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Tuesday

The Technologist Agenda: Political Activism for Geeks

Tuesday, March 13th @ 3:30 pm

Nancy Scola Forward Together

This came into the limelight w/net neutrality but really started with electronic voting machines

Why the political world needs tech people
Al Qaeda “The Base” – the database kept by the “bad guys”
The average congressman doesn’t know what the term Net neutrality means.
The level of understanding on capital hill needs a comic book called “how the net works”

Deleting online predators act of 2006 – had to block social networking sites from libraries to receive fed funding
410 of congress voted FOR this

“I could not imaging going back to your shareholders saying: ok, we really didn’t do anything, but made our competitor look bad.” -Mark Warner

Next debate: media reform, wireless spectrum, copyright, broadband rollout, fracturing of the global network

Define the debate in a way that makes sense to us – DOPA bill, the myspace bill

Keepers of the Medium: The internet has a posse – candidates trying to race towards the social networks

How technologist can get involved in politics
There are campaigns everywhere! You don’t need to move anywhere to help. Plenty of people running.
If you are a problem solver, you will be very valuable in politics
Be willing to someone who has a political identity.

Why hasn’t this happened yet?
Politics is messy. no boundaries.
Technolibertarianism
Debate will happen w/or w/out us, will we have a voice in that debate?

It’s a very unpredictable environment – money isn’t good.

Groups: EFF, CDT, IPAC, Savetheinternet.com, League of Technical Voters (TX)