Is Digg Really that Scary? Apparently So.

When a group of us first started discussing the idea of having a mass blog campaign where Digg users would speak their mind about recent happenings at the top social media site, we considered many things.  We didn’t want the posts to be guided — the bloggers’ own opinions were what mattered, not any agenda that we might have.  We wanted to keep it open and free, and most of all, honest.

Tons of bloggers and non-bloggers alike have responded, sending me emails about how they really like the idea and want to contribute.  That part was expected.  The part that wasn’t expected has become very apparent and alarming.

Bloggers.  Fear.  Digg.

They want their voice heard, just not associated with their blog or Digg account.  They think that Digg will either ban their account or put their blog on “autobury” (even though digg vehemently denies manual autoburies, only ’spam’ buried sites).  Many do not want to give Digg any reason to go after them.

This is EXACTLY what we should have anticipated because it is exactly what we were hoping to fight against.  Digg has become a platform of social media fear.

When squeaky clean but outspoken Diggers like Tamar Weinberg find themselves on the ban list, it becomes apparent that nobody is safe.  Top Diggers, new diggers, and everyone in between have had their ranks reduced by these bans.  On top of all that, it seems that there is a distinct change in the way that Digg is treating small and new blogs, so the fear extends there as well.

If you’re not the Huffington Post, ArsTechnica, TorrentFreak, or Cracked, you probably won’t hit the front page of Digg very often.  That’s a completely different issue.

The issue that we didn’t anticipate, the extreme level of fear that is rampant, is comparable to Communist China.  Freedom of speech at Digg is perceived as non-existent.  Over digging is bad.  Submitting an anti-Digg post is bad.  Perhaps they are less like the Communist China and more like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.  Sounds like another blog post, but I digress.

ATTN: CONCERNED DIGGERS WHO WANT TO SPEAK OUT, CAREFULLY

I am opening up Soshable for a 1 week batch of guest posts.  If you have something to say, simply email a post to me with your name (or fake name if you want to be anonymous) and I will post it here, unedited.  There are certain things that I won’t post – extreme profanity, terrible writing, pointless bashing – but otherwise, the blog is yours for a week.  Send your posts to jd.rucker.oboy@gmail.com

Read more digg stories on this blog.

Tagged as: Digg