Will Google buy Digg?

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Rumor has it that Google wants to buy the widely popular Digg website where members are in charge of deciding which news is front-page-worthy. Members choose the stories that are posted. Others vote on these stories, landing some in the spotlight, where millions of people visiting the site then see them.

By contrast, Google News uses a series of algorithms, an automated system that sorts through headlines, weighs story placement, and examines keywords before determining that a story is worth posting. The system also gives preference to original content over that which has been duplicated from other sources. Unfortunately, this system does not seem to gauge popularity as accurately nor does it move important stories to headline status in a timely enough manner.

For example, back when Donald Rumsfeld resigned his post as Secretary of Defense, it took Google News nearly half an hour to post the story, says ABC News. On the other hand, Digg had the news within minutes. Google has cited a “glitch” in getting newsworthy information into people’s hands quickly, but ABC News notes that even when Google News is at its best the speed is not impressive.

Marketing consultant, Greg Sterling feels that it may be wise for Google to redesign the way its news system works, perhaps by gathering data on Digg’s members or utilizing its intellectual property.

The veracity of a transaction between Google and Digg has yet to be determined, yet some are certain that Google is quite competent and will continue to improve with or without help from Digg.

Director Dan Gillmor of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication feels that it isn’t just about quickly posting news or posting those stories with the most popularity. He stated that reputation is also a factor and that quality is at issue, noting that at this time neither Google or Digg do a very thorough job of sorting content according to its quality.

A spokesman for Google said that the company is not interested in obtaining data from Digg, according to ABC, but offered that Google News is consistently working to improve. Such statements regarding disinterest have not stopped speculation concerning such a deal.