Digg Returns with New Design


A few weeks ago we ran a roundup about the descent of Digg from one-time social media pioneer to failing Web business sold off bit by bit to a variety of companies including LinkedIn, The Washington Post, and New York-based tech firm Betaworks. But now Digg is back with a brand new look. The question of whether it’s possible to resurrect an under-performing brand is important to every entrepreneur. Here’s more:

Up and Running

It’s alive! Fans got a chance to see just how much has changed as the new Digg was officially launched after a very rapid redesign of the beloved social bookmarking site. The Newsbar and Newsrooms are gone, with a focus on top, popular, and upcoming stories, and Facebook and Twitter sharing are taken into account when ranking each story. The Verge

Back to basics. Even days before launching the new Digg, the team at Betaworks offered up some thoughts about the changes. The redesign would be an attempt to get back to basics and focus on what the old Digg did best: creating community instead of unique content. Sometimes the best way to fix a business model is to get back to its roots. BetaBeat

The Big Fix

Guiding principles. Another interesting thing the Betaworks team did in its run-up to the Digg redesign launch was to survey users for more information about why they visited Digg, incorporating some of what was said into the new site. Updates show a very transparent process during the redesign. The best way to find out what your customers want is to ask them. Here’s one example. Digg Blog

A Rose by any other name. Digg founder Kevin Rose admits after leaving the company he helped create, he found it hard to return to the site and see what was being done with his “baby”. Among the most important lessons learned from the experience, he said, was to develop a pool of generalist talent who could adapt to changing situations. Gigaom

Takeaways

Going with your gut. Sharing some thoughts about Digg in a series of videos posted recently, Rose had some other insights entrepreneurs may definitely wish to take to heart. The most important of these is to go with your gut. Rose said the greatest regret he has is approving changes he deeply felt might be bad for the community. TechCrunch

A fond farewell. But for some former Digg users like blogger David Leonhardt, all this second guessing is too little, too late. He and other Digg users have moved on to different homes, becoming part of new communities on the Web to share the information most important to them. One thing to remember is that sometimes, when a community or customer base is gone, it’s gone. Do your best to realize this before it’s too late. David Leonhardt’s SEO and Social Media Marketing

Lessons learned. Another lesson to be learned from the Digg situation is that perhaps innovation is not always the answer. There’s a time to make changes and a time to stick close to your roots. One blogger has a solution any entrepreneur should heed before making big changes. If you want to know whether it’s a good idea, ask your customers first. Seeking Alpha

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  1. Not sure if I’d use the term “alive” at this point 🙂