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Feb 26, 2016 · 27m · 20vc

20VC: Digg CEO, Gary Liu on The Rebirth Of Digg & The Evolution Of Content

Gary Liu · 21m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

On this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews newly appointed Digg CEO Gary Liu about his executive career across Google, AOL, and Spotify, the historical downfall and rebirth of Digg, and his strategic vision for content discovery, community engagement, and native monetization.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 16.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 1.7 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 0.5 Harry pushing back 0.3
05100:0010:0020:001:27–5:16 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Gary Liu's Background and Journey to Digg Harry welcomes Gary and asks straightforward conversational questions about his career path from Google to AOL, Spotify, and Digg. Gary provides a friendly, detailed chronological summary of his background without any friction.5:16–8:21 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Key Takeaways from Google, AOL, and Spotify Harry asks what core operating principles Gary took away from working at tech giants like Google, AOL, and Spotify. Gary explains the distinct lessons learned from each company phase, such as efficiency in local news at Patch and scaling ad revenue at Spotify.8:21–14:36 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Digg's History, Decline, and Rebuilding Harry brings up past interview guest Matt Williams (former Digg CEO) to show context on Digg's history, playfully teasing Gary for moving to Reddit during Digg's decline. Gary delivers a thorough retrospective on the v4 release failure and how Betaworks rebuilt Digg with a hybrid data-editorial model.14:36–18:24 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Content Strategy and Introducing Digg Dialogue Harry asks whether Digg leans toward HuffPost long-form or BuzzFeed short-form content. Gary politely reframes Harry's assumption by highlighting that BuzzFeed produces top-tier long-form journalism, before explaining Digg's quality discovery focus and new Digg Dialogue feature.18:24–22:47 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Monetization Challenges and Branded Content Strategy Harry inquires about monetization strategies amidst shrinking ad dollars. Gary details the value gap created by ad blockers and explains Digg's branded content partnership approach, drawing parallels to solving monetization at Spotify.22:47–26:54 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Quick Fire Round with Gary Liu Harry conducts a quick-fire question round on career highlights, reading materials, admired founders, and productivity tools. Gary shares a fun anecdote about Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker and answers rapidly in a highly collaborative spirit.1:27–5:16 · Guest teaching 2/10 Gary Liu's Background and Journey to Digg Harry welcomes Gary and asks straightforward conversational questions about his career path from Google to AOL, Spotify, and Digg. Gary provides a friendly, detailed chronological summary of his background without any friction.5:16–8:21 · Guest teaching 3/10 Key Takeaways from Google, AOL, and Spotify Harry asks what core operating principles Gary took away from working at tech giants like Google, AOL, and Spotify. Gary explains the distinct lessons learned from each company phase, such as efficiency in local news at Patch and scaling ad revenue at Spotify.8:21–14:36 · Guest teaching 4/10 Digg's History, Decline, and Rebuilding Harry brings up past interview guest Matt Williams (former Digg CEO) to show context on Digg's history, playfully teasing Gary for moving to Reddit during Digg's decline. Gary delivers a thorough retrospective on the v4 release failure and how Betaworks rebuilt Digg with a hybrid data-editorial model.14:36–18:24 · Guest teaching 5/10 Content Strategy and Introducing Digg Dialogue Harry asks whether Digg leans toward HuffPost long-form or BuzzFeed short-form content. Gary politely reframes Harry's assumption by highlighting that BuzzFeed produces top-tier long-form journalism, before explaining Digg's quality discovery focus and new Digg Dialogue feature.18:24–22:47 · Guest teaching 4/10 Monetization Challenges and Branded Content Strategy Harry inquires about monetization strategies amidst shrinking ad dollars. Gary details the value gap created by ad blockers and explains Digg's branded content partnership approach, drawing parallels to solving monetization at Spotify.22:47–26:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Quick Fire Round with Gary Liu Harry conducts a quick-fire question round on career highlights, reading materials, admired founders, and productivity tools. Gary shares a fun anecdote about Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker and answers rapidly in a highly collaborative spirit.1:27–5:16 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Gary Liu's Background and