trippenbach
tanith6227
rustedangel
Pale HorseDo you remember watching this and feeling nervous? Well, feast your eyes on a concise summary of the same issue as it applies (even more) directly to us:
Net neutrality may turn into one of the definitive issues of our times. The sphere is alive with discussion about the concept, mostly because the sphere can’t exist without it. Neither, of course, can wikis, torrents, web comics, and a lot of the other user-generated content that defines our current internet experience.
So, where is this going and what can we do about it? On the bright side, the revolution will be televised (on youtube), and the ‘net itself gives the average user all the tools she needs to find out exactly what’s going on. Clinton, Obama and McCain have all weighed in on this at one point or another, with fairly predictable result based on their histories and party affiliations (fence-sitting to ensure victory, idealism, and “series of tubes” capitalist ignorance, respectively). Those with a vote can start having a say right now, as they cast ballots in the US primaries, and decisively again in November.
As for those of us outside the ’states, all you need to do is surf the object of contention itself, inform yourself, and start dreaming up ways to fight back. Our generation has been blessed with one of the most dynamic communication tools in history; why not use it?
After all, these kinds of conflicts are winnable; it just depends on how hard you try.
Research and Destroy.
Filed under: internet | Tagged: net neutrality
A couple of points:
1) I confess that I was surprised by Sir Berners-Lee’s definition of Net Neutrality. His version isn’t very interesting. I was thinking that Net Enutrality really means that the ‘Net represents a global neutral ground, where no one has an advantage over anyone else, and so we’re all free to share and challenge together. Or is that what he saying, and I’m just too dense to get it.
2) I think it was Machiavelli who said, “No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.” It seems that the Telecom companies have taken this to heart. Even with Senator Markey making a stink, I don’t think that the Internet is a subject of great concern to Americans right now, not when there’s a war on and the economy is slipping into a recession.
So while everyone’s attention is elsewhere, the phone companies are quietly setting themselves up to … what? Usurp the Internet? It’s seems ludicrous. And yet, if what we’ve seen is to believe, that’s exactly the plan.
And almost no one has seen it coming. Chilling.
The problem is not that the scenario this vid describes is likely, but that it’s possible. Some steps have been taken towards it.
If they take too many more, I’ll start contemplating an FT plot where I become a warrior poet of the undernet. You can be my loyal controller… and the guy who manufactures the ethanol bombs. Dakalos will undoubtedly become some kind of evil overlord who indoctrinates small children and steals the spines of the rebellious.