In his first public blog post as the CEO of Digg, Matt Williams has apologized for the missteps that have characterized Digg version 4, saying that he is, “sorry that we disappointed our Digg community in the process,” and promising to continue bringing back features that users miss.

Among the returning features will be the “bury” button, profile data from earlier versions and an updated “Top News” algorithm – all of which have been high on the list of user complaints since the new version of Digg debuted back in August.

Of course, whether appeasing Digg’s most vocal critics is the right strategy is a subject that’s open for debate. As we’ve noted, news consumption habits have shifted dramatically since Digg first appeared on the scene, and version 4 was in large part a response to that. But Digg's diehard users have other ideas and continue to show their displeasure with the new site.

Digg may be trying to have it both ways, however. As Williams writes, “Our top priority is to make Digg as good as it used to be. Then we plan to make it even better, through innovations in both Top News and My News.” But even that might only get Digg back to where it started. Most third-party analytics data shows Digg’s traffic significantly lower than at its peak, though Williams says the company is still seeing 23 million unique visitors per month.

That gives the company some time to sort it out, but whether it can both appease those who have abandoned Digg and find new users to spur growth remains very much in question.