What is Digg?21 Comments
- Jeffmr1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Same here, was on Digg a while before i knew who Ron Paul was. Now i just Digg him whenever i see articles, no conspiracy here.
- ManFading, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I've been on digg before I even knew who Ron Paul was. When studying the right choice for president among the contenders on the internet it was obviously without a shadow of a doubt Ron Paul. So I digg him whenever I can. It's the least I can do for a true fellow American. I wouldn't be so digg-happy for Paul if any of the other candidates could hold a candle to his experience, honesty, committment, common sense, or trustworthiness. He is the kind of leader America needs and is made of the material great presidents are made of throughout our history.
- BrutusCato, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8OMG! Ron Paul supporters use Alternative Media to get support for their candidate?! HOLY S&^#, I mean whoa, who ever thought people would make a combined effort to get someone they supported some media attention. Hey why not write about how the big name candidates get propped up by Corporate Sponsors and how McCain Feingold limits speech on candidates, but that doesn't support your agenda or your sense of right and wrong. Honestly, do you think big money is what should make a candidate, especially when 60-90% comes from PACs and other Special interest groups and not individuals????
- nokla, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9The author seems to assert that my comments and Diggs are part of some kind of conspiracy to "game" (a polite way of saying "cheat") our way to the top.
It should be noted that I don't really know any of the other Ron Paul supporters, but when I do see posts from folks who are constitutionalists and seem to care about promoting libertarian ideals I add them to my friends list and the articles they enjoyed reading stand out.
Considering that I am merely using the built-in features of Digg, it seems pretty silly to gripe that I'm merely using those features to greater effect than others who are too lazy or inept to figure them out.
I agree that as more people start using the system the overall outcome of our collective Diggs might vary, but I think the author underestimates the appeal of sites such as Digg and imeem.com that give their users freedom.
As to the gripe that Ron Paul related stories account for around 20% of the stories in this section, considering that most posts in this section involve Clinton/Obama, Giuliani/McCain (the front-runners in the polls) then it makes sense that a "new to you" candidate as interesting as Ron Paul would make up the balance.
If the complaint were really about unfairness then it should complain that the 14 major party candidates weren't getting their allotted 7% of stories on the front page. It's easy to fix - just submit more stories about these rather boring and uninspiring candidates and see how they fare.
The post was not a gripe about minor-party candidates that aren't getting covered - instead it was a gripe that an outsider is getting an "unfair" amount of coverage based on some arbitrary personal view of what election coverage *should* look like. - DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I could be off by a 0, and if I am, how about addressing every other point I made?
- lizmichael, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Here's how I see it. Ron Paul's supporters are of a certain ideological dynamic, one of actual observance of the Constitution, a quality rare these days in a federal politician. Paul's supporters believe that if given sufficient exposure, that a goodly number of Americans will come to understand and share many of his views. Since the paleoconservative/libertarian political belief is always ignored in the mainstream media, we feel that it is necessary for us to push these views in the alternative and internet media.
This is what is happening. It is no great conspiracy. We simply believe that we are where a lot of America is in their heart, and if they know and can be educated, America will be with us. This is what it is, and this is all it is. Digg stories are being pushed to the front for this purpose. Almost all of the stories are substantial. Extremely few consist of "Yay Ron Paul" or things similar to that. It is probably because the Ron Paul supporter is among the more educated and thinking voter, emblematic of the man himself, that articles by him or about him carry such substance. We who support him support him for sound and substantial policy and trust reasons, things rarely found in political campaigns anymore. - DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I digg up every Ron Paul article I see that is interesting, and I've been around since before he was even mentioned for the 2008 race.
The author of the article mentions some people with newer profiles who digg up Paul stories, but this isn't an indication that Paul's campaign is paying them, they are likely people who read about Paul's popularity on Digg and came here from Myspace or somewhere else. Ron Paul also has the most popular myspace profile of all the Republicans, but I guess the author of this article would claim he's gaming that somehow too.
The funny part is, if anyone is getting paid to do anything it's most likely the Ron Paul detractors. After all, the Ron Paul Campaign has only raised $50,000 which is needed for barebones travel expenses and advertising in NH, while the other republicans have raised millions. The Ron Paul Campaign couldn't even afford to hire people if they wanted to, while many of the other candidates could fund a digg army if they chose to.
