche sites to feature, but not too long for less popular sites which send very little traffic to be included.

1) Digg
Alexa Rank: 135
Main Topics: Everything including technology, news, and business
Launched in November 2004 Digg has become a hugely popular source of information online and has become the leading social media news website. Also includes separate image, video and podcast sections.

2) StumbleUpon
Alexa Rank: 556
Main Topics: Users can submit and rate any website
More of a social network rather than a social news site but users still submit and rate web pages. As of September 2008 StumbleUpon has far in excess of 5 million users.

3) Propeller
Alexa Rank: 948
Main Topics: Everything including news, politics and science
A social news site, similar to Digg, which has ‘channels’ on almost every topic. Has a new unusual design which has received widespread criticism but it’s still one of the most popular social news sites on the web.

4) Del.icio.us
Alexa Rank: 1,582
Main Topics: Any website can be submitted and rated
Similar to StumbleUpon where you can submit and tag websites that you like. Not as large as StumbleUpon but still a very popular site.

5) Mixx
Alexa Rank: 1,594
Main Topics: Covers everything including business, entertainment and sports
Only launched in 2007 but has quickly become one of the leading social news websites. Very similar to Digg but has a number of nice additional features, including the ability to create groups and communities. One of the fastest growing sites – one to join if you haven’t already.

6) MetaFilter
Alexa Rank: 2,130
Main Topics: News
Describing themselves as a weblog, MetaFilter allows anyone to contribute a link or comment on existing news stories. As of March 2008 MetaFilter was receiving 3.5 million unique users each month.

7) Fark
Alexa Rank: 2,890
Main Topics: Humour
A social news community focusing on alternative news and amusing links. Links can be submitted but must be approved first, unless you join TotalFark for a fee. This allows you to post links in real time and see and comment on upcoming stories.

8 ) I Am Bored
Alexa Rank: 3,338
Main Topics: Entertainment, technology, and off-beat news
In their words their aim is to “provide a list of sites we think will help to cure your boredom.” Their aim is to provide content which is cool, interesting or funny. Anyone can submit a link once signed in.

9) IndianPad
Alexa Rank: 3,563
Main Topics: South-Asia news
A very popular community covering all topics but with a special emphasis on those stories in India and South-Asia as a whole.

10) Care2
Alexa Rank: 4,111
Main Topics: Environment and Politics
An active community with a special emphasis on environmental issues – “news for a conscious world.”

11) Slashdot
Alexa Rank: 5,176
Main Topics: Technology
An extremely popular niche website used predominantly by web developers and programmers.

12) Reddit
Alexa Rank: 5,608
Main Topics: News, technology
A basic looking site but has an extremely large user base, although its popularity has been declining over recent months. Includes sections, known as subreddits, on almost all topics including politics, programming and science.

13) ShowHype
Alexa Rank: 6,081
Main Topics: Entertainment News, Videos & Blogs
The place where celebrity gossip and general entertainment news and videos are voted on and discussed.

14) NowPublic
Alexa Rank: 6,776
Main Topics: News
A slightly different format to normal social news sites, NowPublic has a ‘newspaper-style’ layout, with users shaping the news that is displayed.

15) Newsvine
Alexa Rank: 6,903
Main Topics: News and politics
Not a standard social news website in that stories aren’t listed in order of number of votes, but users can vote on stories and write articles.

16) BallHype
Alexa Rank: 7,466
Main Topics: Sports
The most popular social news site focused around the area of sports – it’s experienced rapid growth over the past few months and is a ‘must-join’ if you blog about sport.

17) Linkinn
Alexa Rank: 10,586
Main Topics: Popular photos and videos
Includes the ability to create specific topics.

18) Killer Startups
Alexa Rank: 13,909
Main Topics: Business startups
As the name suggests KillerStartups features a range of innovative business startups each day. It’s unlike most social news sites in that users can only suggest startups rather than actually publishing links to vote on.

19) AutoSpies
Alexa Rank: 14,910
Main Topics: Automotive
A fast-growing site discussing auto news and reviews. A must-join if you blog about cars or motoring.

20) Shoutwire
Alexa Rank: 17,687
Main Topics: Internet news
A social community that also features both photos and videos prominently.

21) SWiK
Alexa Rank: 20,216
Main Topics: Software
Designed for those who use open source software. An excellent place to promote and find new open source applications.

22) BuzzFlash
Alexa Rank: 24,634
Main Topics: Political News
Describing themselves as ‘News and Commentary with an Attitude’ it’s a place to vote on political stories which are slightly different from the norm.

23) Lipstick
Alexa Rank: 24,862
Main Topics: Celebrity Stories
A similar design to Reddit, just with a focus on celebrity stories and gossip.

24) DZone
Alexa Rank: 28,125
Main Topics: Web Design, Developers
A link-sharing community for developers where you can submit and vote on links.

25) Searchles
Alexa Rank: 30,556
Main Topics: Politics, Technology, News
Covers all topics with users able to create specific groups. Similar to Mixx although it has a significantly smaller userbase.

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