Reddit's recent announcement that it will allow users to create custom reddits -- user-moderated news aggregators associated with a unique domain and stylesheet -- made me wonder about the impact on Slinkset. I interviewed the founders of the Y Combinator startup earlier in the summer, and found that one of Slinkset's main selling points was the ability for users create niche aggregators which could be integrated with existing websites. Now that reddit is moving into this area, how will Slinkset be impacted? I pinged co-founder Brett Gibson about the reddit announcement, and he responded with this:

Reddit's announcement certainly makes them a closer competitor, but we still have different goals and are targeting a different audience. While reddit is a destination site looking to grow their user base, we are not a destination site and our immediate focus is on being a tool for creating adjunct voting sites that integrate tightly with existing web pages. There is still plenty of room for us in this market especially among those who would like to create a voting site but aren't interested in giving more users to Condé Nast.

Today, Gibson told me that the company will shortly roll out a feature that lets Slinkset site owners enable anonymous users to vote, comment, and submit items to their sites. The tentative target date for the feature launch is September 16.

It's a bold move. Digg, reddit, and other user-moderated news aggregators have stayed away from anonymous user participation, which can introduce spam, interfere with ranking algorithms, and increase trolls and flames. By opening the gates to anonymous users, Slinkset and its customers will have to contend with these issues. On the other hand, the anonymous functionality will set Slinkset apart from the competition, and potentially boost its userbase in a field dominated by several established companies.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

• Q&A: Slinkset takes a niche approach to reddit-style aggregators
• CO2Stats offsets the Internet carbon footprint
• Y Combinator Demo Day: CO2Stats, Posterous and others show their stuff
• Techmeme analysis, part II: 15% of sources account for more than 70% of headlines
• Picture This: Yahoo wants you to Digg its Buzz