Successful Blog

  • Home
  • About GeniusShared
  • Author Guidelines
  • Meet the GeniusShared Team
  • Liz’s Book
  • Newsletter

Net Neutrality 10-03-2006

October 3, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

The telecom slayers [via Eat4Today]

For more than a year, telecom lobbyists, who include former Bill Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry, have outgunned Scott and his ragtag army of bloggers, Internet entrepreneurs and consumer-rights activists on Capitol Hill. But on this fall day in his bare-bones office in Washington, Scott is grinning in victory. He knows he has succeeded in tripping up the lobbying goliaths with a simple weapon that couldn’t be more appropriate in the battle over the Internet: a low-budget video posted on YouTube.com.

In the unadorned black-and-white film, college kids sit in front of a webcam and talk about the evils of an Internet without Net neutrality. “Do you want companies to control your clicks?” a goateed young man asks the camera. “This means slower connections to sites that are under competing ISPs,” another says. “Let’s keep the Internet free!” After a guitar solo and a hazy image of the American flag, the video goes black and directs viewers to SavetheInternet.com.

In the first week after it was posted on YouTube on Aug. 17, the video was viewed over 350,000 times, according to figures provided by the site. By comparison, the infamous “macaca” video of Virginia Sen. George Allen calling a man of Indian decent the racial slur, was viewed 200,000 times in roughly the same amount of time. A testament to the power of viral marketing, the Net neutrality video “is doing the work of 30 full-time communications professionals,” [Ben] Scott [coordinator of SavetheInternet] says. “And the best part is, I have no idea who made it.”

In fact, the video was made in a little over an hour by Ben Going, a 21-year-old waiter from Huntsville, Ala., and an aspiring Internet filmmaker. Going says he pieced the video together because he feels that his hobby, his business, his way of life, is under attack. He is not alone. All summer long, hundreds of Web users like Going have flooded the Internet with videos and blog postings. An online petition in favor of Net neutrality has gathered more than 1.1 million signatures, and a letter-writing campaign spawned online has resulted in a flood of letters to Congress members. Barry Piatt, communications director for Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, a leading Net neutrality advocate, says his office has received close to 1 million letters on Net neutrality, “a virtually unprecedented level” of mail for any issue, let alone one as technical as this one. And the “overwhelming majority” of the letters, Piatt says, favor Net neutrality.

[ . . . ]

The battle erupted in the wake of a 2005 Supreme Court ruling, which changed the regulatory classification of ISPs and removed the nondiscrimination protections on the Internet. Facing fewer restrictions on how they could govern the Internet, the likes of AT&T and Verizon made no secret that they intended to create a lucrative Internet fast lane, open only to Web sites that can pay. Critics quickly responded that an Internet where only those who can pay the rent can display their wares will stifle innovation and choice. “Consumers will have all of the choices and selection of a former Soviet Union supermarket,” says Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, a key ally of Net neutrality.

Here is the link for the above referred to YouTube videol: Save the Internet

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Filed Under: Business Life, Community, SOB Business, Successful Blog, Trends Tagged With: Barry-Piatt, Ben-Going, Ben-Scott, Bill-Clinton, George-Allen, Met-Meutrality, Mike-McCurry, Olympia--Snow, SaveTheInternet, YouTube.com

Comments

  1. katiebird says

    October 3, 2006 at 7:32 AM

    Good morning Liz!

    It was exciting to see your track-back this morning. I’m about to run off for the day, but I wanted to stop in and say hi!

    (And I think I’ll take a look at your new post — so much for getting to work on time!)

    Reply
  2. ME Strauss says

    October 3, 2006 at 7:34 AM

    Hi Katie,
    Thanks for the help with this one! It has a LOT of great explanations in it. My husband even got a lot from reading it. You did service by finding. So thank you, again!

    Reply
  3. katiebird says

    October 3, 2006 at 7:40 AM

    You’re welcome Liz, I was happy to pass it along. I’ve gotten so much from this series (?) of yours, it’s only right that I contribute something when I can.

    Reply
  4. ME Strauss says

    October 3, 2006 at 7:44 AM

    Aw, thanks, Katie.
    I really started this series, because I knew it was the only way I would stay disciplined enough to keep on the topic everyday. It’s worked obviously. 🙂

    You’re help is always welcome. New sources are sometimes hard to find. . . .

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

New from Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press



Having a hard time finding focus?

Having a hard time finding focus?

It can be hard to find focus sometimes. A few months ago, I was talking with a colleague who was having a hard time finding focus in their work. They spoke of feeling pulled in multiple directions and of many obligations — both at work and with their family. As I listened, I could hear […]

Sometimes We Outgrow Our Stories

Sometimes We Outgrow Our Stories

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend. We were sharing stories from days gone by about each of our lives. We hopped from one story to the next — based on what each of us were sharing. It was really an incredible discussion as we were each learning from the other […]

It’s Not Your Passion, But Your Purpose

It’s Not Your Passion, But Your Purpose

Everyone feels lost sometimes. I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t been lost in their head at one time or another — even those folks overachieving all over the Internet. We all find those moments that we wonder about who we are and what we want. But the question is not whether everyone gets […]

Getting Past Fear

Getting Past Fear

I felt the more embarrassing fear of people’s judgment. When I decided it was time to write again, I avoided the computer for the longest time. On the rare occasion that I managed to sit myself down to write, I’d get caught up answering email or reading articles around the web, not doing writing I […]

  • What IS an SOB?!
  • SOB A-Z Directory
  • Letting Liz Be

© 2019 ME Strauss & GeniusShared 2005 - 2016