Digg's online crowd flexes its muscle
Backlash over the site administrators' attempt to squelch postings of a secret encryption code shows power of free-speech-minded Web users.
from the May 4, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"Digg is supposed to be the opposite of censorship," he said. "Our attorneys were advising us that it is always better to be safe than sorry and continue removing the stories. But the users clearly wanted it … and this was something we didn't want to suppress anymore."
What could have been an unraveling for Digg and other social websites – that peek behind the curtain to discover that the online community is not truly in control – turned into a solidifying event for the idea that the Internet is as much a tool for participating as it is for publishing. For many users, the code wasn't the point. The Digg deluge was about reclaiming the reins.
"This had the possibility of being a very dark moment, and it's turned out to be quite a strong statement about what it means to have socially driven websites," says John Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. "It was civil disobedience on restriction of free speech – but in an Internet fashion."
Digg's mixture of news stories, blog entries, and democratic philosophy has been a winning formula for the San Francisco start-up. Last August, Business Week appraised the 18-month-old website at $60 million.
But the aggregator and similar social sites, such as YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace, do not really create anything themselves. They're just bulletin boards.
"Without users, there's very little there," says Mary Madden, a senior researcher for the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington. "The successful sites are those that can foster a lot of good communication and, sometimes, forgiveness."
Last month 16.5 million people visited Digg. And where there's buzz, advertisers follow. But when the business model relies on users bringing the content with them, keeping a sense of authenticity is key.
Last year, several users posited conspiracy theories on how certain stories made it to the top of the site. Although the allegations of a hidden hand orchestrating rankings were never proven, many Digg users threatened to leave.
"I still read the site every day, but I post much fewer stories and make fewer comments," says Chad Udell, a web developer
in Morton, Ill. "For these people-driven sites, if I feel like I don't have an equal voice, then why bother?" [Editor's note: The original version misattributed the quote.]
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