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Google looking to purchase Digg?

This one seems a bit weird, but generally reputable sources are claiming that Google is in talks to acquire news site Digg for a sum of $200 million. While neither Google nor Digg has released anything resembling a public comment on the matter, word on the street is that talks have progressed to the final negotiation stage, which could mean that a takeover announcement is imminent. If this goes through, Digg would presumably be enveloped by Google News, adding some level of user interaction to the news service. Would Google News benefit from a Digg-style ranking system? Would it ruin a now-reputable source of information? Rumors have been running wild about this for a while now. Let us know what you think!

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19 comment(s) for this post.

  1. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 7:16 am, cliff Said:

    i love google, but i swear they better not ruin digg. i love digg.

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  2. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 8:06 am, Tyler Brock Said:

    Digg has quickly sunk to news for the lowest common denominator. What was once a great tech news site that had more life than Slashdot has become a combo of 4chan and celebrity gossip.

    Where I use to go there for news I now go just for the comments… every five minutes.

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  3. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 8:09 am, Dtest54 Said:

    there have been alot of rumors about digg being sold, this one doesn’t seem to be going away. if its true i agree with cliff,

    “i love google, but i swear they better not ruin digg. i love digg.”
    digg works well for me.

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  4. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 8:22 am, netposer Said:

    I agree Tyler. Digg is nothing more then entertainment now. It used to be an informative place to go for tech news. Now it’s a bunch of noobs trying to be hesh. It’s not worth shit.

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  5. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 8:51 am, Ben Marvin Said:

    This sounds very unlikely. Digg doesn’t seem like a company Google would purchase.

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  6. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 8:56 am, jds Said:

    I say good for Kevin Rose, Jay Adelson and the rest of the DIGG crew. I say, Ha Ha for the few DIGG submitters that account for the majority of the stories on the front page. Now you’ll get lost in a sea of posters. For as popular and visited DIGG is today, there are probably thousands of people that don’t know about the site that will find out about it when the Goog takes over. Hard to believe, but I think it might actually be true — that people don’t know about it.

    But to echo the sentiments above… Please don’t f*ck it up Google.

    I love DIGG (Diggriver.com, for the mobile) and read it several times a day, but it seems like DIGG is, “Yesterday’s News Today.” Still love it though!

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  7. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 9:45 am, Nate Said:

    Who cares. Digg was, at one time, entertaining. Now it’s a joke.

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  8. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 9:46 am, kansei Said:

    “Would it ruin a now-reputable source of information?”

    I definitely feel as though DIGG would ruin a reputable source of information (Google News).

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  9. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 10:00 am, Ralph Said:

    I agree with what a lot of the commenters above have said. Digg used to be a fantastic source of tech information. Now it’s merely a shell of it’s former self. Sad.

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  10. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 10:15 am, Heathen Said:

    I have the opposite take, Digg tech better not screw up google news. Digg has become a content site for nothing but top ten lists and hundreds of biased apple stories (a bit like Gizmodo)…

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  11. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 10:26 am, Eric Said:

    Stories on DIGG reach the front page by artificial means. THere is no way those political stories reach the front page naturally.

    Someone internal is boosting the stories.

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  12. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 10:42 am, Abid Said:

    I switched from Digg to Reddit about a year ago. Digg’s audience on the whole seems to be younger, or at least more prone to being immature and posting more filler and less substance. I can spend a lot of time going through thoughtful comments on a thread via reddit - - thats something I haven’t been able to do on Digg for a very long time.

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  13. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 12:35 pm, Matthew Said:

    Digg is a joke in my limited views of it. I have heard nothing but poor things about it as of late and check this out - poor business and customer support also

    http://www.atomicpopcorn.net/2008/07/22/digg-this-you-bastards-banned-by-the-community/

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  14. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 12:59 pm, Rod Trent Said:

    Mob News is always entertainment. You can’t seriously believe something ruled by the mob won’t eventually decay. Maybe, Google can fix it, I don’t know.

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  15. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 1:00 pm, Galvatron Said:

    Kevin rose is a sham
    an this gives googe more market share it’s plain and simple

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  16. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 1:45 pm, BP Said:

    Stories of google testing digg like rankings for search results have been around for a bit: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/16/is-this-the-future-of-search/
    Would a purchase prevent any lawsuits?

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  17. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 1:51 pm, connie Said:

    kevin rose is selling out and i can’t blame him.

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  18. On Jul 23, 2008 @ 4:02 pm, Dtest54 Said:

    if Galvatron is against it then it must be good.

    I still like Digg, very entertaining in small doses. No its not the hardcore tech site that it was but thats the way sites grow, there is not enough hardcore tech people out there to make big money.

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  19. On Jul 24, 2008 @ 8:47 pm, bob Said:

    Agreed, Digg.com is no longer a useful website. I’d turn to reddit but that’s just as political. How many times can you post a comment:
    ron paul
    and have everything digg you?

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