My friend David Cohn has written an excellent post about social bookmarking sites.  His aim is to coax journalists into using these sites to better research, report, and reach out to their audience.  Although the post has a journalistic focus, it does an excellent job of explaining the differences between the user bases of several major sites that virtually anyone interested in social media will learn from.

As someone who has spent some time on sites like digg, reddit, and Newsvine, I know how different these sites — and perhaps more importantly, their users — are.  That’s why reading David’s post can help the uninitiated since he explains the specific appeal, audiences, and objectives of the sites he spotlights.  The fact that he explains the objective and niche of these sites is really valuable since this helps the uninitiated more efficiently select a site that best meets their needs.

Although I’ll admit that at times I feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless list of bookmarking sites that pop up, I do see utility in the major ones that David features.