The anger of crowds – the Digg Mutiny

The big news of the moment is the Great May 1st Mutiny on Digg. The hoo-ha kicked off because a few stories were posted publicising the HD-DVD crack code, and the code’s rights-holders applied legal pressure to get the infringing material removed; then the users of the site rallied in protest at being censored by the owners and pressured the owners into taking a stand against the take-down notices.

 

This has interesting implications way beyond the DRM debate (although it’s sure to affect that in some way, too). What it does is highlight the power of user-driven social networks, for better or for worse. Perhaps the truth of the matter is that, as systems, they are inherently open to being gamed, for fun or for profit. But does that mean they’ll be a short-lived phenomenon, or is the power of crowds here to stay?