Update from Jay | Hacker News Reader

Update from Jay

about.digg.com

55 pointsGVRV13 comments

Could have used a better title..

I agree. I nearly passed on the article because of the title. "Digg CEO steps down" might have been a better title.

"Kevin Rose back in the drivers seat" would have worked well. It seems to me that's a pretty rare occurrence, with a founder taking the reigns again after several years. Good for Digg!

I really doubt that. Kevin and Jay sold stock and gave up control, and I'd say the company is firmly in control of the VCs. Kevin makes a better figurehead.

So do you think Kevin is a lame duck over there? I think most people can't fathom digg.com without Kevin Rose. So him becoming chairman and interim CEO will be viewed as a positive to a lot of people, myself included. Even if the VC have control of the board, don't you think Kevin will have a better position to exert influence as chairman? I would be very interested to hear your opinion on this. If that's ok (trying not to fanboy out)

I probably shouldn't talk through my hat too much, I've been away so long that anything I say probably isn't accurate. I couldn't help but verbalize my initial reaction though.

EDIT: Although reading through the techcrunch article, I'm more convinced I'm correct.

I'm not sure I agree. Jay had a pretty strong dislike of VCs and put a lot of effort into protecting Kevin and his company from that stuff.

I actually met Jay last month and he mentioned a few times that he was perpetually tired (he lives in NY, but works at Digg's offices in CA), although he also seemed very excited about the future of Digg, so it's a bit surprising to see him go.

Which part do you disagree with? He certainly didn't protect me. In fact I'd say he deliberately sacrificed me to protect himself and Kevin from the VCs.

I'm not saying they're saints and you have the right to be bitter, but from what I understand I don't think Jay would have let the VCs get so much control. But then who knows what's really going...

Why do founders usually step down after a while?

I always wondered why Kevin wasn't the CEO in the first place, he seems to have all the ideas and the drive. VCs probably wanted someone experienced at the helm. I dunno. :-)

fyi, this is not an update from me.

I, for one, and disappointed.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com