Anyone who has been around tech websites, even before digg (ie slashdot) know that they tend to be libertarian leaning if they aren't leftist. I don't think the author has been hanging around tech sites for long, or he'd understand why Paul is popular online while not being popular offline.
He goes on to talk about how he'd like to see the election 2008 section become more 'interesting'. I wonder how so? There are more stories on Hillary and Obama than Ron Paul, which I'm sure the author likes since he mentions his experences at 'Think Progress' in a reply to a comment on his posts.
Personally, I think Ron Paul is the most interesting thing about the election 2008 section. Here is a candidate who has positions that aren't typical of his party, gets no mainstream coverage, yet is very popular on both Digg and Myspace. I think that dynamic is a lot more interesting than another boring mainstream media outlet running stories about how Obama is a smoker, People love or hate Hillary, or Mitt Romney being a mormon, Rudy being married 3 times, etc.
It's sad that the leftists have taken to crying about the Ron Paul stories here on Digg, even though they are outnumbered by Hillary/Obama stories. Don't you guys know how to share? ;)
- rancemo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I joined Digg years before Ron Paul announced his candidacy. I will digg every single story about him submitted. This revolution is not limited to digg. The people are speaking, and the mainstream media is mostly ignoring it. Perhaps digg is just a better vehicle to deliver real news and uncover the fraud our electoral system has become.
- icanoop, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I've been digging Ron Paul stories because I think he's the best candidate and I want to share that with others. Apparently many others do too. Apparently there are a lot more than I expected. Discovering that was a nice surprise. Digg has been a great place for me to find quality information about Ron Paul I wouldn't have found otherwise. I think that's what digg is for... filtering out some of the stories about Clinton and Obama and Guiliani that I don't care about. Maybe you should have Digg create a section specifically for your favorite candidate so you don't have to see Paul stories? Until then, the majority will rule.
- DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Oh and while we are at it, the submitter made a new account just to submit this story. Pot, Kettle, Black
- Cutkomp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"I could be off by a 0, and if I am, how about addressing every other point I made?"
Haha, hey relax there my friend, I think we share many of the same feelings about Dr. Paul and the other candidates. I was merely making a point that there is 10 times the monetary support than you apparently knew of. He'll get to NH just fine. Read my comments on the actual article that I made before it was even submitted to Digg. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I believe Ron Paul simply resonates with the net crowd more than anyone else... which is strange for an old guy, but it's his constitutional principles that people seem to like. There are definitely politicos gaming the system and in more places than just digg, but Ron Paul is certainly NOT among them. He's the most squeaky clean candidate to run for over a generation.
- guntherg16, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It's amazing to me that so many people can't understand that freedom loving people are excited that another true freedom loving person has thrown his hat into the Presidential ring.
Ron Paul '08!!! - Cutkomp, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I've read in several places and if I remember correctly heard straight from the mouth of Ron Paul that he raised a half million dollars with "little effort" before he officially announced.
- aknappjr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm just a regular guy who happens to like Ron Paul's message, and I submitted 2 stores to digg. No "conspiracy" by his campaign. Just me and many freedom-loving Americans.
- horntz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I am the author and I did not create a new account or submit this story on my own. I have no idea who the submitter is. I did Digg the story after seeing it. Your claim is completely false.
- specsaregood, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Here is an excellent example of why people that are net-aware might digg Ron Paul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b7_h_OyTI0 - Fizzletrunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In this age of the webosphere with oodles of jacked in and aware voters, how Ron Paul and people similar to him DO NOT earn massive war chests is just sad. On line news is THE place to get a total picture of a political story in the United States anymore. The power and pulse of the blogosphere will more and more likely determine political results as the decade turns.
BTW, I've followed this 9'Th term Congressman through Digg every couple of weeks, and every article I liked, I dugg. - horntz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4The submitters account was created on February 12, 2007.
http://digg.com/users/vaspapeete/profile
So either way your accusation is completely false. - DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4I said " the submitter made a new account just to submit this story", not "the author made a new account just to submit this story". Although it wouldn't suprise me. I urge you to take classes in reading comprehension. I also assure you that there is no "Ron Paul Conspiracy" anywhere other than in your head.
- DigitalOmnivore, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3So that is how far in advance you created an account to post your blogspam? Nice!
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