Digg Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced an agreement in which the two companies will collaborate to bring relevant advertising to the more than 17 million unique monthly visitors to Digg, a Web site that harnesses the collective wisdom of its online audience to prioritize the overwhelming amount of content available on the Web.
As part of the relationship, Microsoft will be the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising on Digg. The two companies also agreed to work together on future technology and advertising initiatives.
“Our collaboration with Digg is about bringing our advertising technology and sales force to one of the fastest-growing sites on the Web and a true innovator in user-generated content,” said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft, in the press release. “We believe advertisers will welcome Microsoft and Digg’s combined strengths to forge more meaningful connections online.”
Microsoft and Federated Media Publishing, Digg’s current advertising partner, plan to collaborate to bring integrated programs to Digg’s users and advertisers. “Federated Media has unique advertising sales assets that dovetail with our efforts, and we look forward to working with them,” Berkowitz said.
“We’re now positioned to provide a world-class advertising solution that builds upon Digg’s philosophy of providing a great experience for users and advertisers,” said Jay Adelson, CEO of Digg, in the press release. “As the Digg audience continues to grow and diversify, we believe that this initiative with Microsoft, and the resources that it provides, will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site.”
“We are thrilled to work with these two world-class companies,” said John Battelle, founder and CEO of Federated Media, in the press release. “Digg is truly a remarkable brand.”
The companies expect to begin execution of the agreement in the coming weeks.
Digg: yet another bookmark to delete.
Good-bye Digg, I’m done with you.
Digg: The Microsoft Fan Boy Site. Positive Apple, Inc. articles need not apply.
Wow starts now! Micro$oft pays $17 000 000 to get more clicks in Digg for it´s product like Zune and ex-box. Digg is no more relevant. (If it ever was?)
You read my mind, Mike. The only thing worse than web-based advertising is web-based advertising site with M$ involvement.
This is the last straw. Besides their wacked out politicial stories that keep getting on the front page (impeach this and that, Mike Gravel, etc), they are now doing to sell out to Microsoft?
Bye Digg
MDNews Magic Word “Started” as in “Digg started off being good, but now….”
shoot. now i have to avoid DIGG.com
Digg just became about 1000% uncooler.
They goes the last on the anti-M$ posts. Now instead of being killed by M$ astroturfers they’ll be killed by policy.
See ya!
For immediate release:
ALL non Microsoft stories on DIGG which includes Apple, will now be replaced with happy positive Microsoft stories. ALL iPod and iPhone stories will be replaced with ZUNE stories (mainly about the brown ZUNE).
Thank you for using MS DIGG 2007. All your tiny brains belong to us.
Microsoft is cool, because we can buy into cool.
We’re cool now..right…anybody?
digg has been dicked…
“Microsoft will be the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising”
No matter who your advertiser is, if they have the exclusive, say goodbye to integrity, accuracy, impartiality and accountability. (If there ever was any).
M$ will now call the shots.
I could get two shits who provides the ad revenue for digg…. sometimes you people crack me up.
microsoft doesn’t have to lose for apple to win.
jeez.
I’ve never had a “Digg” habit and, once I realized how it worked, that ensured I’d NEVER use Digg. So for me, no loss.
Magic Word – nothing
There’s NOTHING there I couldn’t read elsewhere anyway.
keep in mind that rose is a HUGE mac fan…
i am sure all the ads will sway in micro$oft’s favor <— ooh, look i put a $ for the “s” — i am so awesome to poop on micro$oft… oh snap, i did it again.
really… let’s pass around the tin foil hats ya’ll.
So web 1.0
Ciao Digg
I find all my stuff on digg via their feeds anyway.
Now you know why RoughlyDrafted was blacklisted from Digg.
Digg a hole and bury the website
Paid advertising controls content. Welcome to 1984.
MW against: If you’re not with us…
I created a membership with DIGG and was horrified to find everything I did, liked, said, was logged, cached, recorded, and available to anyone on the internet to resource via a simple Google search. I am surprised that so many would think nothing of this as it allows anyone to create a profile on them, politically or otherwise. Ultimately information of this type may seem harmless, but sadly it could be used by police or anti-terrorist organization to help falsely incriminate a person should they show liberal attitudes toward drug use, guns, or even anti-government sentiments. All you have to do is look at how a mere email, which is relatively private, can be accessed and destroy a person’s reputation.
DIGG makes it purposely difficult to delete your account, making a person request it be deleted via email, and even then they do not not scrub the cached databases. Add an agreement with Micro$oft to target users and I find the whole concept very disconcerting.
DIGG will defintely be removed from my bookmarks. I might even block it.
” will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site.”
How does one equate “new and innovative features” with a company like Microsoft?
Excuse me Jay Adelson. Here is a tissue to wipe the “L” off your forehead. You might want to use some soap. A little bit difficule to get off.
Screw them!!!
Alex is a goober anyway.