Friday, March 16, 2012

Digg founder to join Google

Digg.com founder Kevin Rose is joining search giant Google and may provide its social network Google+ a needed boost, a tech site reported.

All Things Digital cited sources close to the situation who said staffers of Milk Inc., an app incubator Rose founded, are also joining Google and may earn $1 to 2 million each.

It added that while Google declined to comment and Rose did not reply to multiple requests, its sources said Rose’s first day at Google is to be this Monday.

On the other hand, it noted Rose’s Milk Inc. is shutting down its only product “Oink,” a local recommendations app. It was not clear what Milk Inc.’s fate would be.

AllThingsD said its sources also noted Milk investors are getting their initial investment money back plus a little extra.

It added Rose has an avid online following, stemming from his stint as a host on TechTV and the podcast “Diggnation.”

“That kind of ongoing fan engagement could be a boon to Google+, which has been criticized for low engagement and tricky user accounting,” AllThingsD said.

On the other hand, AllThingsD noted Google had been very close to buying Digg in 2008, but the deal fell apart at the last minute.

Rose has also had an impressive run as an angel investor, putting money into companies like Fab, Zynga, Ngmoco, Foursquare and Twitter. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com