Would you freedom march for ... internet access?

BBC News posted this article, Internet access is 'a fundamental right,' yesterday.

I found this article fascinating primarily because I had never given though to whether or not my freedom to use the internet could ever be taken away. Can you imagine if the government began enforcing a law against the internet? (While I realize that this is extremely unlikely, the thought still mystifies me.) Seriously... We'd all need to go buy an encyclopedia and carry it everywhere with us or something. We are so dependent on our ability to get answers and get them fast that I can't even imagine what would happen.

But anyway - the article really never mentioned users in the United States and their opinions, but I can only imagine that as a country so deeply tied to our God-given rights and freedoms, that we'd be in agreement with this statistic from the article: "The BBC survey found that 87% of internet users felt internet access should be the 'fundamental right of all people'."

 

What do you think?

Where do you fall on the spectrums:

 - Should the internet be a fundamental right?

 - What aspect of the internet causes you the most concern?

Happy New Years! Anyone feeling disconnected this year?

Happy New Years Everyone!

I hope you all had such a wonderful New Years Eve! I definitely did myself. I stayed home, away from the crowds, and away from the crazy New Years drivers! So suffice it to say... I'll be sticking around to see next New Years Eve!

Anyway... I wanted to talk about how I think social media such as Facebook and Twitter has revolutionized and also handicapped the way that the majority of the younger population now communicates. I was surprised last night by the massive amount of texts that came to my phone as dozens of my friends sent out mass-messages to all of their Facebook contacts saying "Happy New Years!" but that I did not receive ONE phone call from even some of my closest friends. I think that this is so strange because I can remember even just last new years eve getting half a dozen phone calls from friends and family after the ball had dropped wishing me well in the new year. Does anyone else feel like our personal relationships are slowly being stripped away by the laziness that encompasses social media? Maybe not... but lets take one thing away from my ramblings... Don't forget that even though it's easy to send out mass greetings on such Holidays as Christmas and New Years... it's always much nicer to get a phone call from those you really connect with. So lets not forget what social media was intended to do: Bring us closer together and help us keep in touch with friends! So next time you send out a mass message to your friends on facebook, don't forget to also call up the people that you value most and let them know that you still care enough about them to use those fingers of yours for more than just text. Until next time, Happy New Years!

Here's a fun article for those of you interested. It's about using Facebook and Twitter Safely, and comes from CNET News: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10420861-245.html