I really wasn't planning on making any comment on the new version of Digg, but enough people have asked me about it so here it is. As it so happens, botched site relaunches are something I know a thing or two about.

Back when we were doing Fark TV, someone emailed in a complaint that I've never forgotten. They said they didn't like the show because it was a sketch comedy show that had the name Fark stamped on top. There wasn't really anything Fark about it. You can't just stick the Fark name in there and expect the Fark community to just adopt it as their own, they said. Whoever sent that in was right.

Digg just made the same mistake. They just scrapped their existing site, replaced it with a new one, and told everyone it was Digg. That's what everyone's angry about: it's not Digg, and they really resent being repeatedly told that it is.

As for the actual Diggv4 site concept, I have no idea if it's genius or stupid. I can't tell, maybe it's the next Twitter, maybe it's the next MySpace. Time will tell.

Headlines Of The Week for Sun 2010-08-22 to Sat 2010-08-28:

   Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay, I sleep all night and I work all day. I cut down trees, I rob some banks, I go to the lavatory. On Friday I'm arrested, and charged with a felony    

   Woman gets third tattoo at age 101, apparently unconcerned that it's permanent    

   Camel milk expected on European shelves next year. Promoters claim it makes great sheiks    

   Two-foot-long alligator found hiding under NYC car. It was apparently subletting it for $1500 a month    

   Air bag technology has made it safer for equestrian riders who fall off their horses. That is super, man    

   Chiropractor accused of masturbating and ejaculating on woman's back. In other news, a chiropractor actually did something to someone's back    

   Man sets world record by spending 114 days with 40 dangerous snakes, beating the previous record held by a congressional staffer    

   Vagina tree in Thailand tempts locals to Bangkok    

   Woman found dead on wedding day. Now they just have to find something old, something new and something borrowed    

   Japanese researchers develop touchable 3D TV images. "This technology could create a virtual museum," said researcher with a straight face    

   A tourist snapping photos of a Iranian sunrise is jailed and subjected to "white torture,", which, I don't know for sure, but I think involves brunch and Steely Dan music    


Sports:

   Ben Roethlisberger returns to the field in Steelers' preseason game, seeing his first serious action since early this year in a Georgia women's restroom    

   Tiger Woods divorce settlement becomes the most expensive 18 holes he's ever played    

   The Rocket faces his toughest opponent yet, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. REGGIE REGGIE REGGIE    


Geek:

   Depressed teen plays Xbox 15 hours per day. If only there were a way to console him    

   Wired youth in China and Japan are forgetting how to write, eat with forks    

   Multitasking DOING ONE THING is for people AT A TIME who don't like WORKS to think BETTER too much    


Showbiz:

   Jon Gosselin to write book about parenting skills. Hopefully it's thick enough to make a good coaster    

   U.S. Marshals fail to take Wesley Snipes to prison. This sounds very, very familiar    

   Oprah Winfrey wants to host her talk show's series finale inside a stadium next fall. Wrigley Field would work perfectly; it's never used after August    


Politics:

   "Democrats should run on their record instead of reacting to Republican characterizations of it," says columnist unaware Democrats are not of the phylum Chordata    

   It took a microscope and Sharron Angle saying some Congressmen may be enemies of the state, but Harry Reid's spine has finally been located    

   Estimates show that there would be fewer jobs and larger deficits under the Republicans' plan. Republicans say that's impossible, they don't have a plan    


Music:

   Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown wants the group to reunite. That seems like a lot of work to get people together to sing just one song    

   Jimmy Page is releasing his autobiography later this year. It will contain 500 pages of text, 650 photographs, be individually autographed, and sell for $688 before shipping and handling    

   Iron Maiden likes to keep their tours simple, like their fans    


Business:

   The bad economy makes people rethink renting rather than home ownership, soon be followed by rethinking living with parents, then living on the street, then the sweet sweet release of death    

   Sex toys prove recession-proof, inflation-friendly    

   Johnson and Johnson recalls hip implants after complaints of hip failure, accelerated Pelvic Thrusts    
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