WebProNews

Google, Microsoft rival bidding not happening

Purported interest in Digg by Google and Microsoft made for a hot rumor earlier, but Digg CEO Jay Adelson said rumors is all they were.

When we saw the rumor this morning at TechCrunch - "Google, Microsoft Said To Be Preparing Bids For Digg" - we thought, wow, that bidding could be pretty impressive if this is true.

But the memory of another hot TechCrunch rumor, about Fox possibly rethinking their search and advertising deal for MySpace with Google, which Fox categorically denied to WebProNews, made us skeptical. So we kept an eye on this nugget of Digg goodness to see what would happen.

Our patience proved correct. In a rare move for anyone in tech in general, where comments on rumors simply don't happen, Adelson publicly disclaimed the rumor:

Normally our policy is to not comment about things like this, but this morning’s rumors about a bidding war involving Google and Microsoft have created such a stir we feel compelled to tell you all directly that they are completely inaccurate.

Sorry to burst any drama theories, but they aren’t true. We remain focused on improving Digg and rolling out great features.

Digg could just as easily announce a deal after the weekend, of course, with Microsoft or Google or someone else. It just seems less likely following a public comment.