Originally Posted on Google Blogger 02/09/2008
A few days ago I sent a cryptic tweet that said “the first Army of Davids Event is coming soon”. I realized that, before creating the event, I might need to explain it to everyone. And that is the purpose of this post.
In 2007, Glenn Reynolds wrote an interesting book titled An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths. The title of the book adequately conveys its message, so I don’t feel the need to go into that detail here.
I got my first taste of the impact of social media during the Obama campaign. It was so successful that conservative republicans have galvanized on Twitter via the TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) hash tag. That is supported by a TCOT website that provides social media mentoring to new members. All this – in an effort to get the conservative message to new audiences.
Next up was the Israeli Offensive in the Gaza Strip. This political hotbed generated a lot of tweeting. The #hamas, #gaza, and #israel hash tags were born in quick succession. The Israeli Consulate, the Israel Defense Forces, and other Israel position supporters began showing up on Twitter. A regular re-tweet directed supporters of Israel to a number of newly created pro-Israel websites. One of those sites even provided an aggregate of anti-Israeli news from around the world, coached supporters on how to create a proper response to negative press, and then managed who was responding to what! All this to counter the Hamas propaganda machine.
I think the use of social media to address political goals, sell a product, or gain supporters for a cause is awesome. The cause I am most passionate about is this: I’d like to make it hard for US-based websites that promote terrorism to exist.
Up to this point, I have (as an individual) located and footprinted a few of these websites. I’ve created false accounts on their forums, and posted tons of anti-terrorism messages. I know, it’s only a nuisance, but it was legal and [deeply] satisfying.
In many cases, I’ve discovered that the owner of the site is an American or is living in the US on a visa. It is disturbing to find “death to America” or “death to Americans” all over these websites – websites owned by people who are enjoying what our country has to offer.
After speaking to others about my passion and how I might disrupt these websites (i.e. become a nuisance to them so they will move along), I’ve come up with some good (and legal) ideas. Sure, they’ll just spend a few bucks and a few hours to create a new site. That’s OK – that is a few bucks they won’t have for weapons or bombs, and a few hours they won’t have to plot our demise. They create a new site and guess what? I find them again. And again. And again.
To effectively harass these sites, I will need an Army of Davids. I will need you. And this is what the Army of Davids Events are all about. I’ll send a tweet directing folks to my blog for event info. The blog will include the location of the site, the date and time of the event, and all the specifics.
What might an event be? Well, we might all decide to visit the same site at the same time. I sincerely hope the site doesn’t crash with all those visitors. You folks with FireFox need to watch your auto-refresh settings. We might camp the domain registration as it nears its expiration. Then swoop in and buy it up. We might fill up their message boards with tons of anti-terrorism posts. Or we might “out them” to the public via a coordinated propaganda campaign. There are tons of things we can do to mess up their day. Tons. Literally.
Am I supporting illegal activities? Heavens no. I am not planning on doing anything illegal. And I am not supporting illegal activities.
Will the terrorist supporters come after you? Each event will be structured to maximize your security and anonymity. All the risk is mine to bear.
When is the first event? I am currently researching several sites. Before I share anything with you I must confirm (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that the site is supporting terrorism, that the site is not a honeypot meant for terrorists, and that the site is not hosted by a third party – only then will I even consider planning the event.
Why am I doing this? Because I am sick and tired of no one doing anything about these sites. Plain and simple. If I could rid the world of these sites, I would. But I can’t. The most I can do is become an annoyance. Doing something, even a small thing, makes me feel better.
Just think of the fly that continually buzzes your face. Even though you know the fly can’t hurt you, you still desperately want it to go away.
Why should you join me? Because you are sick and tired of no one doing anything about these sites. And because maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a small measure of enjoyment out of it.
Welcome to the Army of Davids. I am CinnabarSweets, your Event Coordinator.
I see smart people who use technology to tackle big obstacles.