Alexis Ohanian Confirms He Doesn't Miss Reddit

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian recently returned to the platform he helped build, but not for a nostalgic trip down memory lane. He conducted an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Monday, but his motivation was to promote a different venture entirely: the relaunch of Reddit's old rival, Digg.

During the session, a user posed a direct question about his past. They asked if he missed anything about being in leadership at the company he started more than two decades ago. Ohanian's response was immediate and unambiguous. He did not hesitate to share his feelings about the platform he left five years ago.

The question was straightforward: "Do you miss anything about being in leadership at Reddit?" Ohanian's answer was just as direct. He replied with a curt, definitive statement that left no room for interpretation.

"I do not."

This brief exchange highlights the significant distance Ohanian has put between himself and his former company. His return to the platform was purely transactional—a strategic move to draw attention to his new project. The AMA served as a platform not for reminiscing, but for looking forward.

The session was centered on the upcoming Digg reboot, a project that brings together a notable reunion in the tech world. Ohanian is collaborating with entrepreneur Kevin Rose to breathe new life into a platform that was once a major competitor to Reddit.

Ohanian's departure from Reddit was not a quiet exit. He stepped down from the company's board of directors in June 2020, a move he described at the time as "long overdue." The decision came in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, a moment of national reckoning.

At the time, Ohanian wrote on Reddit that he was taking the step to "do the right thing." He publicly urged the board to fill his vacant seat with a Black candidate. This call to action came after the company had faced sustained criticism for providing a platform for racist and hate speech.

During his recent AMA, Ohanian clarified his motivations for leaving. He stated that his exit was a calculated effort to create external pressure for internal change. He said he left Reddit "to pressure the company to make policy changes like banning racist/hate communities." His departure was a strategic move intended to force the platform to confront its moderation policies.

The platform Ohanian is now championing, Digg, has a storied history. It was founded in 2004 by entrepreneurs Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson as a direct competitor to Reddit. For a time, it was a dominant force in social news aggregation.

The platform's history includes a near-acquisition by a tech giant. In 2008, Google floated a deal to purchase Digg for $180 million, though the acquisition ultimately did not materialize. The company's fortunes later shifted, and it was sold to the venture capital fund Betaworks in 2012 for just $500,000.

Now, the platform is being reacquired by its original co-founder. Last year, it was reported that Rose had reacquired Digg, and he has now been joined by Ohanian. The two are collaborating on a vision to relaunch the platform for a new era of the internet.

Ohanian and Rose are positioning the new Digg as a direct response to the current state of social media algorithms. Ohanian promised that the relaunched platform will be community-first and feature a transparent algorithm. He described the feed logic as being "based on what you actually follow."

A central pillar of their pitch is a rejection of what Ohanian termed "AI-driven enshittification." He provided a clear and detailed explanation of what this means for Digg's development. The platform will not use artificial intelligence to manipulate the user experience.

"We are not using AI to rank content, shape discourse, personalize feeds, or decide what you should see. There is no black box recommendation engine optimizing for engagement. Our feed logic is simple, published, and human readable."

This approach marks a significant departure from the opaque, engagement-optimizing systems that dominate major social platforms today. The promise of a transparent, human-readable system is a core part of Digg's new identity.

The relaunch of Digg represents more than just a nostalgic return; it is an attempt to build a social platform with a fundamentally different philosophy. By rejecting AI-driven personalization and prioritizing transparency, Ohanian and Rose are betting that users are ready for an alternative to the current social media landscape.

The project is still in its early stages, but its core mission is already clearly defined. The goal is to create a space where the user, not an algorithm, is in control. As the launch approaches, the tech world will be watching to see if this old rival can offer a new solution.