Digg, billed as “the front page of the internet, now with superpowers,” is trying to launch a second act and scoring some impressive wins along the way.

Digg was one of the earliest social news aggregator sites, serving as the inspiration for more modern sites like Reddit. After founders Keven Rose and Jay Adelson left Digg, it was eventually split up and sold to various companies. In early 2025, Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian purchased the Digg website in an effort to bring back the platform.

Apollo Developer Joins Digg

The newly-founded company’s first coup came in the form of landing Apollo developer Christian Selig as an advisor. Apollo was one of the most popular third-party Reddit apps that shut down as a result of the platform’s controversial API licensing changes. When Reddit announced the change, Selig revealed that it would cost him $20 million per year to keep Apollo running. Apollo’s closure was a major loss for Reddit and its community, as Selig’s app was the poster child of providing a good Reddit experience, something the company has never managed to do with its own apps.

Reddit’s loss is Digg’s gain, with Selig bringing his expertise to the fledgling company.

“We’re excited to have Selig bring that same craft and community-first thinking to Digg, helping us build something that feels good to use and even better to be a part of,” said Digg CEO Justin Mezzell.

When pressed on the Apollo/Reddit drama, Mezzell said in a publicly recorded interview: “I simply won’t comment on that. We’re charting our own course here at Digg. But if I did comment, I would probably say ‘[redact] me sideways, what a fumble.’ But that would only be if I did say something publicly.”

Similarly, in an off-the-record interview, Rose was equally critical of Reddit’s handling of the Apollo drama.

“Yeah, it was a total [redacted]-show,” Rose said. “What in the flying [redacted] was Reddit thinking? These folks, the unpaid labor force, are the lifeblood of their community, they should always be the priority. This is off-the-record, right?”

Given that the new Digg will largely focus on the mobile experience—much like Apollo—Selig’s involvement in crafting that experience is good news for users.

Pocket Lifeline

Mozilla announced yesterday that it is shutting down Pocket, the popular read-it-later service, in July. The organization is working to refocus its efforts and Pocket and no longer fits in with its long-term mission.

Rose took to X shortly after to offer to take over Pocket and continue to support its users.

Acquiring Pocket would be a good more for the new Digg, giving it an instant user base and a number of integration options between the site and the app.

One thing is clear: Digg is making moves! While the site is still in pre-launch, its owners and CEO clearly have their sights set on retaking the crown as the internet’s leading social news site.