The end of Digg is nigh. Betaworks, new owner of the formerly popular website, has stated it will roll the Digg name into its own products.
Back in 2008, Digg was one of the hottest properties on the Internet. Google had been pondering a $250 million buyout of the brand. However, this week Digg was sold to Betaworks for a paltry $500,000. All employees are being let go from the company, though the two owners are being hired as 'consultants' to Betaworks for the time being.
Many articles are being written about Digg's demise, but most will not focus on one major reason the service lost users.
Politics.
The Digg community was dominated by the Left in the United States. Routinely, they would band together to downgrade stories not favorable to their political opinions, even if the articles were well written and inciteful. By 2010, at least a good third of the country, those labeled conservative or Republican, had abandoned the service for the politically neutral Reddit service. Reddit's algorithms for ratings seemed more fair even to those folks who did find their stories downgraded, and the community grew because of this.
After leaks about Digg's biased algorithms were released, even Democrats started moving to Reddit for more accurate assessments. Combined with issues addressed in other articles on Digg's demise, the service has been in a steady free fall until this week and Betaworks' acquisition.
Digg's arrogance turned into its own death. So, a warning to any startup is to avoid the political minefields for as long as you can.
More information can be found at the Washington Post's article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/digg-acquired-by-betaworks/2012/07/13/gJQAk00khW_story.html