It's the worst kept secret.  No. Britney is not an alien… of course, I'm talking about the HD-DVD crack.  The code that allows for unauthorized copying of discs.

Truth is, the secret has been "out" for months – since February of 2007.

Social networking sites – like digg – were among the first where content creators published the code, or links to the code.  Links made the first page of digg – a clear sign of interest and popularity.

It's amusing that the consortium called Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator (AACS), which is backed by companies like IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Sony, and movie studios like Disney and Warner Brothers, actually thinks they can keep a lid on the code getting out.

Old media still doesn't get it.  Ten years ago, a "cease and desist" letter would scare most anyone shitless.  Content would be removed; the story would fade like a sunset; and the lawyers would go out for stiff martinis.  Not any more.  Independent of digg refusing to remove links to the code (props to digg), it's childishly easily to find: just enter a search query on Google with the words HD-DVD and crack, or code, and there are hundreds of links in the results set.

Old media should know this: once content is published, it's republished, repurposed, reposted, and shared – exponentially.

Once a message is disseminated, it's shared – almost always via the underground, grassroots e-communities like digg, at first.  Then, major media outlets pick up the story and amplify it for a more traditional audience – the kind that has content pushed passively to it.  Check out today's New York Times article for more details – and a link to the code, should you be interested. :)

We're into secondary and tertiary rounds of content creation.  The code has been posted, naked, for months, for anyone looking for it.  Now, new creators are adding a layer of comedy, publishing videos of the code to a song (think of the Bob Dylan documentary, "Don't Look Back," in which he tosses large cue cards with words) or merely tapping a rhythm to the letters and numbers.  Consider this ditty on YouTube.  When I watched the video earlier today – a guy strumming a guitar, monotonously repeating the code – it had 89,000 views.  Now, there are more than 137,000.

Earth to old media: the more you try to make it difficult for honest people to make legitimate copies of material they've purchased, the more pirates will try to hack and embarrass you.

Oh yeah, "cease and desist" letters don't work any more – not online, at least.