The tubes are in danger!

The internet as you know it is facing a frightening change.

Okay, I know we all like to joke around and have our fun but I need to grab the soap box and have myself a little speech. There's a movement going on - one which should never have been forced to begin - for a little thing called "Net Neutrality". It's a pretty simple concept.

Say we both have fast internet service from two different providers. I have Cox (for real) and you have AT&T. Both of our service packages are the same speed. Now imagine that we both see a link to a funny video on the family blog and click on it. With me so far?

Hmm, nothing strange so far...

I'm sitting at my computer, enjoying this hilarious video. Where are you? You're at your computer but you can't see the video because AT&T only lets customers with a more expensive service plan see videos on that site. Maybe you can see the video but your connection is penalized so it downloads at an excruciatingly slow pace. Heck, maybe neither of those are true but you have to pay a one-time viewing fee for that video.

I think you can see where I'm going. The scary part is that I'm not making these ideas up. This is what net neutrality is trying to prevent.

Right now, at this very moment, large telecommunication corporations are cooking up ways to make you pay more for something which they have no right to charge. Don't get me wrong, I understand that they feel they're owed money for the physical lines on which the intertubes are delivered. What they're trying to do is change the base social concept of the internet: They want to charge people just for viewing different areas of the tubes.

What does it really mean?

Think about the forms of mass communication that are available today. There's newspaper, radio, TV, the internet and...uhh...yep. Now, of those choices can you tell me which is the only one with a majority of user-generated content, stuff that comes from the average Joe? Right, the internet. Now, of the choices, which one is not in a choke-hold by corporations? If you guessed the internet, you're right again.

If the concept of net neutrality is what gives us the vast, varied and freaky fun internet we have today. Think about what would happen if Fox News was the only news available on the internet. I don't know about you but I'd rather read about paint drying.

If there is not neutral access to content on the net independent content will be a thing of the past. The impact of this may not yet hit people who don't work on the web daily but if you think about the far-reaching consequences, it's mind-boggling. It'll basically be like TV and the radio, except on your computer. What do you say every time you turn on the radio or TV? So many channels, so little on.

What can be done?

Educate people. Speak up. Make some noise. Sign something. Get some other people to sign things. Tell those people to make their friends sign things, call people, make noise. Like it or not, supporters of net neutrality are facing a massive fight, even with members of Congress on our side. It'll take a lot more than me just shaking my angry stick on a blog to keep the net safe.

A pair of very clever kids - who made a fantastic indie movie about love, based around the internet - have made a great short which describes net neutrality in a basic way better than I ever could.

Invest 10 minutes of your life and see the explanation here.

I encourage all of you to think about what this means and act upon it accordingly. Just know that if I find out you fought against net neutrality I'm never again giving you beer. Think about that.

Eagerly awaiting the heated comments,
-adam