Successful Blog

Net Neutrality 5-02-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’ve added these links to the Net Neutrality Page today.

How Real Is the Threat?

Big telco execs are on the record:

AT&T’s Ed Whitacre wants consumers and content providers to pay for use of his network. “The Internet can’t be free … for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts.�

BellSouth’s William Smith told reporters that he would like to turn the Internet into a “pay-for-performance marketplace� where his company could charge for the “right� to have certain services load faster than others.

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg says that Web applications need to “share the cost� of the broadband services already paid for by consumers. “We need to pay for the pipe.�

Net Neutrality Not An Optional Feature of Internet

Imagine the prospects of an info tech industry without “software neutrality� where Intel charged a fee to enhance software performance. Pay Intel and your applications run faster. The incentives driving Moore’s Law disappear in this pay-to-play model. Intel’s profit maximizing incentives become serving the interests of software companies willing to spend the most on “enhancing software performance� not the end users of computers. The meritocracy driving competition between software companies disappears as Intel picks winners and losers based on willingness to pay. Innovation becomes permission based at Intel’s discretion. . . .

The Internet does not exist without net neutrality. Consider the misleading assertion that tinkering with network neutrality simply amounts to adding class of service as in the case of air travel or HOV lanes on highways. . . . The telco and cable companies have in mind creating another type of customer not a class of service. They want suppliers to pay for the right of transit. It amounts to airlines charging Time Warner for the right of readers to take Time magazine on an airplane. It means charging Ford tolls in addition to drivers for the right of Ford cars to use highways.

Sen Stevens tries to sneak the Broadcast Flag into law posted by Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing

Sen Stevens tries to sneak the Broadcast Flag into law
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has snuck the Broadcast Flag into a bill on Net Neutrality. The stealth clause authorizes “the FCC to establish a broadcast flag to allow TV stations to protect digital content from Internet piracy.”
What this means is

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Introducing CREEations

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SOB Directory Entry: CREEations by Chris Cree

Easy as Easy

CREEations is a blog of practical life philosophy based on Chris Cree’s sleep deprived life juggling a marriage, maritime industry career, volunteer commitments, cat ownership, writing, yard work, and massive coffee consumption. His goal is to challenge the way you look at your world. Sometimes he’s profound, other times just plain silly, but he generally tends to hang out somewhere in between.

Notes from Liz: SOB Chris Cree’s blog is upbeat a nice place to go when the world has been a little too much and you want to have a space to breathe. His posts shed a little light on humanity and how to face the world with a positive outlook. They’re easy to read and rest easy on the mind. I think of Chris’ blog as a great place to unwind.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Has your SOB Blog Been Introduced to US?
Blog Promotion: May I Introduce You?

Blogtipping Day–Where’s Yours?

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Link Love Costs Nothing

Easton Ellsworth at Blogwire declared today official Blogtipping Day and I’m in. How about you? As
the song goes “Give a little bit . . .” Here’s how it works.

  • Choose three or more bloggers you admire and link to them,
  • List three reasons why you admire each one.
  • Then add a tip at the end.

That’s all there is to it.

Janice Myint

  • Janice is the best at her job. She knows what she’s doing.
  • Every email and message is filled with smiles and energy. I feel like a valued customer every time she talks to me.
  • She takes on big complaints as personal quest, and tackles them like a warrior.

Tip: Janice, be careful. The whole blogosphere is going to be proposing marriage to you, and trying to steal you away.

Jeremy Wright

  • Jeremy’s a great guy with a heart as big as the world.
  • He works hard, doing thousands of things, but never loses his humanity.
  • He makes things happen for other people and asks nothing in return.

Tip: Jeremy, don’t wear yourself out. We need you just as you are.

Brian Clark

  • Brian teaches me more about writing every time I read his blog.
  • He has been a friend to me beyond the call of duty.
  • I feel lucky to have him in my address book.

Tip: Brian, stop, breathe and look at what you’ve built. It’s fabulous.

That was fun. I hope I get time to do more before the day is over.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Net Neutrality 5-01-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’ve added these links to the Net Neutrality Page today.

AT&T and Verizon: We Own Your Congress

The Center for Public Integrity compiled a list of the top 100 money-givers to Congress between 1998 and 2005, and telcos dominate the list.

Here are a few of its findings:

* Verizon Communications Inc. $81,870,000
* SBC Communications Inc. $58,035,037
* AT&T Corp. $53,349,499
* Sprint Corp. $47,276,585
* BellSouth Corp. $33,732,827
* Qwest Communications International Inc. $24,523,480

Policy Analysis: “Net Neutrality� Digital Discrimination or Regulatory Gamesmanship in Cyberspace?

Moreover, far from being something regulators should forbid, vertical integration of new features and services by broadband network operators is an essential part of the innovation strategy companies will need to use to compete and offer customers the services they demand. Network operators also have property rights in their systems that need to be acknowledged and honored. Net neutrality mandates would flout those property rights and reject freedom of contract in this marketplace.

The regulatory regime envisioned by Net neutrality mandates would also open the door to a great deal of potential “gaming” of the regulatory system and allow firms to use the regulatory system to hobble competitors. Worse yet, it would encourage more FCC regulation of the Internet and broadband markets in general.

The Struggle for Net Freedom

To get a sense of the bargain the industry is proposing, imagine if the maker of your toaster had to give a cut of the sales price to the electric company before it could be turned on. Or suppose the post office charged you to mail and receive the same package if you wanted it sent first class.

[Many, many great links here.]

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Thanks to Week 27 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

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Advice Library Logo

BusinessBlogwire

Chinmayd logo

Chriscree logo

Exposing Secrets logo

Overheard in NY net

Ohad logo

Petrona logo

Ponto media logo

Real Lawyers Logo

sambharmafia logo

strategic conversations logo

typehacks logo

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this badge’s validity, send him or her directly to me. This award comes with a full “Liz said so” guarantee. It is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame. Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

SOB Business Cafe 04-28-2006

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the screenshot to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Hock reminds us all that we need to tell our readers who we are or we won’t have a relationship with any of them really.

Mike sheds some light on how sales guy feels when he’s the buyer . . . or how any customer feels really.

Darren lays out the construction of a good four-part realtor newsletter . . . or for any newsletter really.

Angie clues us in on how to write killer headlines for press releases . . . or for any story really.

Need Killer Headlines Article

Related ala carte selections include

Tom shares list of links, one of which is a link to headline typography from all over the Internet. It’s a great source for design ideas . . . or just for gazing.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like.
No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss