I avoided Twitter as long as humanly possible, but of course one can only hold off on participating in the tech trends for so long without turning into some kind of geek prude.  It started just about a month ago when I was bored on a train ride out to D.C… and there it was… Twitter.

I created my profile and eased into the whole process of pushing out itty-bits of chars to define the otherwise frenetic moments of a working day.  Trends, projects and articles whiz by in twitter time and suddenly one is propelled into a world of conversations that, as it turns out, the entire world is listening in on.

Recently the library of congress announced they would “archive” every tweet that passed through the twitter gates, an archive of our global manic need to be heard (or read as it were) – which makes being a part of Twitter feel like impending immortality!

Big Brother Is Reading!

On a more sinister note, I recently felt the true power of  ”The Twitter” as I innocently complained about my Time Warner Cable service and it’s shoddy delivery.  Instantly a “Tweet” came my way from Time Warner Cable:

@nicomclane Both of these issues may be related to signal interference. Would you like me to take a look at your equipment? ^BP

Not for nothing, I was impressed that they are in fact “tuning in” to what end users are saying about their service/products… and then it happened again!  I had started playing the ole’ FourSquare game and “Checked In” to a PCRichards on a working shop trip and next thing I know, I get a Tweet from PCRichards:

@NicoMcLane Thanks for checking in! Were you able to find what you were looking for?

In and of itself, if Twitter does nothing more than act as an agent of  Global eavesdropping, one can only hope it leads to better service, instant solutions and a brighter future!  Of course this means one must be much more careful about what we “Tweet”, in a strange way it is reassuring to know someone is always listening… and again, it tells us Big Brother is Reading!

What is holding back the US & the FCC from Broadband progress?  We know what it is, a lot of willy-nilly, self obsessed (i.e. Verizon and AT&T, et al) corporate posturing that really doesn’t proactively lead to positive results! What do we have now, the negative results we CAN see in black and white are, the US falling even further behind in the Global ‘race’ for broadband…

If I have to listen to one of my U.K. colleagues poke fun at my crappy Verizon DSL service here in the U.S./NYC, I am going to move to a country where I can get affordable broadband that isn’t barricaded on all sides by the even crappier through points along my digital path and excessive installation fees!

The pontification of decision makers is totally counter-intuitive to their ability to realize a common goal – the insidious dialog we hear on the subject of Broadband in the US has seriously caused eco-socio-psychological damage to our Nation’s ability to be a technological Global leader.  Here is the what the Wall Street Journal wrote:

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. dropped from third to fifth in the World Economic Forum’s latest rankings of national information technology systems. Sweden topped the rankings, and, to nobody’s surprise, China and India made huge gains.

But, they also say:

The U.S., which fell from third place, last held the first-place spot in 2005. But the report says the U.S. is “one of the world’s most innovative countries,” as reflected by the patents it produces. Usage of technology, particularly by businesses, is high, although the country ranks 72nd in the percentage of people who have mobile subscriptions.

Thank goodness for small favors…

Of course anyone who knows me knows why I have broken my silence after all this time to post this piece. I enjoy the word “dongle”.

Virgin claims that the new speed, twice that of its previously released 3.6Mpbs dongle, will give its users improvements in their email checking, streaming media and Internet browsing experiences.

Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile at Virgin Media, said, “We’re thrilled to be offering this faster mobile broadband to our users. If you’re not at home or near a wireless connection, mobile broadband is the best way of staying connected on the move and we’re delighted to be making this a speedier, more pleasant experience for our customers.”

Full post here

In this episode I muse on the topic of the “mobile internet” and “net Neutrality spurred by a recent report; Time Warner Cable asked the FCC to lay off the Net Neutrality conversation, stating “Now is not the time to engage in a debate about the need for net neutrality obligations.” But if we don’t start out with equal and open access, how would we go backwards?

[brightcove vid=42057598001&exp=1344656541&w=510&h=550]

Thoughts?

Released:  September 22, 2009
FCC EXPLAINS RELATIONSHIP OF BLOGBAND TO THE RECORD IN THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN PROCEEDING
GN Docket No. 09-51
To foster dialogue about the National Broadband Plan, the FCC has launched a new blog called
“Blogband” at http://blog.broadband.gov.  Blogband is intended to keep the public up-to-date about
progress on the National Broadband Plan and to allow public feedback, comment, and discussion that will
help the FCC in developing the best possible Plan.  In creating Blogband, the FCC recognizes the need to
reconcile such innovative use of the Internet in communicating with the government with the more
traditional requirement of creating an administrative record, (i) to give interested parties notice of other
parties’ comments, (ii) to allow the Commission to address significant issues and (iii), if necessary, to
provide a basis for judicial review.

* You can make comments and suggestions, yes you!

Read the prepared Remarks of Chairman Julius Genachowski, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC – from today September 21, 2009, here are the highlights:

Some will seek to invoke innovation and investment as reasons not to adopt open Internet rules. But history’s lesson is clear: Ensuring a robust and open Internet is the best thing we can do to promote investment and innovation. And while there are some who see every policy decision as either pro-business or pro-consumer, I reject that approach; it’s not the right way to see technology’s role in America.

At the end of the stream or download is an individual, one who will make a choice to access a piece of content –  if you don’t approve of the program don’t watch it. Change the channel. You have kids, get involved with their lives, teach them right and until you trust them use parental controls, that is what they are for.

The fifth principle is one of non-discrimination — stating that broadband providers cannot discriminate against particular Internet content or applications.

The sixth principle is a transparency principle — stating that providers of broadband Internet access must be transparent about their network management practices.

Do not allow Mobile Carriers, TelCo’s or Cable Operators to filter what you can have access to or what kind of access you are allowed to have.  Where do you stand on the issues, we live in historic times… be a part of the solution!

In closing, we are here because 40 years ago, a bunch of researchers in a lab changed the way computers interact and, as a result, changed the world. We are here because those Internet pioneers had unique insights about the power of open networks to transform lives for the better, and they did something about it. Our work now is to preserve the brilliance of what they contributed to our country and the world. It’s to make sure that, in the 21st century, the garage, the basement, and the dorm room remain places where innovators can not only dream but bring their dreams to life. And no one should be neutral about that.

THE FCC PROPOSES TWO NEW PRINCIPLES :: NON-DISCRIMINATION AND TRANSPARENCY :: THAT WOULD MAKE IT SIX FREEDOMS!!

The FCC is looking for data, analysis and perspectives from participants across the entire Smart Grid ecosystem. They want to know what works and what doesn’t, and want the data to back it up. The data they gather through this process will be an important part of the analysis their team is undertaking.

The deadline for responses is October 2, “but we’re hopeful that many will begin submitting facts and findings to the record right away. We’ll be presenting some preliminary findings at the Commission meeting on September 29.” according to the FCC Blog at http://blog.broadband.gov/?p=232

“Our team is intently focused on identifying the best ways to support and accelerate these developments. These ideas will be an important part of the National Broadband Plan.”

The problem is that the FCC does not yet have the authority to dictate with impunity the Best Practices for the implementation – I personally wouldn’t mind if they were granted the right to pull a trump on Private interest to make this happen, right now the “committee” is just too big and too full of self interest to do any good for our grid, our country or our Broadband.

Too much pressure from big Telcos and not enough action taking place.

According to the post.