Google Rumored to Buy Digg for Third Time

Google and Digg have apparently signed a letter of intent and are close to closing a deal that will make Digg part of the Google News empire.

The deal is reportedly set at the $200 million dollar range and would be a huge competitive blow to Microsoft, who has an advertising deal with Digg. This is the third time the “Google Digg” rumor has surfaced; however Digg has yet to publicly comment or “digg” this rumor.

Why would Digg be worth $200 million to Google? The auction for the social search engine would have strategic value for Google. Google would be able to build a superior Digg voting algorithm, Digg apparently can’t. Ask Google execs what the near-term future of search looks like and they’ll answer “social search.”…read more on the value of Digg for Google