New Digg takes cues from Facebook and Twitter

The new version of Digg launches for all users this week, with the link-sharing social network taking some cues from Facebook and Twitter.

Founder and CEO Kevin Rose explained how the new changes will impact users over on the Digg blog

Follows Facebook and Twitter

The new-look Digg has been in invitation-only alpha testing for over a year now, and focuses on a Facebook and Twitter style system of following other users.

"Hey everyone, I'm excited to announce that today we opened up the newest version of our Digg platform. We've been working hard on this next evolution of Digg (what we've been calling "v4") and everyone here is really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the changes we've made," writes Rose.

"This redesign is a major revision of our platform – front end to back end – this is just phase one of what will be an on-going, iterative process, involving lots of input from all of you. We'll be pushing out features on a regular basis and tweaking often.

"Our goal has always been for Digg to be a place where people can discover and share content and conversations from anywhere on the web. With Digg v4, we are introducing a few things that will make discovering and discussing news a lot better."

"My News"

Digg users also get a new view called "My News" clearly displaying links from those you follow, offering a more streamlined version of what it popular and of direct interest to you at any given time.

However, "Top News" view is still set to be the default view, with "My News" as an option for those that prefer it.

The latest redesign is the first since Digg founder Kevin Rose took over from Jay Adelson as CEO.

Digg's traffic has slumped over the past twelve months, particularly when compared to the exponential growth of Twitter and Facebook

You can see a detailed walkthrough video of the new Digg with Kevin Rose on Vimeo.

Via Digg.com and GigaOM