Ars: You have called network neutrality the “First Amendment issue of our time.” We had a lot of push back on that from readers who are upset about other issues in the last decade such as warrantless wiretaps, Patriot Act misuse, the new COICA censorship legislation… why is net neutrality really that fundamental?

Sen. Franken: Well, because if you have a few ISPs essentially running the whole show and they’re charging for a fast lane, then really the information that people are going to get is going to be corporate information. People are getting more and more of their information on the Internet and this will mean that the speech will be controlled by big corporate interests. They’ll be the only ones able to pay for the faster access, and that essentially will be what people get. That’s why I call it the First Amendment issue of our time.

Although he has addressed the topic often, some readers may remember that Senator Franken spoke passionately about Net Neutrality at the FCC Public Hearing in Minneapolis last August

Recently Steve Clift, E-Democracy’s Executive Director, pulled together a list of examples where lists have made a mark in the real world. With his permission I am sharing his list as a Minnesota Broadband Story of Success. I know you don’t need broadband for email – but you do need a computer and a connection and many surveys have shown that for many households the computer is the barrier. Maybe engagement tools like these will help make a computer more appealing. It’s also worth noting that while these examples are taken from the Twin Cities, there are lists in rural Minnesota (and around the world) as well…

In Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Park, our Neighbors Issues Forum, led by volunteer Sara Bergen, connects about 15% of households everyday (500 forum members in an area with 3,400 household, 9,000 residents with a big urban park in the middle). The recent drive-by shooting of a teen girl and now the recent sexual assault in the park (two incidents, three victims by juvenile attackers) have been major topics of exchange. The Minneapolis Star Tribune picked up on a post from the sexual assault victim and it is now their most viewed news story. The powerful post from the “the ‘mother’ in the news” on the forum.

Her first person report is markedly different than the local media reporting rapes. There was also a on the planning for vigil on Dec 1 in the park. We didn’t create our forums narrowly in response to crime, but promoting safety is one huge benefit of well-functioning neighborhood forums.

Three other examples from just the last couple weeks:

1. In Nokomis East, a burglar is scared off by someone who cites the forum as alerting her to their methods:
   Post 3 – http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3KlTBueeAzkN6NZ3f3c3tT
   Maps shared – http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/5Hwu9DnKPZbinm7t8AUkHA
2. In Standish Ericsson, someone tells of being a victim of burglary:
   http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/7BS0kpGZA211p9lVLwD2wc
   (Click arrow to see full post on web site)
3. In Seward, neighbors react to poor television news reporting on the safety of their community after a shooting:
   http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4c6hfO7orXJvCWkMiVvva6

For those not familiar with the “Neighbors Online” movement, some 12+ million Americans adults participate in neighborhood e-mail lists/forums/social networks on top of those who visit place blogs. See Pew Internet numbers and my analysis:
http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/858

Our model is somewhat unique in that our forums are be designed “public” so as to attract as many people as possible via Google searches, we require real names (like Facebook but unlike most blog and online news commenters), and we have a city-wide forum where more political issues can rise to a larger more political audience. So, with the mother’s post, it is open and accessible for all to see including the local media. The Powderhorn forum has attracted nearly 50 new members to reach 500 in the last few days due to our intentional openness.

Next week, former President Bill Clinton will sit down for a YouTube interview, in which all of the questions will come from YouTube users.

As a top uploader in the News & Politics category, we thought you might be interested in submitting a question.

Here’s how to submit your video question (video questions are strongly preferred):

1. Record yourself asking the question and upload it to your YouTube account.
2. Visit http://www.youtube.com/citizentube and look for the Google Moderator box. Click “Submit Question” and then “Attach a YouTube video”.
3. Paste the link of your YouTube video question and click submit.
4. Tell all of your subscribers to vote for your question!

The deadline to submit is Monday, 9/13 at midnight PT.

