By now, you’ve probably heard the hubbub surrounding the joint proposal from Google and Verizon for their take on openness rules and the consumer Internet.
If you haven’t, you might take the time to read what they had to say in a recent Washington Post editorial.
Needless to say, this move has caused quite a stir amongst online pundits, and Olivia Koski at Wired’s Epicenter Blog has done a great job wrangling their feelings in this article: “10 Media Takes on the Google-Verizon Net Neutrality Proposal.“
But what has been more interesting, even than the combined efforts of the most notable online pundits, is that suddenly policy is once again a sexy issue. For anyone in the information field, if you’ve overlooked policy in your job until now – stop. Pay attention. Contribute. Otherwise, we all stand to find ourselves hurtling towards a bifurcated Interent unlike anything we’ve seen in the Internet’s short lifespan.
If articles and issues like this pique your interest, there are many opportunities at the Syracuse iSchool to engage with faculty members, other students, and peers on issues that are shaping the way we move collectively forward.
Recently, iSchool Professor Milton Mueller has been contributing his expertise to other policy matters, namely China’s request for local-language Internet domains. He has been working directly with ICANN, the organization responsible for managing top level domains like .com, .edu, and .gov.
Other faculty members have been working to shape telecommunications policy in developing markets like Latin America. Professor Martha Garcia-Murillo, the director of the Telecommunications and Network Management Program at the iSchool has been named in the Association for Information Systems Volunteer Spotlight for her work on these issues.
The interest and impact of technology policy is reaching into other Syracuse University Schools and Colleges, as well. The Communications Law and Policy Society, run by students at Syracuse University’s College of Law, brings together students and professionals from across disciplines to their annual summit. This year’s theme is very appropriately titled “Law Chasing Technology.”
So – if the public policy debate has gotten your blood flowing, or ignited your own passion for these issues, Syracuse has space for you to connect with others who share your enthusiasm and want to work together to craft policy that works for everyone, not just the major telcos.
Policy is sexy once again.
