Emma Brooks | Digital Media Enthusiast

Today, I received an unexpected, but pleasant e-mail in my inbox. Looks like Olivia Chow read my somewhat automated e-mail from The Campaign for Competitive Broadband site and actually responded.

Herein lies the e-mail:

Dear Emma,

Thank you for your recent letter on sustaining broadband competition in Canada.  It seems obvious that high-quality, affordable and across-the-board access to broadband internet is an important lynchpin in Canada’s innovation and technology agenda for the foreseeable future.

I agree with you that the presence of competition to provide broadband service plays a key role in the economy of tomorrow, and I believe that the policy direction of the federal government should be focussed on fostering as much competition as possible, not stifling it.

My caucus colleague, Charlie Angus, is the New Democrats’ Critic for Digital Issues.  He has led the way in the House of Commons on internet-related files like this one.   I’ve passed your letter along to him as well, so he can keep you up to date on our Party’s efforts on this file.

Thanks again for taking the time to bring this important issue to my attention.

Sincerely,

Olivia Chow, MP

Trinity-Spadina

www.oliviachow.ca

This line in particular made me happy: “I believe that the policy direction of the federal government should be focussed on fostering as much competition as possible, not stifling it.”

I truly hope this isn’t just lip service and that Olivia Chow truly means that. It would give me a little, juuuust a little hope, that perhaps people up on that hill in Ottawa are listening to us.

(I also learned that focussed is a correct – and Canadian! – way of spelling ‘focused’ – who knew?!)

This e-mail was hot on the heels of an article in the Globe and Mail yesterday on discussions in the U.S. on net neutrality and how it could impact Canada. An excerpt:

“In light of what we’ve seen today, [the CRTC ruling] will be particularly telling because the benchmark now isn’t just what the CRTC heard during this hearing, the benchmark now is our neighbours to the south,” Prof. Geist said. “The CRTC will in many ways be measured up against what the FCC is doing in the U.S.”

If the CRTC is going to be socially measured, especially against the FCC (which has Obama’s backing of the idea of net neutrality), this might be the push the CRTC needs to make a long-awaited and long-overdue fair and honest ruling on the idea of ISP throttling.

As I’ve said before, I really don’t believe protests work or that the government really listens to us minions but these two items? Might have given my wee little cynical heart a little hope.

It’s not much. But it’s something.

Globalive (also known as WIND Mobile) just announced on their Twitter profile that the Campaign for Competitive Broadband has officially launched. (Note: Globalive is not the creator of this website, as far as I can tell, but a partner. There are many companies and people involved in making this campaign a reality.)

I have urged y’all in the past to write your local MP about the CRTC and the issue of net neutrality, as well have asked you to sign the petition to dissolve the CRTC but if you haven’t done either, this website makes everything way, way easier. And isn’t that’s the beauty of the internet? Giving us lazy folks who care the ability to make our voices heard?

I am not a protester. Trust me. I think protests, walks, marches, signs, chants that say things like “hey hey, ho ho, homophobia’s got to go” are pretty much the most useless thing ever. I don’t believe they work. I don’t get involved in those things because I’ve never seen it do anything. I have never written a letter to my local MP (ha ha, despite asking you to – yes, I am a hypocrite) and I rarely sign petitions. This is because I have yet to see any of these things result in a changing of government law, social discrimination, or stereotyping.

If I saw real results, I’d see that the my efforts would be worthwhile. I’m sure there are plenty of examples out there of it happening – but I have yet to see anything. I’m cynical. I’m lazy. And I demand to have my voice heard… but maybe from the couch, and behind my ice cream?

Either way, the Campaign for Competitive Broadband website is pretty sweet as. One click, and boom: You are presented with a pre-written protest letter:

Another click and bam! Who do you want to send this to?

I honestly don’t think it could be any easier than this. Like, really. I didn’t even have to move anything except my hand. A couple of fingers. But there you have it, a well crafted protest letter sent off to four government officials. Protesting just got a heck of a lot sweeter. And my throat doesn’t even hurt from hours of chanting!

This isn’t just an issue of who the bigger telco giant is, this is an issue of letting the competitive spirit run rampant among our Capitalist system (which you may have gathered, I am a fan of). All the partners listed on the above site should be allowed to be as competitive as they want, on their terms. They shouldn’t have to be as competitive as they can be, under the conditions Bell/Telus set forth.

Let’s help. Even if it’s from the couch.

I came across this post on the Renegade Agency Confessional that I really liked. It talks about how sexuality is used in Thailand in advertisements and how it’s vastly different than how sexuality is used in America.

This post shows some great examples and is written very well. It says:

Sexuality in Thai ads isn’t used to sell products in the same way as other countries, perhaps because sex as a selling point is overdone outside advertising.

I probably should have been more observant when I was in Thailand this past February/March, but them’s the breaks. This post really breaks down how different the obvious prostitution in Thailand isn’t the same as the “sex” in TV spots. Well worth a read and really brought back some great memories for me. You can read it here.

Koh Chang