Top Ten Advanced Technology Policy Issues: 

 Discussion & Debate

Gotta get a good list for the top ten discussion on Friday at the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technologies (GCATT).  Suggestions are welcome.  So far, the list includes (not edited):

1. Digital Divide/Access/Awareness
2. Definition/regulation of Telecommunication/Information Services
3. Wireless e-911 Calls/locational ability
4. Spectrum Allocation/Availability
5. Universal Design/Affordability of Technology Products (for various groups incl. people with disabilities)
6. Privacy/Security
7. Intellectual Property, Fair Use -patents, trademarks, copyrights and piracy
8. E-govt & social impacts
9. Local/Global impact of Technology [local influence, global context/market]
10. Education and use of technology and content of information based products (including legislators and regulators)
11. technology-specific regulation of communications
12. "media-based regulation of communications"
13. database rights
14. Quality of K12 education
15. Availability of Venture Capital

3:03:46 PM    

Weblogs - the philosophy begins...

Stumbled into another site by David Winer, TheTwoWayWeb.com which has some good resources regarding both the philosphical and technical foundation for weblogging.  Recommended to read.

2:46:15 PM    

Why creative programmers must work with lawyers, and politicians and...

Winer nails the problem that frustrates many in the tech community as they watch politicians and lawyers do what seems to the tech community as "incredibly dumb."  In his notes, for the JFK presentation, he discusses the web and weblogs as a means for creative folks to distribute their product without subverting their product to the whims of large corporate distributors (read MPA, RIAA, et al) and why lawyers must be given a means of understanding the web as a conduit for legitimate behavior that must not be restrained:

That's why it's especially important for creative people, programmers, to work with lawyers. That's why I, a programmer, went to work at a law school and not an engineering school. {My notes for this afternoon's presentation at JFK. [Scripting News]}

Palfrey carries the same notion forward to the political realm:

We need to find our way, perhaps looking to political campaigners for help.  We need to put those who would lock down the Net on the defensive for once, and stop fighting *only* defensive battles (viz., Eldred, these super-DMCA things, etc.).  We need to figure out how to get out in front and start the pendulum swinging the other way, back toward a true balance between open and proprietary.

Both are absolutely correct.  But, we need to convince the rest of the tech community that government and legal stuff has to be understood, you have to participate, or you get ignored!

I spoke to numerous groups while the 90's were roaring and always received either a paternalistic smile or a snarl when I suggested, pleaded and urged, even suggesting doom if they didn't take my suggestion seriously, the tech community in Atlanta to become very involved in the political process.  I understand some of the tech community prefers a libertarian philosophy, others a more Republican one, but almost to the person everyone had the opinion that government had no role in the success of their business, or industrial sector, and therefore, they had no time to invest in such "meaningless" pursuits.

2:38:37 PM    

No Super-DMCA here, at least, not yet.

Hearings on the Georgia bill won't be held this session... but, this will get discussed, alot.  The link to the Georgia bill is HB 867.

Evil spawn.

Ed Felten is keeping up with Super-DMCA (that's right, they're even worse than the original) bills currently working their way through various state legislative mills.

[The Doc Searls Weblog]

2:01:32 PM    

Blogging Self Importance

Winer pulls a comment from Roger Cadenhead:

Many journalists have an exaggerated sense of self-importance that dovetails nicely with the perils of war. Case in point: Embedded journalist Ron Martz thanking God for putting two U.S. soldiers at his side in Iraq so they could be shot instead of him!

I know Ron Martz, Cadenhead took his quote out of context and in the process painted Ron to be something he is not.  That's a problem with "mouthing off at the blog", unless you are there, you don't know the whole story.  Perjorative judgements don't add anything to the debate. 

12:13:58 PM    

Back to networks and link

Found this link while blogging Canter's site, who reminded my of Myradio, which led me to Brain off which sent me to the Complexity Digest (blog surfing is so fun!)  

Which reminds me of the wonderful time I used to have on campus musing about better ways to understand behavior in social systems such as voting... legislative relations, ahh...

12:04:34 PM    

Very important Distinction.

We pass legislation requiring open standards -- meaning open source.  Hmm....

Open source versus open standards. Sun's software czar Jonathan Schwartz writes that the terms are not interchangeable, a point that often gets overlooked. He explains why it pays to read more closely. [CNET News.com]

9:02:38 AM