It’s now basically public information that social news site Digg is shopping itself. VentureBeat cites a “reliable source” in saying the company has hired private investment firm Allen & Company to sell Digg. However, the site has apparently been on the block for many months (or longer). TechCrunch has a history of the sale rumors.

With the massive $15 billion Facebook valuation and overheated predictions of ad spending on social media sites, Digg management and investors are apparently looking to get out sooner rather than later — and preempt the market for acquisitions (at inflated prices) drying up or the U.S. economy heading into recession.

Someone will likely acquire the site and its community of loyal users. The question is can Digg fetch its desired, lofty price tag?

Microsoft is Digg’s ad serving provider.

Related Topics: Search Engines: Digg | Social Media Marketing

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling