This is the explosion of the past: DIGGone of the early news aggregators of the network now returns to its original founder’s ownership Kevin Ross. It is worth noting that the Reddit co-founder joins his co-owner Alexis Ohanian (Picture above).
Digg and Reddit, once fierce rivals in the online social news collection, launched between each other about two decades ago. In the following years, the two platforms enjoyed similar growth trajectories, through various owners and spin-offs. But Reddit’s endurance is worth noting, and the company finally made its debut last year In bumper IPO and User growth has been rising In the next few months.
As far as Digg is concerned, the test of time is not that good. company It was divided into parts in 2012 And for sale Incubator betaworkswith LinkedIn and The Washington Post acquired some assets. Digg later Raised a round of funds Gannett, owner from the United States, before Landed in the hands of digital advertising companies Buysellads, the company acquired a majority stake in 2018.
A “fresh vision”
Digg has never soared to the same heights as Reddit does, which is why Rose and Ohanian now team up to “restore the spirit of discovery and the spirit of real community to make the early network a fun and exciting place” to “restore” the platform. ” Press release Release today.
Ross said he had contacted Digg “at different times” over the years, but he noted that it never seemed like the right time.
Then why now? Ross said that’s a bunch of reasons, saying the existing social media landscape has become toxic, messy and full of misinformation – and that AI can solve the problem well.
“Recently, we have reached a turning point where AI can be a beneficial co-pilot for users and hosts, rather than replacing human conversations, but adding human conversations that allow users to dig deeper while eliminating many repetitive burdens to ease repetitive burdens for community hosts,” Rose Rose said.
Over the years, Ohanian has tended to go in and out of Reddit. he Leaving the company for the first time in 2009 forward Return to serve as chairman In 2014, then Exit the board of directors Totally in 2020. Just this week, Ohanian joins Frank McCourt bid Purchase Tiktok’s US business.
“When there is a balance between technology and human judgment, the online community thrives,” Ohanian said. “We are bringing back DIGG to make sure there is a balance. What Kevin and I built here is better than what the social platforms offered today offer. AI should handle grunts in the background, while humans are focused on what they do best: making real connections.”
Rose and Ohanian have been invested in personal and institutional funds over the years. Now this experience intersects with a real adventure company, who is Rose as a partner, and Ohani people Seven and six of them invested in Digg.
Rose will serve as chairman and advisor to Digg, and Ohanian will sit on the board, but the new avatar will be led by the CEO Justin Mezzell – According to the press release, Kevin Rose and a “long-term collaborator” of “experienced head of product design.”
A new version of the DIGG platform will be launched soon. The invitation will be launched in the coming weeks.
