I Want My Freedom
…of connection with any application to any party as Sir Berners-Lee stated regarding the social basis of the web. Although the FourEyedMonster video shouldn’t be a surprise, it still is. The Internet is an open collection of data – everyone’s data. It’s our free speech that is shared with the world. I may not agree with everything on it or even like it, but that’s okay. I am a choice in what I access. I can filter what media I choose to partake in on the Internet. That’s the beauty of free speech. Like we’ve discussed all semester, there are many issues that need to be dealt with –gender, security, digital divide, crime, history, community, etc. I think it is better to have a multiple directional medium than a one-way medium. In my mind, it is no different than only having Wal-Mart and CVS to shop at – no thanks!
I don’t agree that this is just “mumbo jumbo� as some of the cable companies would like us to believe. I’m not interested in a “connection package� similar to purchasing movie channels. And as far as the phone companies are concerned, I can tell you our phone lines are as old as the hills – no lines have been replaced and more housing developments have been added that use these same lines. Even when we have problems, the repairmen tell us that these lines should have been replaced years ago. So you know my high-speed connection is a misnomer! But, as Berners-Lee states, net neutrality is paying for a quality of connection service and the ability to communicate with others who also pay for a service. Some of that profit should be re-invested. If limitations come into play by corporations controlling the Internet, why would I pay for such a service? I also believe that it is true that control by the phone & cable traffic cops would diminish the innovation of the “little guys�. From the video clip, it was frustrating to hear the approximate percentages of media that people actually participate in versus corporations. 60% participation on the Internet actually seems low in my mind. I was thinking that percentage to be at least 75%. More Internet users must be like me and just urf instead of create (except this semester – I’ve done more than ever - hahaha!).
Comments
You raised some very good points about wanting your freedom and wanting your service but I don't think they always go hand in hand. In order to provide any service, there are going to be limitations based on costs. The ISP can provide a lousy product/service but they still have revenue goals to attain. It isn't fair but some of those goals are based on the debt they have incurred because of an acquisition or merger. The price we have to pay always rolls downhill until we say no and find an alternative service. Until someone comes up with a better plan, I think we are stuck with what we have.
Mike
Posted by: md2506 | May 2, 2007 08:45 AM
Unfortunately you are probably right Mike...I must have been dreaming to think I could have both for the price I pay.
Posted by: juliaT | May 2, 2007 10:26 PM