How one hexadecimal string changed the Internet
June 18, 2007
Published by Stan Schroeder May 2nd, 2007 in Features, Web 2.0, Web Tags: Digg, features, HD DVD, Social media, social networking, web, web 2.0.
It took me a couple of hours to process what has happened. But, now I know, it is bigger than Digg.
Hackers and crackers have been at it before. Cracks have been semi-quietly distributed over the Internet. 0 day exploits were talked about, but with privacy in mind. The idea that information must be free has been lingering on the Internet for years now. Lectures were held. Opinions were exchanged.
But never until today has the entire Internet risen as one to protect their right of free speech, with one string of hexadecimal numbers being their defeaning shout.
This string of numbers, voiced first by everyone else and in the end by Digg’s Kevin Rose himself, in his post Digg This: 09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0, is probably meaningless to most users, even those who so severely opposed its initial censorship. Let’s be realistic here: most people will never enter that key anywhere; they’ll wait for a tool such as AnyDVD which will provide a simple way to circumvent the HD-DVD copy protection.
In the process of forcing this key into the public by the will of a critical mass of Internet users, Digg was only the catalyst. Look at any other big Internet site: Gizmodo, Mashable, TechCrunch: on every single one you’ll find a comment containing the dreaded key. For some reason, this key has become more than just a way to circumvent copy protection: it is now a statement.
It says: information must be free.
In as little as 24 hours, countless iterations of the key have sprung out. There’s a registered domain containing the key; there’s a string of colors equivalent to the key value; hell, if license plates were allowed to have 32 digits I bet there would be a great demand for a particular number.
I still think Digg should get editors. Just like forums and chat rooms, you need a moderator or else you’ll be in a pile of bad language, dirty pics and offensive content within days.
But I don’t think it has anything to do with this phenomenon. People wouldn’t be pushing a picture of a naked chick this hard. They wouldn’t be this fervent about some story about Bush. But this one hexadecimal string is where they rise and fight.
In the past couple of years, I’ve been slightly disillusioned by certain aspects of the Internet. I’ve seen big corporations taking control; I’ve seen DRM enter every pore of technology; I’ve seen people being sued and go to jail for what they say online.
But at this one moment, my faith is restored. No one can stop the freedom of speech once critical mass is achieved.
09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0
Remember this number.