Journey to Digg Harry welcomes Gary and asks straightforward conversational questions about his career path from Google to AOL, Spotify, and Digg. Gary provides a friendly, detailed chronological summary of his background without any friction.5:16–8:21 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Key Takeaways from Google, AOL, and Spotify Harry asks what core operating principles Gary took away from working at tech giants like Google, AOL, and Spotify. Gary explains the distinct lessons learned from each company phase, such as efficiency in local news at Patch and scaling ad revenue at Spotify.8:21–14:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Digg's History, Decline, and Rebuilding Harry brings up past interview guest Matt Williams (former Digg CEO) to show context on Digg's history, playfully teasing Gary for moving to Reddit during Digg's decline. Gary delivers a thorough retrospective on the v4 release failure and how Betaworks rebuilt Digg with a hybrid data-editorial model.14:36–18:24 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Content Strategy and Introducing Digg Dialogue Harry asks whether Digg leans toward HuffPost long-form or BuzzFeed short-form content. Gary politely reframes Harry's assumption by highlighting that BuzzFeed produces top-tier long-form journalism, before explaining Digg's quality discovery focus and new Digg Dialogue feature.18:24–22:47 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Monetization Challenges and Branded Content Strategy Harry inquires about monetization strategies amidst shrinking ad dollars. Gary details the value gap created by ad blockers and explains Digg's branded content partnership approach, drawing parallels to solving monetization at Spotify.22:47–26:54 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quick Fire Round with Gary Liu Harry conducts a quick-fire question round on career highlights, reading materials, admired founders, and productivity tools. Gary shares a fun anecdote about Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker and answers rapidly in a highly collaborative spirit.1:27–5:16 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Gary Liu's Background and Journey to Digg Harry welcomes Gary and asks straightforward conversational questions about his career path from Google to AOL, Spotify, and Digg. Gary provides a friendly, detailed chronological summary of his background without any friction.5:16–8:21 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Key Takeaways from Google, AOL, and Spotify Harry asks what core operating principles Gary took away from working at tech giants like Google, AOL, and Spotify. Gary explains the distinct lessons learned from each company phase, such as efficiency in local news at Patch and scaling ad revenue at Spotify.8:21–14:36 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Digg's History, Decline, and Rebuilding Harry brings up past interview guest Matt Williams (former Digg CEO) to show context on Digg's history, playfully teasing Gary for moving to Reddit during Digg's decline. Gary delivers a thorough retrospective on the v4 release failure and how Betaworks rebuilt Digg with a hybrid data-editorial model.14:36–18:24 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Content Strategy and Introducing Digg Dialogue Harry asks whether Digg leans toward HuffPost long-form or BuzzFeed short-form content. Gary politely reframes Harry's assumption by highlighting that BuzzFeed produces top-tier long-form journalism, before explaining Digg's quality discovery focus and new Digg Dialogue feature.18:24–22:47 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Monetization Challenges and Branded Content Strategy Harry inquires about monetization strategies amidst shrinking ad dollars. Gary details the value gap created by ad blockers and explains Digg's branded content partnership approach, drawing parallels to solving monetization at Spotify.22:47–26:54 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quick Fire Round with Gary Liu Harry conducts a quick-fire question round on career highlights, reading materials, admired founders, and productivity tools. Gary shares a fun anecdote about Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker and answers rapidly in a highly collaborative spirit.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 55.2% · guest 44.8%0:00 · Harry 55.2% · guest 44.8%3:00 · Harry 6% · guest 94%3:00 · Harry 6% · guest 94%6:00 · Harry 10.4% · guest 89.6%6:00 · Harry 10.4% · guest 89.6%9:00 · Harry 5.7% · guest 94.3%9:00 · Harry 5.7% · guest 94.3%12:00 · Harry 6.6% · guest 93.4%12:00 · Harry 6.6% · guest 93.4%15:00 · Harry 6.1% · guest 93.9%15:00 · Harry 6.1% · guest 93.9%18:00 · Harry 12% · guest 88%18:00 · Harry 12% · guest 88%21:00 · Harry 17% · guest 83%21:00 · Harry 17% · guest 83%24:00 · Harry 14.4% · guest 85.6%24:00 · Harry 14.4% · guest 85.6%27:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%27:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:32 Gentle pushback on publisher categorization

