Internet access has always been the ultimate in democracy
and freedom of speech and choice. You can use virtually any
available application, equipment or service to gain access
to almost any content.
Bloggers have access to the same potential audience as the
New York Times. Artists of all kinds have equal
opportunities to find an audience based on their talent and
drive and not on money or privilege. Two students in a dorm
room with a good idea, a little ingenuity and some skill
can create a multi-billion dollar company. That's freedom
of speech!
And it gets better since every internet user is pretty much
guaranteed access to any site they want, whenever they want
it and at the fastest available speed. It does not matter
if you log on to Google or eBooks About Everything, the
internet access is equal.
There are always those who are suspicious of freedom.
People who want to control a good thing; for profit, for
morality or just because they think they can. So it is not
surprising that big telephone and cable companies (AT&T,
Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner) have set their sites on
controlling access to the internet and its content.
These (and other) big companies lobby the Federal
Government every day for control of internet access, speed
and content. In essence they want to transform the freeway
model of networking to a toll road version. They will
magnanimously allow the government to collect part of the
toll if they can control who gets to use the fast lanes.
Some of us are fighting back. A large number of internet
pioneers. industry leaders, bloggers and ordinary citizens
believe the internet was created provide equal access and
that the access should remain equal. We actually believe
that the world does not need one more thing controlled by
Government and/or Big Business!
Since freedom of speech is still allowed a movement call
Net Neutrality has sprung up.
Net Neutrality simply means that internet access will
always be free, fast and available. That innovation, not
money or politics, will determine who succeeds in the
market place of ideas and technology.
To find out more, do a simple Google Search on Net
Neutrality or a scan of Wikipedia; you will get more
information than you can absorb in one sitting.
I love the fact that the internet is open, free and
somewhat like the wild west. I suppose it is the last
vestige of my 60's rebel persona. And as a former rebel,
nothing makes me sit up and notice faster then when the
government (or anyone else) wants to start controlling
something.
As we move into election season protecting our freedoms has
become an increasingly important agenda for me. I have a
few action items:
-I will only vote for candidates who support Net Neutrality.
-I am stepping up my writing/email campaign to my current
representatives to tell them that Net Neutrality is vitally
important to economic growth and development
-I have joined Save the Net (http://savethenet.org) and
Hands off the Internet (http://www.handsofthenet.org)
-I will support these organizations with money and time
I am asking my family, friends and you to join in this
effort and take these four simple steps to protect your
freedom of speech.
One of the things I have learned over the years is the
awesome power of fingers on keyboards. Enough of them
pointed at a single target can change the world. That is
freedom in action!
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Gigi Reynard is CEO of eBooks About with fifty-seven eBook
outlets including eBooks About
Everything(http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com). She
turned bookseller after a 25-year career in computer
software development and electronic publishing. She also
like to add that she has over 50 years as a avid reader.
Gigi lives in Southern California with her writer husband,
Henri, their cat, computers, electronic gadgets and
thousands of (paper) books.
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