Yes, indeed it is. This is an unexpected analogy from an unexpected source – but quite apt in my opinion. Last week, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel compared the Internet Economy to the printing press in its potential to change the world. The statement was made in the context of the FCC’s vote on Net Neutrality rules which reclassify Internet service providers (ISPs) as “common carriers.” This would subject ISPs to the same rules as other utilities and has many ramifications for those of us involved with business communications (oh – and the rest of the world too.)
Our Internet economy is the envy of the world. We invented it. The broadband below us and the airwaves all around us deliver its collective might to our homes and businesses in communities across the country. The applications economy began here—on our shores. What produced this dynamic engine of entrepreneurship and experimentation is a foundation of openness. Sustaining what has made us innovative, fierce, and creative should not be a choice—it should be an obligation. As we proceed, we are also obligated to protect what has made the Internet the most dynamic platform for free speech ever invented. It is our modern town square. It is our printing press. It is our shared platform for opportunity.
Print is rarely is discussed in the context of the Internet – it should be. Thank you Ms. Rosenworcel for a moving bit of prose.
Elizabeth Gooding is the editor of the Insight Forums blog and president of Gooding Communications Group www.GoodComm.net
