Spin

I'm amazed at how anyone can convince a group of people to oppose or support an idea by twisting their intentions to sound as if their intent is better for all. Net neutrality is a perfect example.

Net neutrality is a simple idea, to prevent service providers from filtering content. That is an absolute great idea. Telecoms and cable companies propose that they should be able to "prioritize" packets as they deem fit. Whoever pays more should have priority. It IS about the money. Net neutrality prevents someone from controlling what content that you are able to access. NN is about leaving the internet as it is now, free and open, not changing it!

Telecoms and cable providers have somehow spun the idea to make people believe that they are looking out for your interests. They don't want to be regulated, to be told that they cannot direct everyone to sites that reflect their views. Claiming that the "internet is now dead" is just a big lie. Their spin on the subject is to cause confusion, to rally others to fight big government and again...to blame Obama. They've turned their attention to the conservative movement to misinform people into believing that net neutrality is a power grab. It's exactly the opposite.

Corporations strive to become the biggest and most powerful constantly. It's our capitalist way! When they are able to seize total control and monopolize an industry, that's when it becomes unfair. If they are able to squash competitors and dictate price controls, that's when government regulation is actually in our interests. Standard Oil, Microsoft, Bell Telephone are all examples of corporations becoming too big and government had to intervene. Without competition, a monopoly is able to set astronomical prices, and they always do. Competition breeds innovation and guarantees fair pricing.

I don't believe that net neutrality is shady. I think the FCC has a pretty good track record of regulating radio, television and phones without a lot of intervention. They haven't formed the "radio police" or "TV police" so I don't think they will be implementing the "internet police!" Government isn't always a bad thing...after all, DARPA actually invented the internet and opened it to us all. GPS is another good example of government giving us all a useful tool.

I've read both sides of the argument and my conclusion isn't set in stone. At this point, I'm optimistic that net neutrality will guarantee that the net stays free and open. Over time, we'll see....

Watch What Happens When....

Sensational titles get traffic. People are completely stupid and fall for catchy titles all the time. "OMG! You will never believe what she did next!" "Click here to download your free diamonds!"

Click bait wastes time and money. They waste your data plans on mobile devices, waste your time loading all sorts of offers and infect your computers with the virus of the day. Falling for them doesn't make you an idiot...because they are designed to trap people. If an offer sounds too good to be true, IT IS!

Yesterday I heard my mother slamming her mouse on her desk, What's wrong? I asked. "My computer won't download these quilt patterns..." I glanced over her shoulder to see that she was on a nefarious site offering free quilt patterns with multiple DOWNLOAD buttons. All the buttons take you to different sites but nowhere to download those free quilting patterns. I understand her frustration but I cannot make her understand that just going to those sites infect her computer even with an anti-virus.

This is the sad state of the internet today. An average user simply cannot navigate the net without landing at a place designed to rip them off. There is definitely a need for a safe way to surf the net without infecting every device used.