Digg just laid off most of its staff and killed its mobile app, but the company says it’s not dead yet. The once-massive social news site is trying to reinvent itself again.
This feels like déjà vu for anyone who remembers when Digg was bigger than Reddit. The site dominated social news in the mid-2000s before a disastrous redesign in 2010 sent users fleeing to Reddit and other platforms.
Another Comeback Attempt
Digg has been trying to stay relevant for over a decade. The company was sold for just $500,000 in 2012 after being valued at $164 million in 2008. Since then, it’s changed hands multiple times and tried various approaches to win back users.
The latest cuts suggest Digg is betting everything on a major pivot. While they won’t say exactly what’s coming next, the company insists this isn’t the end. They’re keeping the website running and promise something new is in the works.
Digg’s original concept of letting users vote content up or down seems quaint now that every social platform has some version of it. Reddit essentially became what Digg used to be, while TikTok and Twitter dominate how people discover news today.
What’s Next
Digg says they’re “retooling” but won’t reveal their new strategy. Given their track record, this could be their final attempt at relevance. The question is whether anyone still cares about the site that helped create social news but couldn’t keep up with the competition.