Net neutrality: freedom of speech and freedom to hear
Net neutrality not only gives you freedom of speech but also freedom to hear. Or read…or watch…or share points of view…or innovate.
For a good explanation on what net neutrality is, check out these sites:
- Save Our Net (Canadian)
- Save the Internet (US).
- Net neutrality is also a hot topic in Europe and Asia.
Not too clear on what net neutrality is?
Watch this video from The OpenMedia YouTube channel posted on Save Our Net.
Here’s one from the Save the Internet group.
What can you do about it?
Take the same actions that large corporations do – lobby the government!
- advice from Save Our Net . . . Tell Tony Clement
- send letters, email or petitions to your elected government representatives
- voice your opinion to the CRTC
How serious is the net neutrality debate?
If you use the internet for anything – email, Facebook, video, Twitter, music, search for products or service, news, access to information and alternative opinions, exercising religious freedoms, business or social – then this issue is serious. If the special interest groups who are anti-net neutrality have their way then our freedoms to speak and to hear will be taken away from us.
Get informed and get involved!
Dean
Add comment November 5, 2009
New media a teaching tool during flu epidemic
Social media can play an important role during a flu epidemic by providing information on symptoms, treatment, avoidance and status of community infection. Educators are also turning to social media and social networking tools as a method of delivering course materials and lectures at times when students are absent from class during flu epidemics.
With an absentee rate as high as thirty to forty percent expected in some K-12 and post-secondary schools, professional educators are seriously considering using video conferencing (Skype, DimDim), chat (Google, MS Live), podcasts (iTunes), social networks (Facebook) to make course content available to students who are unable to attend class.
Dean
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Add comment November 1, 2009
Podcasting for education – it’s not too late
Yesterday it occurred to me that podcasting is going on five years of age. Back in 2005 or so folks like Adam Curry and Ron Bloom promoted early forms of podcasting with Podshow Inc, now known as Mevio. In the hyper accelerated time-line of the web, five years is a really long time.
During the past five years podcasting enjoyed its surge in growth and then seemed to level off. Topics have ranged from opinions, music, re-broadcasts of mainstream media, social causes, news and niche items of interest (the long tail of information). The one use of podcasting I’ve always been interested in is it’s role in education as a teaching & learning tool. As a matter of fact, that’s how I became involved with podcasting and its potential in the first place.
Podcasting has been used by elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and post secondary colleges and universities as a supplement to traditional learning tools. In some cases it is the primary delivery method of course content. Colleges and Universities are always scrambling for donations or enrollment so marketing is a key activity which podcasting fits in well with. Thanks to educators with vision and the desire to teach their students some ad hoc podcasting efforts have been taken and championed in schools around the world. If your school or college or district hasn’t embraced podcasting yet, don’t worry – it’s not too late.
A few years ago when I was out promoting my podcast production services, I asked a senior technology manager in education if podcasting was part of their strategy. His reply was, “No, there is no demonstrated business value for such things.” I nodded my head and thought, “Not if you run your operation like it’s still 1978.” I wish I had said it out loud, not as an insult but as advice and a guide to a changing way of thinking. About the same time another senior education administrator said no to podcasting on advice of their lawyer. “We might get sued.”, was the reason. My efforts then turned to podcasting for business as a marketing tool but one of the catch phrases I came up with from my experiences in education was,
“You might not listen to podcasts (or insert your favourite social media here) but they do!“
Of course ‘they’ are your potential or current customers and in keeping with the theme here: your students.
Since then a lot has changed. Podcasting in education has been around long enough now to build business cases for its demonstrated value as a teaching tool and as a marketing tool. Some of the earlier technological and cultural roadblocks have faded away or have even been smashed to bits in pursuit of innovation in education. It’s not too late to introduce podcasting into your school.
I’ll start work on a white-paper for podcasting in education and share it here on my blog but in the meantime here’s a white-paper on Making The Case For Podcasting as a marketing and communications tool. A little dated (2008) but still relevant.
Dean
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1 comment October 29, 2009
Inventor of the internet – CBC’s Q interviews Leonard Kleinrock
Yesterday Jian Ghomeshi, host of the CBC radio show ‘Q’ interviewed Leonard Kleinrock one of the fathers of the internet. The first words from the mouth of the internet baby were uttered forty years ago and Dr. Kleinrock is still involved with what he calls a “teenager still struggling to find its way”. Dr. Kleinrock is a great story teller and I especially like the recounting of his experiences in presenting the invention of packet-switching, which data transmission is based on, to AT&T. In a classic case of missed opportunities they turned it down claiming it would never replace traditional telecommunications AKA voice communications. It probably made sense at the time to say no but sometimes risks need to be taken.
UCLA is celebrating the 40th birthday of the internet with a party which is being webcast from Ustream.TV here.
BTW: Al Gore never claimed that he ‘invented the internet‘ but through his involvement with US federal government technology funding was able to take part in creating the opportunities for others to do the work.
More BTW: When the ‘Q’ interview with Dr. Kleinrock came on the Jeep’s radio while I was driving, I was going to Tweet it but texting and driving is dangerous and I didn’t have time to pull over and tweet it. But thanks to the magic of the web we can talk about it today.
Dr. Kleinrock has called the internet a teenager still finding its way. I hope it stays that way for a long time so that it continues to look for new ways of exploring its purpose in life and keeps growing. The day it becomes middle-age is when that growth and curiosity stops and it will sit on the couch and watch the world go by reminiscing about the good old days.
Dean
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Add comment October 29, 2009
Battling it out on Twitter – networks vs. cable companies
In case you live in a cave and don’t watch TV in any form – over the air, cable, satellite – there is a big battle going on between Canadian network broadcasters and the cable companies. In a nutshell, the broadcasters want the CRTC to force the cable co’s to pay them for the programming and channels they currently distribute for free. This is known as a fee for carriage. It’s interesting that two potential dinosaurs are using social networking to promote their cause and get public support behind them. Twitter is a tool used in their campaign.
We follow both of them on Twitter and will click on the links embedded in the tweets and even retweet them from time to time. Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, the Twitter campaigns do have impact. If tweet messages are crafted properly they will provide your followers with valuable info and can even spur them to action. Twitter doesn’t stand alone and like all new web social marketing and media platforms should be integrated into the total marketing package.
Dean
Dean
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Add comment October 28, 2009
