Digg, the former Internet darling that often draws comparisons to popular social news aggregator Reddit, shut down its RSS platform - Digg Reader - late last month. Now, we know why that decision was made.
As Fast Company highlights, little-known Boston-based digital advertising company BuySellAds has purchased a majority stake in Digg. The sale includes Digg's assets as well as its revenue and editorial teams, we're told. Financial terms of the sale were not publicly disclosed.
BuySellAds CEO Todd Garland told Fast Company they hadn't yet announced the sale publicly for fear that it would look bad (an ad company buying a well-known media brand). An official announcement will come at a later date, Garland said.
Digg may be a shell of its former self today but it's an important part of Internet history. The site, founded in 2004 and featured in our recent Precursors to Today's Technology write-up, had the right vision but stumbled along the way, opening the door for Reddit to take over. Digg's brand and technology assets were purchased by Betaworks in 2012 for $500,000, a fraction of the $200 million Google once considered spending for the site.
Blockchain publishing start-up Civil, meanwhile, hired eight former members of Digg's technology team, the publication reports.
Garland said their plan with Digg "is to not screw it up," adding that they feel it's a great property that attracts a crowd that is like an Internet subculture.