The Internet Distinction

(Original video on Marc’s blog)

Marc Fennell of Hungry Beast gets a lot right here.  This video features Barbara van Schewick, Douglas Rushkoff and John Perry Barlow. The key to it is where he starts: with Barbara van Schewick explaining “Network Neutrality’s” origin in the Internet’s design as a general purpose platform for end user innovation. A proper discussion of the nature of the issue can be laid out if we start there — because that characteristic is what’s at stake in all the discussions of such concerns as “next generation networks,” “quality of service,” “specialized services” or “reasonable network management.”