Sites such as Youtube, Digg, Yelp and Facebook provide mashups of content sources along with a platform for interaction and participation. Inherent in this model is the assumption that each “user” is an individual who is participating in a community. The reality is that many “users” are avatars, bots and sock puppet created to spread Spam, disinformation, attack individuals, organizations and companies or manipulate rating systems to promote a private agenda that is not in keeping with the spirit and intent of the community.
The success of Web 2.0 has made it a prime target for spammers, vandals and hackers who want to exploit the trust implicit in this ecosystem. The May, 2008 headlines about Craiglsist’s ongoing battle with spammers highlights the problem. Web 2.0 companies need to recognize this type of manipulation as a fatal cancer and develop strategies to aggressively defend themselves against the ravages of blight that can devastate their communities.
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