While I attended Personal Democracy Forum 2007 last week, we were introduced to 6 issues that will face our next President, as articulated by Andrew Rasiej and Micah L. Sifry, the co-founders of PDF and the leaders of the wonderful conference I attended. I think there can and should be a lot of discussion around these issues, and think this may have been a little lost when they were revealed since it was in the middle of a very busy day.

I will quote them completely from the Personal Democracy Forum website, and add my own thoughts and ideas around them via bullets under each one:

The following are very specific technology policy goals that we are asking every candidate to either endorse wholly or to offer alternative positions. It is time to find out who can actually claim to be the country’s first TechPresident.

1. Declare the Internet a public good in the same way we think of water, electricity, highways, or public education. The government has an obligation to enable low cost universal access to this resource. Regardless of market considerations, every American should be able to take advantage of the Internet for use in their lives and businesses. The Internet is the dial tone of the 21st century.

• I agree the Internet is a public good, but I am not sure I really want to government's involvement in it as it will lead to regulation. Regardless of what Eric Schmidt said at PDF2007 about the "Great Firewall of China," I don't want the freedom of the Internet to be compromised. Remember the freedom of speech vs. website blocking issues in public libraries? Scary.

2. Commit to providing affordable high-speed wireless Internet access nationwide, along with protecting and expanding unlicensed spectrum for public use, and make the Internet a reliable part of our infrastructure so that it deliver on its next phase, transforming how we do business, learn, play, participate in our democracy, stay secure, and govern. Do this by creating an Internet Innovation and Investment Fund with a minimal budget of $20 billion (half of what we spend on highways in a single year) to guarantee and spur development of an Internet wireless broadband blanket and make sure the Net reaches every segment of our population. Once everyone is connected, new applications will emerge creating efficiencies in how our government delivers services, how emergency communications are enabled, how education and health resources are available, and how freedom of speech and participatory democracy are made real for every citizen.

• I would love this, but again, I am afraid of government regulation. Isn't this what happened with the regulation of the phones and cable? Little competition now and standards that do not readily play nicely in a global market. I know how important access to the Internet is, and am wondering if offering incentives and tax breaks to spur this development may not be a wiser move that would avoid another level of government bureaucracy?

3. Declare a “Net Neutrality” standard forbidding Internet service providers from discriminating among content based on origin, application or type. Companies that provide access to the Internet should not be allowed to provide content and services where they will be tempted to prefer their own over what is available from others. If we want the Internet to remain an open market for innovation and to lead us to a new leading competitive global economic position, we need an infrastructure that is not based on old models of telephone and TV networks.

• Isn't this what broadcasters and cable companies do now; they show whatever they want? The highest money-maker gets face time? They did invest in teh infrastructure. Having attended one of the Unconference sessions on this issue that presented this as a civil rights issue, it is one I think I need to educate myself more about. I am not sure about it in fact being a civil rights issue vs. corporate profits, and I think the jury (or my own thoughts about it) is still out. I need more info.

4. Instead of “No Child Left Behind,” our goal should be “Every Child Connected.” The digital divide in our country is worse than it was 10 years ago before our schools were wired. Most public schools still have students visiting computers only for a few hours a week in computer labs. With every major corporation in the world connecting its customers, employees, and suppliers, to 24-hour networks regardless of whether they are using computers, cell phones, PDA’s, etc. providing them access to massive data resources, there is no reason we can’t build a similar networked ability for our students, teachers, and parents 24 hours a day to access the greatest libraries of the world. This will accelerate the professional development of teachers to use the new technology as well as transform education from being something that happens primarily only in school buildings into an ongoing process that facilitates learning moments happening wherever and whenever possible.

• I remember when I taught high school and middle school for 10 years–many teachers had no idea what to do with the computers and Internet access. How do I use these tools to better instruct my students? Then again, how much time gets wasted in workplaces from surfing, eBay, and the like now? I know some colleges are exploring laptop policies in class since students get distracted by IMing, Tweeting, downloading music, and the like rather than paying attention in class. I know I do all this when I have my own laptop in classes I take. Wasn't it somebody who was downloading Grey's Anatomy during one of the sessions at PDF2007 that influenced the entire wireless network's slowdown? That wa an adult–how about kids who have less self-control (if that is true)? Yes, they can be used to check references and look up facts, and if teachers were creative and engaging, people's minds may not roam, but we do multitask well, don't we? Perhaps this is an even larger issue, such as when students began using pens instead of pencils, and school becamse required of all, rather than a benefit of being rich.

5. Commit to building a Connected Democracy where it becomes commonplace for local as well as national government proceedings to be heard by anyone any time and over time. People should be able read proposed bills before they are voted on, analyze them together, and contact their legislators and participate in the legislative process while it is happening. The culture of the Internet encourages transparency and citizens should have the ability to hold their elected leaders accountable not only so they can be “watchdogged” but so that the legislators themselves become more effective in providing information to their constituents.

• Good idea, but I am not sure if this point is specific enough for a policy goal.  

6. Create a National Tech Corps, because as our country becomes more reliant on 21st century communications to maintain and build our economy we need to protect our communications infrastructure and be able to have an emergency response capability to establish emergency communications, rebuild networks and databases, and provide tech support for all relief and recovery efforts. It's time to create a "National NetGuard" of technically skilled Americans who can volunteer to be trained and deployed to respond to any terrorist attack or natural disaster. Part of this program should be the creation of a tech equivalent of the federal oil reserve, but for computer and communications equipment, that would be maintained by our country's computer equipment manufacturers in a revolving inventory and would be available to be used in an emergency.

• I think this is an excellent idea. Absolutely excellent.

I am a proponent of technology and education and the democratic process, so hope my thoughts here will not be taken as dismissive criticisms of these suggestions, but rather an example of part of the discussion that will be needed for any of these ideas to be moved forward. Considering this call to action at the beginning of this issue, now that I have learned more about the influences of technology on democracy, I have more questions than two weeks ago when I knew less. Ahh, the conference was valuable for me.

I think that is what education is all about–learning how little we really know.