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March 31, 2005

Only Connect

David Weinberger is a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Institute for Internet & Society. Co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto and Small Pieces Loosely Joined, he writes about technology, philosophy, and marketing. His closing presentation at Freedom to Connect recast the concept of connection in a critical yet inspiring way. What follows is a partial transcript of his remarks:

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Posted by Heath Row at 4:29 PM | 1 Comment

The Ignorant Network

John Perry Barlow is a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. At Freedom to Connect, he riffed off of organizer David Isenberg's concept of the Stupid Network by offering a call to action to develop what he terms the Ignorant Network. What follows is a partial transcript of his remarks:

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:28 PM | Add Comment

Creating Connected Communities

This afternoon at Freedom to Connect opened with J.H. Snider, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, moderating a panel discussion. Participants included Varinia Robinson, program manager of Wireless Philadelphia; Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press;
Dewayne Hendricks, fiounder of the Dandin Group; and Harold Feld of the Media Access Project. What follows is a partial transcript of the discussion:

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:01 PM | 1 Comment

Interlude: Freedom to Connect

When you're organizing a conference, the little things matter. And I'd like to note two of Freedom to Connect's details that have really made the gathering a rich experience. First of all, the venue. Held at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in "downtown" Silver Spring, just outside of DC, the conference has benefited by the theater's facilities, design, and atmosphere. They even added the event to the scrolling digital marquee out front.

And musician in residence Andy Stein has been a real highlight. A founding member of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Stein has also played with Asleep at the Wheel. And on April 2, he's playing a sold-out Prairie Home Companion show in New York City. His punctuation music, traveling music before and after sessions, alerting participants that things are about to begin -- as well as a Cajun duet yesterday with Terry Huval, who's an accomplished fiddler in his own right -- have contributed a lot to the overall vibe of this high-minded covention of telco visionaries.

Posted by Heath Row at 12:54 PM | Add Comment

What's Incumbent upon Incumbents?

After a short coffee break, Freedom to Connect participants reconvened for a panel discussion moderated by Kevin Werbach, former editor of Release 1.0 and an assistant professor of legal studies at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Participants included Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America; Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project; and Jay Stanley of the ACLU. What follows is a partial transcript of their conversation:

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:50 AM | Add Comment

The "Great" Debate

To kick off the second day of Freedom to Connect, Charlie Firestone, executive director of the Aspen Institute, moderated a debate about how to create a "better" regulatory regime. Participants in the debate included Rick Whitt, MCI's Senior Director of Global Policy and Planning; Tim Wu, a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School; Randy May, a senior fellow and director of communications policy studies at the Progress & Freedom Foundation; and James Gattuso, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. What follows is a partial transcript of their discussion:

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Posted by Heath Row at 9:57 AM | Add Comment

March 30, 2005

Networks for Small Blue Planets

Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications Inc., moderated this afternoon panel at Freedom to Connect, which concentrated on the telecommunications challenges and opportunities outside of the United States. Participants included Brian Condon, CEO of the Access to Broadband Campaign, Farooq Hussain, principal of Network Conceptions, Rahul Tongia, a research engineer at Carnegie Mellon University, Daniel Berninger of Tier1 Research, and Rebecca MacKinnon, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. What follows is a partial transcript of their wide-ranging conversation:

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Posted by Heath Row at 4:11 PM | 2 Comments

Three Freedoms

Everyone involved in this afternoon Freedom to Connect panel moderated by Jerry Michalski is extremely bright and experienced, but the discussion didn't explore beyond what they've already addressed in their work -- much less previous conference appearances. That said, the combination of perspectives -- the religious, the journalistic, and the social -- was somewhat useful. Participants included Rev. AKM Adam, a professor at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Dan Gillmor, a former San Jose Mercury News reporter, and Scott Heiferman, cofounder of Meetup. What follows is a partial transcript of their discussion:

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Posted by Heath Row at 2:35 PM | 1 Comment

Beyond the Freedom to Connect

After the lunch break at Freedom to Connect, Jeff Jarvis, proprietor of BuzzMachine interviewed First Amendment Attorney Robert Corn-Revere. Their wide-ranging conversation addressed how legal precedents in the broadcast media world could affect use of the Internet -- as well as how new technologies are policed. What follows is a partial transcript of their conversation:

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Posted by Heath Row at 1:56 PM | 0 Comments

The Fight for Local Freedom to Connect

Jim Baller is the founder of the Baller Herbst Law Group, a national law firm based in Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis. The firm represents local governments and public power utilities and specializes in telecommunications, cable television, and high-speed data communications. Terry Huval works as director of Lafayette Utilities System. Their dual presentation at Freedom to Connect covered opportunities to advocate for high-speed access on the part of local governments and utilities -- as well as a specific case currently underway in Lafayette, Louisiana. What follows is a partial transcript of their bump-set teamup:

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Posted by Heath Row at 11:46 AM | Add Comment

Attacks on the Freedom to Connect

Susan Crawford is an assistant professor at Cardozo Law School, where she teaches cyberlaw and intellectual property law. Crawford is also a fellow with the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C.; serves as a fellow with the Information Society Project at Yale Law School; and is active with the Internet Policy Project of the Aspen Institute. Her morning talk at Freedom to Connect addressed some of the challenges to free connections that people bring upon themselves. What follows is a partial transcript:

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Posted by Heath Row at 10:21 AM | 1 Comment

Who Are These People?

Lee Rainie works as project director for the Pew Internet & American Life Project. At Freedom to Connect this morning, he shared some of the results from the project's recent research, addressing the demographics of people online -- but also, how people are using the Net. What follows is a partial transcript of his talk:

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Posted by Heath Row at 9:55 AM | Add Comment

Fight for Your Right

David Isenberg is the organizer and host of this week's Freedom to Connect gathering, where I'll be reporting from for the next two days. His opening presentation, a high-energy, at-times poetic call to action, addressed the need for better access to the Net -- and what people can do next. What follows is a partial transcript of his remarks:

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Posted by Heath Row at 9:36 AM | 1 Comment