finding Monsuun | est. 2005

Love it. Get it. And never go back to Internet Explorer again.

The top level domain .mobi is finally available today! I have already registered a pair of sites of course. Soon, the next time you are travelling on business and you have a six hour layover in Newark, you’ll be able to look for the nearest soup kitchen to serve at on getamission.mobi. Or, if you’d rather not leave the airport for fear of a strip search on the way back through security, you’ll soon be able to kick back and read our author’s works at openpage.mobi. All perfectly formatted under the Switch On! guidelines and browsable from your mobile phone or PDA. Of course, I need to finish the original sites first, but that’s not the topic of this post so I’d appreciate it if you got off my back.

From Google’s blog:

The debate over “net neutrality” is coming to a boil in the next week as the House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that could determine the future of the Internet. The big phone and cable TV companies want Congress’s permission to create a new, unprecedented regulatory bureaucracy on the Internet -– a private bureaucracy of broadband monopolists with the power to determine what content gets to you first and fastest. Google believes that forcing people and companies to get permission from, and pay special fees to, the phone and cable companies to connect with one another online is fundamentally counter to the freedom and innovation that have defined the Internet.

This is a big deal and anyone that wants to see the Internet continue to grow and thrive in the organic nature that it has, please visit It’s Our Net and send a pre-written letter to your Legislators. Here’s a sample of the letter that I sent to John McCain, Jon Kyl, & J.D. Hayworth:

Dear Senator McCain:

As your constituent, I am very concerned about the efforts of the telephone and cable companies to fundamentally alter the way the Internet works, and urge you to do all you can to protect the Internet as we know it and to stand up for the principle of “net neutrality.”

The Internet as we know it has fueled tremendous gains in American productivity and launched thousands of businesses that have re-shaped our economy. It has changed the way millions of Americans communicate, conduct business, and seek entertainment and information.

Unfortunately, a recent FCC decision has removed longstanding protections under which the Internet has flourished. As a result, telco/cable network operators–who control 94% of broadband Internet access and face no meaningful competition–have announced plans to use their control over the consumer Internet access market to control the Internet content and services market.

If Congress does not act, the Internet in America will be fundamentally altered, while the rest of the world will continue to reap the economic benefits of Internet innovation and leadership.

I urge you to do all you can to ensure that:
- Consumers have unfettered access to lawful Internet content, applications and services.
- Network operators do not interfere with or impair access to lawful content and services.
- Consumers are allowed to use the bandwidth they pay for however they choose.
- Consumers are not subject to limitations, redirections, or degradations of service by the network operators who want to favor their own content and services against consumer and marketplace expectations.

This discussion is critically important to me. I use the Internet for business and personal use, and I suspect that a majority of your constituents do, as well. I urge you to protect the principles of network neutrality so that the Internet can continue to bring creativity, innovations, and jobs to all Americans.

Sincerely,

Brandon Willey