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Re: Net neutrality is a fuzzy mess
I think you'd get more blogging dudes to join you if they could see a fix for the Net that doesn't reduce to "make way for the carriers to do what they want." The carriers may deliver some Internet service, but have a history of either passivity or hostility to providing the high-quality broadband that customers want. Here in Santa Barbara we get hind-tit service from Verizon and Cox (our local phone and cable monopolies) that meters somewhere between ennui and contempt. One Cox guy told me recently that the Net is a minor concern for them, and that, basically, they don't care. Their game is TV, and maybe getting some phone business away from Verizon. Mostly they want to incrementally roll out Hi-def TV while protecting their monopoly from all threats. I agree that most customers don't care whether the Net service they get is "end to end" or a mix of streaming and stop-and-wait, or whatever, as long as it gets them what they want, which is fat symmetrical, uncrippled broadband. Lots of leading customers -- the ones who need fast symmetrical Net service to build their own businesses -- would be glad to jump on any bandwagon that gets them that, no matter what it's called. Are the carriers going to lead that bandwagon? Or are they just going to build out a big fiber-based network optimized for all they can imagine, which is high-def TV with a buy button? Looks to me like the latter. And as long as that's the case, few blogging dudes of any size will want to come along for the ride. We need a new challenge here. One that's pro-business without being pro-monopoly (or duopoly). One that welcomes competition from all quarters. And one that respects the need for the Net to evolve and perform for everybody. You're right that Net Neutrality failed because it looked back nostalgically on a construct that never was. Now we need something to look forward to. I don't see that coming from the carriers. Nor do I see it coming from anybody portraying the Net's users primarily as "consumers", and worse, as victims. Even when they are. All the hope I see is on the local horizons. It's not sexy, but it might work.
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