Gary gently challenges Harry's framing that BuzzFeed is purely short-form content, pointing out that Jonah Peretti's team produces excellent long-form journalism.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 8:14 Host playfully calls out guest's platform switch

Harry calls out Gary for abandoning Digg for Reddit during its decline with a playful 'Shame on you for that' comment before probing into Digg's failure.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:20 Correcting misconceptions about content formats

Gary corrects Harry's assumption regarding media formats by explaining how modern digital publishers operate across breaking news, viral content, and long-form quality content simultaneously.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 9:36 Citing former CEO interview context

Harry demonstrates domain familiarity with Digg's corporate history by mentioning his previous interview with former Digg CEO Matt Williams.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Gary Liu's Background and Journey to Digg 1200 Harry welcomes Gary and asks straightforward conversational questions about his career path from Google to AOL, Spotify, and Digg. Gary provides a friendly, detailed chronological summary of his background without any friction.
Key Takeaways from Google, AOL, and Spotify 1300 Harry asks what core operating principles Gary took away from working at tech giants like Google, AOL, and Spotify. Gary explains the distinct lessons learned from each company phase, such as efficiency in local news at Patch and scaling ad revenue at Spotify.
Digg's History, Decline, and Rebuilding 3411 Harry brings up past interview guest Matt Williams (former Digg CEO) to show context on Digg's history, playfully teasing Gary for moving to Reddit during Digg's decline. Gary delivers a thorough retrospective on the v4 release failure and how Betaworks rebuilt Digg with a hybrid data-editorial model.
Content Strategy and Introducing Digg Dialogue 2521 Harry asks whether Digg leans toward HuffPost long-form or BuzzFeed short-form content. Gary politely reframes Harry's assumption by highlighting that BuzzFeed produces top-tier long-form journalism, before explaining Digg's quality discovery focus and new Digg Dialogue feature.
Monetization Challenges and Branded Content Strategy 2400 Harry inquires about monetization strategies amidst shrinking ad dollars. Gary details the value gap created by ad blockers and explains Digg's branded content partnership approach, drawing parallels to solving monetization at Spotify.
Quick Fire Round with Gary Liu 1200 Harry conducts a quick-fire question round on career highlights, reading materials, admired founders, and productivity tools. Gary shares a fun anecdote about Lars Ulrich and Sean Parker and answers rapidly in a highly collaborative spirit.

Statements from this episode (6)

Assertion Supported
Spotify launched in the US in 2011 with 30 New York staff
“Spotify had just launched in the U.S., and the team in New York was still very small. It was about 30 people.”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 3:18
Assertion Supported
AOL's Patch reached 1,500 employees without generating material revenue
“When I was at Patch in AOL, it wasn't quite working. Patch hadn't figured out a business model, yet it had scaled the company. So Patch was 1500 people when I was there and unfortunately, we had not been generating material revenue yet, and we were trying to f…”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 6:48
Assertion Supported
Digg's 2010 decline was caused by the disastrous Version 4 launch
“It really was Dig version four. That was a launch in the summer of twenty-ten. Where Dig effectively fundamentally changed as a product. It wasn't just a user experience change. It wasn't just a branding change. It was the functionality and it was the kind of …”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 10:02
Assertion Partly supported
Digg was dismantled and sold to Washington Post, LinkedIn, and Betaworks
“At the end of 2012, what happened was that Dig was really split apart into kind of three different deals. The first was that a lot of the folks, the people, and the tech went to Washington Post, and then the second was that a bunch of the patents went to Linke…”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 11:48
Opinion
Gary Liu argues most tech blogs fail to cover Asia properly
“Tech blogs don't cover Asia properly. John happens to be embedded in Asia and knows the market really, really well. It's a fascinating marketplace, and I think he's the best at distilling what's going on there.”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 24:02
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Gary Liu predicts Digg will become a default app by 2021
“And we think that if we get best kind of discovery and best conversation and we find the intersection between those two, then it can become that stutter step app. And that's where we want to be in five years.”
Gary Liu Feb 26, 2016 ▶ 26:33
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