Do you keep in mind Digg?
The social media and bookmarking platform was one of the in style web sites round in 2006, earlier than the growth of platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram helped to usher in its obsolescence. However Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian are bringing Digg again — with a relaunch that goals to repair all our issues with trendy social media.
“The social house on-line is certainly harsher, it appears like, than it’s ever been earlier than,” Justin Mezzell, who will function the brand new firm’s CEO, mentioned, according to the Associated Press. “It feels actually troublesome to attach. I believe the platforms have gotten extra disconnected. You recognize, if ever there was a real city corridor of the web, it feels prefer it has been deconstructed in a reasonably large manner.”
So the corporate is providing another: A return to the previous with a concentrate on — you guessed it — AI.
“By combining Ohanian’s and Rose’s historic data and deep understanding of what has and hasn’t labored from their experiences at Reddit and Digg with at this time’s technological developments – significantly in AI – Digg plans to change into a web-based vacation spot with humanity and connection at its core,” the company said in a press release.
Mashable High Tales
Digg initially launched in 2004 and was bought for elements in 2012. Its podcast, Diggnation, ran from 2005 to 2011 and was introduced again in August 2024.
“On-line communities thrive when there is a stability between expertise and human judgment. We’re bringing Digg again to make sure that stability exists,” Ohanian mentioned within the press launch. “Kevin and I are right here to construct one thing higher than what social platforms are providing at this time. AI ought to deal with the grunt work within the background whereas people concentrate on what they do finest: constructing actual connections. Nobody goals of spending their day looking down spam or taking part in content material police – they wish to create, join, and construct thriving communities. I am all in on this chapter.”
The corporate introduced it could be reintroducing the platform throughout SXSW on March 5 throughout a livestream of its podcast, Diggnation, and folks appear fairly glad. Within the remark part of the almost 1.5-hour livestream of the Diggnation podcast, the feedback are overwhelmingly optimistic — though that is only a slice of the kind of individuals who wouldn’t solely watch a livestream of a Diggnation podcast announcement but additionally touch upon it, so take it with a grain of salt.
“The world has its points proper now, however having Diggnation again is without doubt one of the finest surprises for 2025. Love you guys!” one consumer commented.
“This was so fuxing superior. Can’t consider they’re really again,” one other consumer mentioned.
Digg was the location that initially popularized up-votes and down-votes which might be so typical on on-line posts at this time. However, regardless of Digg’s pioneering introduction of this characteristic to web tradition it was the very up-votes and down-votes that led to its downfall within the first place. As ZDNET reported, the location took down the votes after there was a censorship marketing campaign towards left-leaning customers by customers who known as themselves “Digg Patriots.” Individuals stopped utilizing Digg, went all in on Reddit, and right here we’re.
It is not reside simply but, however you’ll be able to signal as much as get early entry when invitations go reside at Digg’s website.
