Think: Net Neutrality

You all may have noticed the giant freakin' banner at the top of my blog appear overnight, but I assure you, it is for a good reason!  I am participating in the Battle for the Net in order to protect a free and open internet for all U.S. citizens, not just those rich enough to afford it.  This is also known as net neutrality.

You may have heard that term before, but if you want to understand it better, I highly suggest this video from John Oliver of Last Week Tonight:

For the Battle of the Net, this is what is going to happen.  On September 10th of this year (tomorrow), participating websites, including Netflix, Reddit, Vimeo, Etsy, Credo, Upworthy, Tumblr, Digg, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Imgur, and many, many more will be displaying the same kind of loading icon I have at the top of my own blog in order to protest the idea of internet fast lanes.  Although these websites won't actually be slowing down their speeds (yours truly included), this kind of outpouring of support for net neutrality is huge and will surely cause people to take notice.

But getting attention isn't the main goal here.  We want U.S. citizens to contact their lawmakers and make a statement about what the internet should be like in this country.  Congressional action is how we will force our voices to be heard and it's one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal.  In order to ensure our Congresspeople are doing what we the people wish, we have to tell them first.

Use the widget at the top of the page to fill out a form letter and send it to your Congressperson.  Make phone calls to them as well.  Share on Twitter, Facebook, or your social media platform of choice.  Talk to your family and friends about this, especially those who aren't as connected to digital media and news as others may be.  Get the word out so we can fight what Team Cable has in store for us!

For more information on the Battle for the Net, go here.  This website goes in depth about this specific event and also includes known members of Team Cable and Team Internet (where does your lawmaker stand?) and tells you how to participate in the battle on September 10th.

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