Net Neutrality
One of the biggest issues for users of communication technologies at the moment is making sure the internet and its affordances remain both free and accessible to all users, with the competing interests including media companies, ISP's, governments and users all pushing in different directions to try and control the future of the internet. The network neutrality of the internet is what makes it such a democratic form allowing almost anyone access to the same information, the same rights and the same ability to publish and distribute knowledge and ideas.
Piracy, terrorism and other crimes are cited by governments and companies trying to restrict the internet in conflicting ways, mostly trying to protect their own interests rather than finding ways to work with the new online sphere, something that may work in the short term but shifting uses of communication technologies in society will negate any long term benefits, as those in the music and film industries have found.
Having networked rather than broadcast communication technologies moves control to the audience, something which has proven advantageous to some groups working online who have identified this and are producing content and integrating audiences in a networked way, something which should be celebrated and exemplified for all media makers, entrenching the use of the internets affordances and increasingly negating other, more controlled communication forms.
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Posted by Nicko Thu, 29 May 2008 21:38:00 GMT