Let's start with the good news: Digg is expected to release a beta version of their RSS reader sometime in June - well ahead of the planned closure of Google Reader on July 1. The bad news, unfortunately, is that the reader replacement may come at a cost to prospective users.
In a recent blog post on the subject, Digg pointed out that free products on the Internet don't have a great track record. These products tend to disappear, leaving users in a lurch. As such, Digg said they needed to build a product that people can rely on and trust will always be there for them.
The company said they weren't sure how pricing would work but they do know they'd like their users to be their customers, not their product. Interestingly enough, 40 percent of survey participants said they would pay for a Google Reader replacement - a figure they were pleased with.
Digg came to the rescue when Google vowed to shut down Reader back in March as part of a larger spring cleaning effort. The surprise announcement came as a shock to a number of faithful users as Reader has been around since 2005. Google said at the time that despite the fact it had a loyal following, usage has declined over the years.
Digg said their implementation would take the best elements from Google's offering and bring them up to speed with the Internet of 2013.