I don't know if any of you reading this have heard, but tomorrow, there will be a vote on whether the Internet stays neutral for all- or we get put in the slow and laggy censored lane with fees. I don't know anyone who wants that besides the annoying people working with Verizon, AT&T and Comcast. Bleh.
So I thought I'd share my speech about net neutrality, which I had to do over the weekend, so here it be:
Imagine a world with your favorite websites taking ten, fifteen, twenty minutes to load, maybe even more. And imagine big cable corporations sitting around with bags upon bags of money while their websites are working just fine. This is a world without Internet neutrality, or net neutrality.
Today you'll discover one, why corporations don't want net neutrality, two, why net neutrality is important and three, what the world would look like without it.
As you may or may not know, in a few days on the 26th of February, there will be a vote in the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, on whether the Internet should stay as it is, neutral, or put the public into the slow, laggy lane of blocked sites and fees for the Internet. Large corporations like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, the ones who want us in the worst position, are only advocating against net neutrality for the money. They don't care much for the people, only for their own benefit. These companies have no right to take easily accessible information from us. It is unconstitutional.
Cable and phone companies are sick and tired of everyone having a fair chance to be seen on the Internet. They want to be the ones in charge and they want it to stay that way. They want complete control without competition. This means that they make the big money while leaving new and innovative ideas out in the cold to die. These ideas could change the world, but we will never know about them if the vote does not go the way of the popular opinion, for net neutrality.
Some people believe that you get what you pay for, that more money should equal greater service or equality. While this applies to products you purchase, this does not apply to the business platform known as the Internet. The Internet as it stands is an equal area providing equal opportunities to all businesses. Net neutrality is essential because it discourages monopolies and encourages competition among businesses of all sizes. Without competition, the big cable companies will be hoarding money unfairly as small businesses are scavenging for the scraps.
If the Internet does not stay as it is, the world will be very different, in a very negative way. For starters, with a dinosaur Internet, small businesses like Etsy and other sites would drop like flies. This would include Tumblr, Kickstarter and Yelp, who all support net neutrality. Cable and phone companies would take over, as they would be the ones in the "fast lane" with normally running computers and phones. In my opinion, everyone should have an equal chance to conduct their business without favoritism to companies with more money. The Internet is supposed to be a level playing ground for all businesses.
In the words of Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the Internet, "Freedom of connection of applications to any party is the fundamental social basis of the Internet. And now, is the basis of a society built on the Internet." Never has this quote been more timely and true. Write your Congressional representatives as soon as possible to help stop this potential negative future. Do your part to keep the Internet free.
So I thought I'd share my speech about net neutrality, which I had to do over the weekend, so here it be:
Today you'll discover one, why corporations don't want net neutrality, two, why net neutrality is important and three, what the world would look like without it.
As you may or may not know, in a few days on the 26th of February, there will be a vote in the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, on whether the Internet should stay as it is, neutral, or put the public into the slow, laggy lane of blocked sites and fees for the Internet. Large corporations like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, the ones who want us in the worst position, are only advocating against net neutrality for the money. They don't care much for the people, only for their own benefit. These companies have no right to take easily accessible information from us. It is unconstitutional.
Cable and phone companies are sick and tired of everyone having a fair chance to be seen on the Internet. They want to be the ones in charge and they want it to stay that way. They want complete control without competition. This means that they make the big money while leaving new and innovative ideas out in the cold to die. These ideas could change the world, but we will never know about them if the vote does not go the way of the popular opinion, for net neutrality.
Some people believe that you get what you pay for, that more money should equal greater service or equality. While this applies to products you purchase, this does not apply to the business platform known as the Internet. The Internet as it stands is an equal area providing equal opportunities to all businesses. Net neutrality is essential because it discourages monopolies and encourages competition among businesses of all sizes. Without competition, the big cable companies will be hoarding money unfairly as small businesses are scavenging for the scraps.
If the Internet does not stay as it is, the world will be very different, in a very negative way. For starters, with a dinosaur Internet, small businesses like Etsy and other sites would drop like flies. This would include Tumblr, Kickstarter and Yelp, who all support net neutrality. Cable and phone companies would take over, as they would be the ones in the "fast lane" with normally running computers and phones. In my opinion, everyone should have an equal chance to conduct their business without favoritism to companies with more money. The Internet is supposed to be a level playing ground for all businesses.
In the words of Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the Internet, "Freedom of connection of applications to any party is the fundamental social basis of the Internet. And now, is the basis of a society built on the Internet." Never has this quote been more timely and true. Write your Congressional representatives as soon as possible to help stop this potential negative future. Do your part to keep the Internet free.
What do you think? Think I'll get 100? ;) And more importantly, whether you think the Internet should stay as it is or change and why. I hope you're on Team Internet! :D
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