This is my last comment on this for now.
Really.. (I hope)
I just finished reading Ryan Singel’s commentary on the Google-Verizon deal. Apparently, Google is an evil sell-out now. This is amusing because this has to make the assumption that Google was not an evil sell-out before which is, of course, ludicrous. Google is a large corporation and it has sold out numerous times in a variety of ways. So let’s start with this little tidbit of cold hard truth: there are no good guys and bad guys when it comes to corporations. Every one of them wants as much of your money as they can get. They just have different ways of getting it.
Now I know that those poor companies like Netflix and Hulu may be in trouble. Wait a minute here, isn’t 30% of Hulu owned by NBC Universal, a company in which Comcast will soon have a 51% stake? Isn’t Hulu already charging a monthly fee and still showing ads to its users? Yep, I mourn for Hulu. Now, Netflix, I use. I like the service, I like the content and so far that pleases me. I pay for it and I don’t watch ads (well except for those films which are ads but that’s not the point here). It’s a win-win. Let’s be honest here, though. I am not going to cry if Netflix goes away. I think that’s what really got to me in Singel’s article. You want me to feel bad because other companies are being screwed. Why? That’s how it works. You know who I worry about? I worry about the user who wants to share data with other users. I worry about shared traffic being forced to a slow crawl. I don’t care if I can’t watch Toy Story 3D streaming to my TV screen. Talk about missing the boat here.
I care about educational access for users in other countries where telecoms have no plans to implement anything near decent bandwidth because the investment supposedly isn’t worth it. I care about equal access and not being forced to go to Youtube or some telecom site to share data. I care about accessing and protecting my own systems and cloud-based platforms that protect the user not make them fodder for the next marketing scheme. I also believe in owning the hardware and software that I buy. One area where I do agree with Singel is on cell phones and the idiocy of telecom crippling. Of course, that problem only exists because we buy it. I want to see an end to telecom sponsored phones. It’ an idea bred from that 70’s bullshit where you essentially rented your phone from Ma Bell. There is a solution, though. Start paying full price or stop buying (I know, scary concept isn’t it?).
I know it’s not popular to say but this framework is a positive step. As I said yesterday, it’s positive not because it’s a good idea but because it is something we can look at and think about in real terms. It also reminds us that corporations aren’t on the side of the people. They never are. I like Google’s products. I use a lot of them and I respect the incredible talent they have working for them. I don’t want them making government policy, though. As for Verizon, AT&T, and pretty every other telecom out there, I want them kept as far away as possible from being able to influence government policy. Is Google a sellout? Sure, but not because of this. They’re doing the best they can to protect their business. That is all you can expect from them. Stop making the corporation your hero and start focusing on pushing real policy. Yeah, it’s an uphill battle we may (and probably will) lose because they have bought a lot of the people we elected.
That just means we have to fight even harder. So donate, get active, join the EFF or another organization that is focused on this topic. Contact your representative, and start looking at technological projects that exist to help and promote connectivity and open access. Support them with time, skill, and money if you can. That’s how these fights are won. You can’t look up and say, “Google will save us.” They can’t and they won’t. That duty is up to the people. It’s up to us.
Links:
Singel’s article [Wired.com – Epicenter]: http://bit.ly/ad9aUq
EFF’s balanced and productive review of the Framework [eff.org]: http://bit.ly/biR9a8
EFF: http://www.eff.org/
