Here’s a really cool approach to addressing the Net Neutrality / internet disaster . . .
A mockumentary/documentary from 2012, to “get rid of the internet”
In 2012, I was dispatched to help the big ISPs to figure out how to sell their vision for a “faster,” “cleaner” internet. Six months later I produced this report — and leaked it to the world. Learn more and take action: http://www.theinternetmustgo.com
The Oatmeal on NET NEUTRALITY:
Strong/simple Design:
Related to Internet Blackout Day:
(Community aspect/reddit) + related to Internet Blackout Day:
Cultural Literacy: (SEGA + Save the Internet ‘remix’):
[composite image]: http://imgur.com/knD5xa3
CAPTION: “Save the Internet” … (has a good ring to it!)
Comments:
‘m from Romania and I think that the competition between providers also contributes to this. The bigger the city, the better and cheaper the internet is.
No blocking – service providers should not be permitted to block requests to local web sites or internet services.
No throttling — service providers should not be able to slow down traffic intentionally to favour other services.
Increased transparency — to apply not only to connections between service providers and consumers but also to interconnections with the rest of the internet.
No paid prioritization — no service should be stuck in a ‘slow lane’ because it does not pay a fee.
http://mashable.com/2014/12/11/tim-berners-lee-net-neutrality/
The computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web says affordable access to the Internet should be recognized as a human right, as a report showed that billions of people still cannot go online and government surveillance and censorship are increasing
A bit from comments section…: (http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/2oyur0/world_wide_web_inventor_says_internet_should_be/)
“It should be a right though. You have many rights and the internet is a culmination of rights. The internet is speech, it’s a platform for social change, it’s a platform for innovation and at it’s core it’s knowledge along with many other things. In most countries we have a right to library don’t we? It is something that is not owned by one person but by everyone.
It should be integrated into every country as infrastructure and considered a basic right to use it and better yourself. If you are allowed to be banned from using it you are banned from increasingly the only way to do many things. Many places require you to apply online to even get a job.”
A leaked email sent to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton on March 19, 2012, provides a new look at how Google fits into anti-piracy efforts, in Hollywood and beyond.
piracy, file sharing, content sharing, media, hollywood, google, us gov (vs WORLD WIDE WEB) who should be enforcing copyright, is copyright law up-to-date?
Lots going on behind the scenes
http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-prepares-to-bring-pirate-site-blocking-to-the-u-s-141211/
TorrentFreak sources reveal that a large meeting consisting of more than two dozen studio executives took place in October to discuss all aspects of site-blocking. A senior engineer from U.S. ISP Comcast was also invited.
Major actors not democratically elected … trying to create net policy rules …
The MPAA is in discussions with the major movie studios over ways to introduce site blocking to the United States. TorrentFreak has learned that the studios will try to achieve website blockades using principles available under existing law. Avoiding another SOPA-style backlash is high on the agenda.
Posted 11/24: will do extra credit “writing disaster” to offset the lateness!!!
Cognitive mapping – how do we keep track of the interconnectedness of things? The gist of cognitive mapping (from what I understand) is that ideas do not exist within a vacuum. Ideas have complicated societal components built into them (IE: ideas exist within a matrix), thus my goal from this exercise is to try to interpret these ‘social elements/trends’ and reflect on my own position – maybe there are some underlying values that are not immediately obvious.
From a bystander’s point of view, I have been monitoring various stories related to net neutrality / internet policy / ISP strategy on Reddit or shared on Facebook (which are compiled as my personal database). What can I learn about the collective identity, and how? I figure my best bet is to look to the comments (when applicable) to pick up on emotions / values / general opinions.
As an example (or ‘thought experiment‘), one story from my list is: http://redd.it/2mw2sw
From the article, Comcast unveils a rather lackluster marketing ploy to charge consumers more for less (surprise, surprise). The general vibe, or mood that I am picking up on is that many people –as a collective identity- lean toward consumer advocacy. Many seem disgusted by the ridiculous “pay by usage” scheme:
In this trial, XFINITY Internet Economy Plus customers can choose to enroll in the Flexible-Data Option to receive a $5.00 credit on their monthly bill and reduce their data usage plan from 300 GB to 5 GB. If customers choose this option and use more than 5 GB of data in any given month, they will not receive the $5.00 credit and will be charged an additional $1.00 for each gigabyte of data used over the 5 GB included in the Flexible-Data Option.
In terms of just the numbers, it’s quite obviously a bad deal for the consumer. But to some, who may not be completely aware of how to quantify GB usage, it may be tempting to opt in to saving five bucks a month.
But zooming out farther, why would a story like this be so controversial in the first place? Why did it compel people to write their own opinions and comment on the thread (at over 7000 comments) – especially if the folks who don’t know any better definitely would not be browsing the web and lurking in the comments section of a story like this?
I think that it’s because this story does not exist as a stand alone marketing pitch. It’s representative of a bigger issue – and actually, maybe it’s some form of fear. With internet fast lanes recently being on the table, netizens are wary of what ISPs or the FCC will do next. Sure, a plan like UBB (usage based billing) would probably just be ignored by most us, since it is an opt-in program. But it would be a step in the wrong direction.
As a bystander, I believe it would be fair to say that most netizens care more about the neutral structure of the internet than they would care about saving $5.00 a month. The Reddit comments section for this story, and others along this nature seem to become an echo chamber – preaching to the quire, as they say – but Net Neutrality is an integral piece of the collective identity online and it seems to draw in more and more comments and attention as the debate moves forward.
As a mediated witness, I will continue to observe and (try to) create a MEmorial for this ongoing disaster, as the story of Net Neutrality unfolds…
Internet Policy Monitor 
Exactly. Even though there are multiple cable companies in the US, there is no competition. The big cable companies have agreements with each other on what they will charge and then raise their rates after a year. There is no incentive for them to charge less, or offer higher speeds. This is why people are so excited for Google fiber so that the big cable companies will actually have some competition.
EDIT: it’s actually more about local monopolies. It’s difficult for a cable