What happened at Digg really points out that once something is out there, it’s out there. There’s no taking it back. Take down notices are irrelevant because even if Digg had held fast, the code would just keep popping up like a massive game of Whac-a-mole. Not to mention the fact that Digg is only a small corner of the internet anyway. It doesn’t matter what the information in question is, a hex number, an .mp3 song, or a motion picture… when it’s out there, it’s out there. Period.
This is a reality of the digital age. Wishing it to not be so, or worse, staking the future of a business or industry on it not being so, is suicide. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, stealing or not, it’s simply a practical matter of the way things are. You can fight it and waste a lot of time and energy with threatening letters, DRM, lawsuits, that will all ultimately make your own customers despise you – OR – you can try to deal with it and structure the economics in such a way that everyone gets paid fairly.
How can this be done?… Well I don’t know. But I do know that obsessing with the past means not working on the future. We need new ideas and new business models, not more of the same.
Knowledge goes everywhere and is not ashamed. – Issac Asimov
Enjoy the number:
Don’t forget the role that Google and others play in this. It doesn’t matter if it’s “out there”, if no one can find it. And the fact that Google and others keep copies of websites means the information can never be covered up, it’s part of the human consciousness forever! (even the guy caught taking a leak on Google Street View)