Before Reddit, there was Digg, which popularized up- and down-votes on online posts. Now, the founders of both platforms — social media veterans Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian — are relaunching the early Reddit rival with a focus on “humanity and connection” they hope will be boosted by the use of artificial intelligence. Rose founded Digg in 2004, enabling people to up- and down-vote (“Digg” or “bury”) content from users and sources across the web. At its peak, Digg boasted 40 million monthly users, a significant number considering Facebook only reached 100 million in 2008. In 2012, Digg was divvied up and sold, with many assets and patents acquired by LinkedIn. Reddit, co-founded by Ohanian in 2005, adopted a similar approach, allowing users to vote on the best and worst content on the site. Since 2012, advancements in artificial intelligence and changes in online behavior have reshaped the social space. Justin Mezzell, the new company’s CEO, notes that online interactions have become harsher and more disconnected, making genuine connections challenging. Digg’s new leaders aim to leverage artificial intelligence to streamline site management, enabling humans to focus on fostering meaningful online communities. Mezzell questions how to encourage people to engage in honest conversations, learn from each other, and share their passions authentically, in a landscape where social media algorithms often prioritize outrage. Rose emphasizes Digg’s nuanced content moderation approach, which goes beyond simple banning to create tailored audience exposure based on community norms. He envisions a system where inappropriate content may still be posted but with limited visibility, reflecting the community’s values. The new Digg is set to launch in the coming weeks as both a website and mobile app.
