Before there was Reddit, there was Digg. It was a powerhouse in its day; a pioneer of user aggregated links where users could vote submitted links up and down. Though venerable, the company has been floundering for some time, and now it is being reported that Digg’s technology staff is being hired by the Washington Post.
The story was initially broken by The Next Web, however TechCrunch reported that it was the staff — not the site — that WaPo was buying up. Those hoping for a life-saving shot in the arm from old media into Digg are, it seems, sadly mistaken.
For its part, the Washington Post is likely trying to build up a talent base for its slew of online content projects like the Facebook-based Social Reader. Digg, on the other hand, is likely looking for a buyer for the site. That may seem like a long shot, but Digg has apparently seen a rise in popularity as of late, thanks to deeper Facebook integration.
As of writing, neither the Washington Post nor Digg saying a word about the deal so some details are likely to change. For the Digg fans out there, it looks like the site will continue operation for now, but its days are surely numbered.
(All Things D via Techmeme)
- Viagra spam gets 600+ votes on Digg
- Digg fires 1/3 of its staff
- After a redesign, some old features return to Digg
- That redesign was super unpopular, by the by
