On a day for Freedom, make your voice heard on direction of the Internet

If you’re American like I am, you can’t get through a sentence without using the word freedom. The freedom to talk about my freedom is one of the most freeing things in my free life.

Of course, while talking about freedom is great, actually taking advantage of those freedoms is even better. Which is why now is the time to take advantage of a freedom.

The Internet, our little meeting place, will be changing soon, my friends. And don’t get me wrong, I’m no expert on things like the very real potential of a two-tiered Internet price plan or what role ICANN should take in the future. But I’m aware that changes are coming.

From Dvorak.org:

The US government is asking for comments on how the internet should be run, and anyone is allowed to comment - but you’ll need to be quick.

The NTIA - an arm of the US government’s department of commerce - is holding a public meeting at the end of July over what should happen to the current Internet overseeing organisation ICANN when its contract is renewed in September. In the meantime, it has opened a public comment board where you are able to email comments for the US government and the rest of the world to see. The board is open now but comments need to be sent by this Friday, 7 July.

The official announcement can be found at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. You can read or make comments through an At-Large Advisory Committee. You can also send comments via e-mail at DNSTransition@ntia.doc.gov.

Keep in mind, that while this announcement has been up for some time, the opportunity to have your voice heard lasts only until July 7, 2006.

Face it, we all get untold pleasure and assistance from the Internet. This is the time that we all need to educate ourselves on the potential direction of this marvelous technology.

Freedom is more than platitudes and speeches; it’s about the actions and education needed to maintain those freedoms. And Independence Day is the perfect time to start getting involved.

–WKW