I’m going to take an unpopular stance on the Digg fiasco – Digg moderators were right to take down the HD-DVD hex code. Why?

1. The posting of the code was likely a violation of DMCA 1201. I’m not a lawyer, but does anyone remember the 2600 case? Digg’s hosting of the post containing the hex code could certainly be argued to be trafficking under current DMCA law.
2. The posting seems to violate the Digg Terms of Service – the same ToS we all agree to when registering at Digg.
3. Digg’s ToS further states they can remove posts and cancel accounts at any time if they feel it is necessary. Everyone who signs up has to buy into this.

So, what’s the problem? The problem is in how the initial take downs were handled. I know, just stay with me here.

Way back in the dark ages of the Internet (2001) another popular community site was faced with a similar situation. When Slashdot faced a DMCA takedown notice from the Church of Scientology, Cmdr Taco complied as required by law, but also immediately posted a message to the community explaining the situation. As a part of the community, he engaged the members in a discussion about the decision.

In Kevin’s case there was no takedown notice sent (yet) but Digg was rightfully taking down content they obviously felt was in violation of their ToS and likely the law. So, how should the situation have been handled? 2 options:

1. Leave the hex posting alone and wait for the DMCA notice. In this case there would have likely been few dupes of the post since Digg is generally good at moderating duplicate postings. If the takedown notice came, comply and engage the community in a discussion about the decision.
2. Delete the initial hex posting as they did. However, when the onslaught commenced, Kevin should have immediately gone to the community. A blog posting, a podcast, a video – anything that could explain the situation and ask for community support.

It seems to me the user revolt at Digg was not so much about the takedowns as it was about the mistrust it created. This situation reinforces the critical nature of transparency and is a lesson to be learned.

Am I suggesting that Digg owes the community a response for every post they remove? Of course not. They probably owe the poster a response, and I’ll bet they do that. But this case was special – not in the takedown, but the massive response it generated. Lets face it, have you ever seen this sort of response from the removal of a post?

Digg users are not off the hook on this by any means either. Being a part of a community involves abiding by the rules, self-policing and engaging in responsible behavior. The DDoS-like response from the community was inappropriate. If you don’t like the DMCA call your congressman.

UPDATE: It seems that Digg did alert community members of the post removals in a blog posting:

This has all come up in the past 24 hours, mostly connected to the HD-DVD hack that has been circulating online, having been posted to Digg as well as numerous other popular news and information websites. We’ve been notified by the owners of this intellectual property that they believe the posting of the encryption key infringes their intellectual property rights. In order to respect these rights and to comply with the law, we have removed postings of the key that have been brought to our attention.

Whether you agree or disagree with the policies of the intellectual property holders and consortiums, in order for Digg to survive, it must abide by the law. Digg’s Terms of Use, and the terms of use of most popular sites, are required by law to include policies against the infringement of intellectual property. This helps protect Digg from claims of infringement and being shut down due to the posting of infringing material by others.

So it would appear that Kevin and Jay did try to engage the community and were attempting to be as transparent as possible about the situation.

With that, my attention turns to the community.  It seems that Digg held up their end of the bargain, and what did they get in return? – an all out user revolt.  Come on diggers!  When you a part of the community you have to exercise some responsibility.  No one wants to live in a neighborhood where the guy next door has a couch and a car on blocks in the front yard.  You actions were unfair to Digg and in the end might ultimately get it shut down.

With a social network as user focused and “user run” as Digg, the users have to do some self-policing.  With great power comes great responsibility…

“On the Web, we let strangers tell us who to trust, what to read, and where to go. Which means your good name can be worth real money. And reputation hacking can be big business.”

In my world this is especially true of Amazon.com. Reader reviews can often make or break a book, so it’s important to pay attention to your book’s page and the activity there. I’m not suggesting that authors or publishers purposely try to game the Amazon.com reviewer system. However, there are several ways authors can participate to be sure that their voice is part of the conversation.

