Facebook has begun testing a system that’s in vogue at the moment: Using its own users as a data-crunching system. Nothing terribly new there–except that Facebook’s using its crowd to actually moderate the rest of the crowd and stamp out the nasty bits, which is a whole new ethically-intriguing level
It’s called the “Facebook Community Council” and according to the group’s motto it exists to “harness the power and intelligence of Facebook users to support us in keeping Facebook a trusted and vibrant community.” This all sounds very lofty, very un-dictatorial and much more hippyish, power-to-the-people than Facebook sometimes seems, with moves like its blanket decisions on user-privacy.
Dispatches From The Front 