Another Nail in Digg or Falling on It’s Sword?
Believe me when I say that I am not looking for these articles. However, today I have found another article that references the removal of the Top Digg Users list from the service. This time the article suggests that the removal of the list has taken the incentive away from users to participate in the community. In addition to the fact that the actions of Digg administration may well be killing off it’s own dedicated community all be it one of complete chaos.
Wisdump suggests that the Digg community thrives on an open system and community, without rules where the wisdom of the crowd is relied upon to filter the results. Problem (or not) is that with this type of anarchy the result will be chaos in one form or another. I would suggest that it is this chaos that Digg is trying to control. They don’t want the community to be chaotic, random with a mob mentality. They don’t want the system “gamed” or abused. But that is all a part of chaos right? A situation that they have encouraged by the system they have in place. That then implies that there is nothing wrong with Digg because, it works. It is doing exactly what it should based on the community rules. The very fact that the list reappeared days after it’s removal is evidence of this.
I thought that this summed up the Digg community very well:
“The Wisdom of Crowds phenomenon did kick in. The geek masses love Linux, Apple, Google, Anime and Nintendo. Geeks also have a need to feel superior to their peers so they will want their stories getting pushed onto the frontpage even if it is a duplicate. Many site owners are driven by the need for that traffic fix so again and again they are going to submit trash articles. Everyone wants to be the cool, funny guy at the lunch table so the comments are going to turn into a comedy club. And hell, if you can make a little extra cash to use your power that you earned to get stuff on the frontpage then why not go for it?”
So is that a problem? Maybe not if that is what it is supposed to be. I don’t think it makes for quality journalism though. But is that what people want from Digg? Maybe maybe not. Perhaps Digg has become a micro niche that we go to for a certain “quirkyness” that you can not get anywhere else. Similar to reading the tabloid as opposed to the New York Times. Digg is not Slashdot and never will be. Perhaps the greater online community is looking for Slashdot quality and style in Digg where, because of the rules it is impossible.
So if the above description is what Digg is supposed to be then why is Kevin Rose trying to “fix” it? When all he may be doing it is isolating the community that has been encouraged and trying to make it something it is not. The result will be the death of Digg. Maybe Knightwise is right but from a totally different perspective. Digg might commit suicide.
Then there is this from the comments in the same article:
“If I were the CEO of Digg, I’d stick my head in a volcano rather than listen to that twit, Kevin Rose.”
What can I say?
February 8th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
There are two alternatives. Either Digg is going to run its “natural evolution” where complete anarchy is the common denominator. Where there are no rules whatsoever. Digg in its purest form. The only problem is that this would work if all users where equal. when there was no popularity contest going on, when there where no outside websites who could gain substantial traffic from a “good Digg”. But the point is : It is not like that . The chaotic model of Digg exists in a “real-virtual- world” where ‘politics’ ‘popularity’ and ‘revenue’ and personal ‘interests’ matter. So the “chaotic” nature of Digg is inevitably self-destructive. Yet the alternative is just as bad. If mister Rose will start to ‘Govern’ Digg it would change the very nature of the phenomenon causing users to loose interests causing the “Demise of Digg”. So its a no-win scenario. Digg is too “Wild” to ever become Slashdot, but also too “Wild” to ever outlive it. I wonder how many sleepless nights Kevin has had so far, trying to figure out just what to do next.