10 simple ways authors can help to increase sales at Amazon.com:

1. Add a link to your book at Amazon.com or other online retailer as part of your email signature, forum signatures – anywhere you leave your name.
2. Add a link to your book on your blog or website. Amazon.com offers an affiliate program which pays you when readers you refer purchase your book. Double dipping!
3. Amazon.com allows readers to share their own images, so get the ball rolling by sharing yours. Look for the “Share your own customer images” link under the book’s cover image and start uploading. Wrote a book on building a PC? Upload photos of the build process. Wrote a Florida travel book? Use those photos of your trip to Disney World.
4. There are 2 quick and simple ways you can help people find your book at Amazon.com. First look for the “Help others find this item” section near the bottom of the page and make valid suggestions for search terms or your book. Second, find the “Tag this product” section and add tags that are pertinent to your book.
5. Get involved in the discussion – many titles now include a beta feature called “Customer Discussions.” Be sure to find that link on your book’s page and monitor it so that you can answer any questions readers or potential readers may have. If there is no discussion started on your book – start one!
6. Be a part of Amazon Connect! Did you know that you can have a blog on your Amazon.com product page? It will list your last 3 posts on the page, with a “more” link over to all other posts. It requires your publisher to verify you as the author of your book via email, so be sure to discuss it with them first. You can learn more and sign up at the Amazon Connect website.
7. Write a Listmania! list. Anyone can create a list of up to 40 related items at Amazon.com. Why not create a list that is focused on the topic of your book and includes your book as well as other items? For instance, if you wrote a book on building a PC, you might create a list simply called Building a PC. The list would, of course, contain your book as one of the items, as well as your favorite hard drive, RAM, video card, motherboard and other parts available through Amazon.com. When you mix product lists like this (i.e. not just a list of books) you are effectively cross merchandizing your book into other sections of Amazon.com. In this example, customers looking for the hard drive or video card you selected may encounter your list and be exposed to your book. In fact, with Listmania! you can get pretty granular. In our example you could also build just a list for video cards with advice for particular cards, and include your book as a guide to building PCs that includes more detailed advice.
8. Write a short tutorial – the So You’d LikeTo…Guides. Similar to a Listmania!, these guides allow you to show off a little bit about what you know. They work very similarly to the Listmania! lists in that you can select a variety of products to include, and provide the same advantage of cross-merchandizing, but should be a bit more advice-driven and tutorial in nature. Check out this short example on hacking old Series 1 TiVos for ideas on how you might be able to leverage this feature.
9. Make sure you book is part of the Search Inside the Book program. This is controlled by your publisher and is a program they have to opt into. If they are not a part of the program, you might ask why they are not involved in such an important marketing vehicle at one of the world’s largest online retailers. If they are a part of the program then be sure your book will be included. As part of this program, Amazon.com indexes the books content and provides online customers a change to thumb through your book.
10. Reviews – I saved the best for last. All the items above were really about helping readers find your book, and participating in the conversation with readers once they have. However nothing helps or hurts sales at Amazon.com more than the Reviewer Ranking and reader reviews. So you should just make up some accounts and start posting 5-Star reviews, right? Of course not – but there are some things you can do to help:

• Write a good book. Obvious, I know – but no amount of promotion will help a book that simply does not meet reader expectations.
• Make sure your colleagues and members of your network get a copy of the book. These readers are more likely to help with favorable but honest reviews, but it’s very important to ask for a review at Amazon.com. Otherwise you may get a “thank you” for the book and nothing more.
• Provide your publisher with a list of influencers in your topical space and be sure they get a review copy.
• If you receive an email or a comment on your blog from someone who enjoyed our book or see a review posted online elsewhere – ask them to post that on Amazon.com. I have also seen authors who have asked for permission to repost favorable online reviews (with attribution) at Amazon.com
• Help Amazon.com weed out the illegitimate reviews. If you get a review that is not appropriate – one where it’s obvious the reviewer did not read the book, provided no basis for the review, or left a simple “This sucks” sort of review, ask Amazon.com to take a look. Each review has a “Report this” link next to it that flags the post for review by Amazon. If they feel the review is not valid they may remove it. Use this option sparingly – it’s not for legitimate negative reviews.

I’d be interested to hear from other editors, authors, markets or publishers on the topic. What have you seen help books at Amazon.com?

(Image credit: Guillermo Esteves)