Internet, Unite!

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The internet today is an information utopia. High-traffic giants like Google and eBay coexist peacefully with tiny blogs nobody reads. Netizens can access the arcane and low-budget just as easily as they can flashy, spendy sites.

But such freedom of access may not last: A contingent led by the telecommunications industry is lobbying to change the face of the internet by transforming it from an information highway to an information tollway.

These industry efforts fly in the face of the principle of 'net neutrality,' which contends that internet service providers should treat all websites equally. According to net neutrality advocates, service providers like Verizon and AT&T shouldn't be able to charge a premium for faster services.If the telecom companies are allowed ignore the principals of net neutrality, service providers could end up taxing websites and email, in effect creating a 'tiered' internet that favors websites with the money to pay for such services over the little guys that give the blogosphere its character. Some argue that telecoms could even block some content altogether based on who's sending it, what it is, or where it's going.

Not surprisingly, netizens are not eager to let their beloved internet fall into the hands of big business. Organizations like We Are the Web are sounding the alarm and letting folks know what they can do to keep the internet neutral. We Are the Web has tapped the creative possibilities of online media to deliver its message with a fun series music videos featuring internet-borne 'celebrities.' ?Each celebrity also gives a touching testimonial explaining what's at stake in the net neutrality fight. WeAreTheWeb.org has gained wide acclaim and was nominated for a 2007 Webby Award, one of the most prestigious awards on the internet.

Utne.com spoke with Riley Kane, cocreator of We Are the Web, about the music video, net neutrality, and what people can do to help.

How'd you come to make a music video about net neutrality?

It's a pretty shocking idea that internet providers would be able to choose what content they provide, and we saw how that could hurt the independents. So we learned about net neutrality. To us, it seemed like such a basic threat to the internet as we know it and love it that we thought it would be cool to do a public service to promote net neutrality. But the stuff that we'd read was fairly dry -- the issue itself is fairly dry, and it's kind of complicated -- so we wanted to simplify the message.

We thought that if you could get the message across in an entertaining way, people would really gravitate to that. So we started talking about, 'Wouldn't it be cool, almost in a Bob Geldof, 'We Are the World' way, to gather some of these cult internet celebrities that got their fame through the internet,' like Leslie Hall, with her gem sweaters, and the Tron Guy, and Peter Pan.

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