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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Digg-ing Power
I also had never had any experience with Digg.com prior to reading this chapter. I have to admit, without viewing the site first, it was sometimes difficult to follow the trends and anecdotes Levinson details about it. After viewing the site and reading up more on it, I came to the conclusion that the site is extremely participatory, which relates back to how democratic social media platforms are. I think, however, that Digg blatantly reveals the problems of mass participation, of giving people too much power-that coalitions, self-promotion and just overall nonsense articles moving up occur regularly. It again shows how beneficial and disadvantageous social media can be.
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Well said- these problems pose a real threat. Where do we draw the line? We like the idea that everyone has a say and can make a difference, but at the same time, even the ordinary citizen can take advantage of the social media surrounding us.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Digg exhibits the issue on mass participation. It is upsetting that a social news website and the freedom it offers in terms of participating, are taken advantage of by those who have different motives in mind other than sharing and discovering stories of interest.
ReplyDeleteIt is upsetting for the individual struggling to get by on merit to discover that others have hacked and are gaming the system, but is it avoidable? Whatever rules are in play, won't some people read the rulebook and figure out the best way to take advantage of them?
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