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It has been reported that the top 100 Digg users controlled 56% of Digg's frontpage content, and that a niche group of just twenty individuals had submitted 25% of the frontpage content.[18][10] A few sites[6] have raised the problem of groupthink and the possibility that the site is being "manipulated", so to speak. In response to this question, the site's founder Kevin Rose has announced an upcoming change to the site's algorithm[19]:
While we don't disclose exactly how story promotion works (to prevent gaming the system), I can say that a key update is coming soon. This algorithm update will look at the unique digging diversity of the individuals digging the story. Users that follow a gaming pattern will have less promotion weight. This doesn't mean that the story won't be promoted, it just means that a more diverse pool of individuals will be need to deem the story homepage-worthy.
[20]
Some popular news sites have reported instances of possible censorship, including Digg users who claim to have been banned for criticizing sponsors[21][22][23] and allegations of the unreasonable banning of entire domain names[24]. In response, Rose has stated that:
Once a story has received enough user reports it is automatically removed from the digg queue or homepage (depending on where the story is living at that time). The number of reports required varies depending on how many diggs the story has. This system is going to change in the near future. Soon, reported stories will fall into a 'buried stories' bin. Users will have the ability to pick through this story bin and vote to have a story reinstated should they believe it was falsely reported.
[22]
AACS encryption key controversy
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On May 1, 2007 an article appeared on Digg’s homepage that contained the encryption key for the AACS digital rights management protection of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Then Digg, "acting on the advice of its lawyers", removed posting submissions about the secret number from its database and banned several users for submitting it. The removals were seen by many Digg users as a capitulation to corporate interests and an assault on free speech.[25] A statement by Jay Adelson attributed the article’s take-down to an attempt to comply with cease and desist letters from the Advanced Access Content System consortium and cited Digg’s Terms of Use as justification for taking down the article.[26]
Although some users defended Digg's actions,[27][28][29] as a whole the community staged a wide-spread revolt with numerous articles and comments being made using the encryption key.[30][31] The scope of the user response was so great that one of the Digg users referred to it as a "digital Boston Tea Party".[32] The response was also directly responsible for Digg reversing the policy and stating:
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But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you’ve made it clear. You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be.[33] |
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—Kevin Rose
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Competition
On February 26, 2008, Yahoo! launched a similar community bookmarking site entitled Yahoo! Buzz. The service, much like Digg allows users to buzz news stories that are published by users and the most popular stories are displayed on the main page. The site was created in direct competition of Digg's online market, and is an attempt at creating a narrower gap between the popularity of Yahoo!'s major search competitors Google and MSN.
See also
References
- , Revisiting Top 10 Web Predictions of 2006
- , MacManus, Richard (2006-02-01). Interview with Digg founder Kevin Rose, Part 1. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
- , silverorange | Digg
- , Diggproof your Wordpress. Circle 6 Design (2007-01-22). Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- , Digging The Madness of Crowds
- , a b c Why Digg Failed
- , Digg continues to battle phony stories
- , Paying users for creating content
- , The Power of Digg
- , a b A Brief History of Digg Controversy
- , 'Democratic'? 'User-driven'? These do not describe Digg
- , Is Digg being subverted by some sort of spamming?
- , Is Digg Closer To Extinction Than We Realise?
- , Digg and the So-Called "Wisdom of Mobs"
- , ZDNet Not Immune To The "Bury Brigade"
- , An Open Letter to Kevin Rose
- , Watching Digg's "bury brigade"
- , SEOmoz | Top 100 Digg Users Control 56% of Digg's HomePage Content
- , Digg to tweak its algorithm
- , Digg Friends
- , Growing Censorship Concerns at Digg
- , a b Digg Censors Stories That Offend Sponsors
- , Responding to Kevin’s Non-Response Post
- , The hypocrisy of digg and spam
- , Stone, Brad. "In Web Uproar, Antipiracy Code Spreads Wildly", New York Times, 2007-05-03. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- , Jay Adelson. Digg the Blog: What's Happening with HD-DVD Stories?.
- , TGdaily: Cease and desist letters backfire horribly against AACS
- , Digg losing control of their site
- , DRM lobby tries to get HD DVD genie back into the bottle
- , Marcus Yam. DailyTech: AACS Key Censorship Leads to First Internet Riot. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
- , BBC News: DVD DRM row sparks user rebellion. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
- , [1] Digg's DRM Revolt
- , Kevin Rose (2007-05-01). Digg This: 09 F9 [...]. Digg the Blog. Digg Inc. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |
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