As a Parent of two young children who have yet to figure out how to do anything with my computer other than to sneak up and punch keys while I am typing. However, the day will come soon when they are asking for a time-share deal on my hardware. This became evident to me after realizing that at my Daughter's Day Care they actually had a computer in the classroom for the children to "explore," opening another avenue that I will have to patrol as a concerned parent.
Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment The Obama take on this concern is interesting. Going against the general Democratic belief that "Government" is needed to legislate problems out of our lives, Obama is yet again putting the parents under the spot-light for being responsibility for their children's exposure to undesirable content both in the media as well as on the web.

It has been my opinion that for far too long parents have relegated the duty of parenting to schools that are spread too thin and the ultimate baby-sitter, the television. When things go south they look to blame everything else but themselves. I will have to save that discussion for a different post.

One exciting concept is that offered by what is being called "Public Media 2.0." I am only going to assume that the 1.0 version of that was the boob-tube. Version two takes programming provided by the likes of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and other children's content providers and migrates it over to the web. The Problem is, it also introduces a whole new way of thinking in regard to how it is selected, rated, and managed. How would content be selected as part of the Public Media 2.0 effort? Would it have to be educationally based? Certified by the Department of Education? What would be the guidelines?

Here is an example of how tricky this can be:

When faced with a decision to put up Wonder Pets or Sponge Bob Squarepants, I always choose Wonder Pets because I feel Sponge Bob is more for entertainment than education. Thanks to the Mrs, TV is scrutinized and managed heavily in our household.

Maybe that one was too easy, here's another:

I was a bit disturbed and shocked by something my Daughter said within ear-shot of myself. She was in the other room and at the age of 3 and a half she said; "My Daddy's going to kill me!" All I could think about is her saying that in a public location and me being hauled in by some Child Services Division for Child Abuse! I immediately went to her and asked her what she said; to confirm my own ears. She repeated it word for word. I had to know where she picked it up from and she said; "from the Little Mermaid Daddy." Wow... Disney.

This is going to be tough. It would be so easy to somehow mandate the FCC to step into the Internet and attempt to regulate this, but everyone knows this is both impossible and would draw huge protests centered around the First Amendment. It would also put us in the realm of that which we are all so quick to criticize the Chinese Government for doing. Dare I say it? Censorship.

I am on board with this Policy's view that true responsibility has to begin where the "rubber meets the road." That is right here at home. Whether it is done with software made easy for the non-technical or through service agreements that providers offer to restrict certain non-child-friendly content through to the home which parents can sign up for. Myself, being in the IT Industry, I plan on implementing strict controls on my machines and leveraging any tools out there to assist me in making sure that I am on top of what my children are doing on-line as much as possible.

One other thing I would want more clarity on is how this proposal intends to handle a means to report, track and apprehend the likes of predators and others conducting improper practices designed to exploit children. As an involved parent, this part of Mr. Obama's Technology Policy Paper has my full attention. Gone are the days where you had to be home before the street lights came on and had to check in each and every hour because you were out playing in the neighborhood. The neighborhood of now is limitless with untold millions of dark alleys where children can be drug into and become exposed to things we, as their parents hadn't encountered until much later in life.

Industries grow and contract like an inch-worm moves through its life. At this point of our own lives, Mr. Obama is concerned that the FCC has been spending more time focused on the consolidation of media outlets and communications pathways. In his view, this has done more harm than good for the small business owner or small media outlet. As local radio/television stations are consumed by these Media giants.

Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership I too am concerned with the mainstream media's monopolization of what content ends up in our lives. However, at the same time I find it interesting that this is an issue at all or that it needed to be raised in a Technology Policy Paper.

I say this because when it comes to Technology, the David to these Goliath's is the very internet itself. Music, News, Podcasts, Video almost every traditional media is being made available to every single person with a computer, microphone, keyboard or camera. The reality is, these large media giants should be scared. The only thing that separates the next block-buster sitcom from coming out of Hollywood vs. Alabama is content and determination.

What will be regulated however is how fast these Media giants begin to buy up these smaller independent content provider or intimidate them into giving up their content. Where the focus will need to be going forward is on a more serious review of the national Copyright process and procedure.

It has to be made a clear and open process to protect ones intellectual rights. That is what is really needed. This information has to be clear, concise, simple and enforced to protect those who provide the diversity this section hopes to protect.

"Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Information through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets"

This is the full title as written in the Technology Policy Paper released by the Obama team. As with anything else, I am sure there will be more vague terminology such as this from all of the candidates, however it does provide a vague concept to grasp onto. To assist with this, the Policy Paper actually breaks it down into 4 bullet points which i will attempt to translate into my own digestible understanding and thus also opening it up for discussion here.
Protect the Openness of the Internet In one very broad swoop, this section seems to support an "open" concept at two key layers. At first glance, it appears to address the right of free access of content provided on the internet. The second, actual access to the Internet. It is not long in reading before I quickly understood what issue this first section was attempting to address. The issue of Network Provider restrictions and controls over it's customers.

Bandwidth throttling, content filtering and the likes which have made headlines across the web appear to be making the scuttlebutt rounds in Washington. It is here that a support is laid out for keeping these major players in check. Preferential treatment of one favorable client over a lesser client by allocating more bandwidth or worst restricting content or delaying it. That might not mean much to the individual home based surfer, but to a major corporation who needs fat-pipes and faster data flowing through them, having content or data throttled down could be a make or break situation.

It is important however in terms of keeping the home pricing down to allow more individuals to bridge the digital divide and obtain access to the same information that the rest of us who are able to have on-line access at home have. In this space however, I believe competition between carriers will ensure this is kept under control to some degree.

The very last sentence addresses the real concern for the future of content on the internet and that is of free speech and innovation. Two critical areas that are more of a concern to me than whether or not the big Network Providers play fair with corporate America. I would like to know more about this section than a simple one liner provides.

With it being an election year, every pundit on the street has their opinion about the economy, the candidates, the geo-political issues. Much like the general public, politicians who are engaged in an election cycle also begin to become "concerned" or "aware" of the issues of we, the people. These points of public interest are usually addressed by these candidates in their fresh-off-the-press Policy Papers. It would seem there is a policy paper for everything.

This is going to be a blog series that will look at an area that I am well plugged into; Technology. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has release his own Policy Paper addressing technology. I intend to read through and blog on each section. Might be able to shed some light on where a possible President will see my future going. For now, I leave you with the quote from Mr. Obama's website:

“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.” — Barack Obama Presidential Announcement Speech in Springfield, IL 02/10/07