First, my ranking as a top uploader in the News & Politics category is in jeopardy – because since I came home from Ireland in July my upload speeds in St Paul have been woeful! Second and perhaps more importantly, this is an opportunity that is only available to folks who have access to sufficient broadband upload speeds. Those without access are silenced. That may sound a little dramatic – but in terms of personal and community advocacy I think it’s becoming increasingly true. A recent study by Burson-Marsteller (a public relations consultancy) found that nearly all (97 percent) political advocacy groups are using at least one social media platform to communicate with stakeholders. Now it turns out their sample was not large but in my dealing with local nonprofits I have found the same.

Here’s the announcemetn on the program:

TruthToTell’s ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN explore the issues and testimony Minnesota media justice types will deliver to Federal Communications Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn at a hearing on the future of the Internet.

STEVE RENDEROS – Media Justice Coordinator, Main Street Project
MARGARET KAPLAN – Operations Director, MN Center for Neighborhood Organizing (CURA)
CHAKA MKALI – Director of Organizing and Community Building, Hope Community, Minneapolis
LAURA WATERMAN WITTSTOCK – Author, Consultant, Co-Producer/Host – First Person Radio (KFAI)

This week Insight News introduced their latest hire…

Ivan B. Phifer this week joins McFarlane Media as a technology reporter supporting efforts to expand broadband awareness and utilization in communities of color. Phifer’s work will appear in newspapers serving African and African American, Latino, Asian and American Indian communities.

The newspapers are members of Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium, which, in partnership with University of Minnesota’s innovative Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC), and the U’s Office for Business and Community Economic Development, have created a network of community public computer centers (PCC) that provide jobs, training and access to high speed internet technology.

I happened upon the article while looking at Bernadine Joselyn’s notes from the TISP meeting earlier this week. (Those notes will appear on this blog later today.) I think it’s exciting that they’ve hired someone to focus on broadband. I look forward to reading future stories. Heck, maybe we can even share notes.

You can track (or participate in) the contest through the web site, Facebook page, Twitter or YouTube. The medium is the reason that I’m posting about the project here – although I decided that the connection was tenuous enough to wait for the weekend to post. But I think it’s great to see how the Internet is being used to generate civic discussion and engagement.

Could this idea work offline? Probably, but at a much more local level. The contest opened March 18 and I can see that there are already 40+ submissions and they are 500+ fans on Facebook. Now if I can just think of a way that broadband can address obesity!

According to the Sunshine Week web site…

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.

Sunshine Week is led by the American Society of News Editors and is funded primarily by a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami.

Though spearheaded by journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public’s right to know what its government is doing, and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.

I know that’s kind of long but I wanted to fit in the part about enlightening and empowering people to play an active role in government at all levels – because I think that ties in so closely with one of the basic reasons that the government is and should be interested in broadband. Because as more and more government information is being made available online (sometimes avialble online only), it is important that every citizen have equal access to that information – brodband is the medium. Also broadband can give voice to the citizenry that was previously hard to hear – but only those with broadband have that advantage.

Locally, Sunshine Week will be celebrated on March 16 when the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information awards Reed Anfinson, recipient of the 2010 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award. (Get details on event.)

Anfinson is publisher and owner of the Swift County Monitor-News, based in Benton, MN. According to the MN COGI web site…

In this role he has published frequent editorials and articles on open government, including articles on the state’s Data Practices Act, open meeting regulations and discussions of the impact of video and digital technology on public access.

The keynote speaker is Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson. He will be speaking on the open approach used in the contentious Senate recount and the impact on the public perception of the outcome. He will also address the Court’s decision to initiative a new test of cameras in the court in Minnesota. I think of the impact The Uptake had on the recount – filming and posting the recount online. It’s just one aspect of the importance of broadband.

On the blog
I thought their synopsis of a recent workshop was good – though I didn’t attend so I just have to assume it’s accurate. I enjoy the comments as much as the blog itself.

On Twitter
So far it’s more of a broadcast agenda – but I don’t mind that.

We’ll see what becomes of both. The claim is that they’re a step towards transparency. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll learn more than we would otherwise – but I would think we’d learn things more quickly.