2011 IGF-USA Meeting Report

Capitol rotunda

Yesterday was the 2011 IGF USA meeting. This meeting precedes the IGF 2011 meeting in Kenya later this year.  What is the IGF? IGF stands for “Internet Governance Forum”.  While this may sound lofty, real discussions are held regarding the future of the Internet.

About the IGF, from their web site; “This is the official Web site of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), run by the IGF Secretariat. Its purpose is to support the United Nations Secretary-General in carrying out the mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with regard to convening a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue - the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The site provides an interactive, collaborative space where all stakeholders can air their views and exchange ideas.”

The meeting had high value information. Here are just a few things that caught my ear:

• Young people were aware of privacy but just more trusting. This is an interesting statement but it is at best anecdotal. I could go to the young people in my family and teach them about Facebook and privacy and they would learn things they would never know – I would also note they would be less trusting.
• I did find it relevant that piracy was discussed and there were discussions regarding not blocking sites at the DNS level and talks that claimed Avatar was more popular and made more money because it was so heavily pirated. From personal experience I can say that there “may” be some truth to that-if it is at all like software, however, I believe that the tug of war between the two sides creates a balance and it should be continued.
• There were good conversations related to using the right tool for the audience with which you want to communicate.
• One participant made an interesting comment related to privacy, they stated that web browsing or search history is like a diary and if what we searched for was not private we would probably not search for what we do… Note: it is not always private!
• One great comment at the end was:”If you want to preserve what you like about the Internet, you have to make your voice heard” Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice

In the end getting involved makes good sense here are a couple links:

•   The IGF Site: http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/
•   IGF-USA Site: http://www.igf-usa.us/
•   IGF Kenya 27-30 Sept 2011:
http://igf.or.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21:joomla-facts&catid=30:the-community&Itemid=37

I look forward to seeing everyone in Kenya -- get involved!