I am spending this week at Said School of Business at Oxford University as part of their annual Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford event. Much more on this entire experience later.
Right now, however, I am in the midst of 50 MBA students from around the world who are being led through a fascinating process by innovation and creativity consultants Synectics to brainstorm and collaboratively problem-solve.
I was asked to pose the problem to be tackled by this eager group. I called upon these bright minds to arm the "good guys" in the Net neutrality debate with a metaphor/analogy/catchphrase which will help the masses quickly and painlessly understand the importance of an open and neutral Net. Up until now, the efforts of Google and its many allies on this issue have not succeeded in making this realm one around which the average layperson can wrap their head.
Nevertheless, it is vital that non-technical Net users understand the stakes here and be empowered to ask their representatives to protect the Internet. Similarly, the lawmakers themselves could no doubt benefit from concrete illustrations to help grasp the underlying concepts (look no further than the "Series of Tubes").
All told, this has been an exhilirating, eye-opening, and frankly inspiring session. The student body here at Said is wildy international and the diverse perspectives have been nothing short of moving.
Just a moment ago, one student, hailing from the developing world, said with all sincerity, "Charging for Google is like charging for air." Wow. A sentiment soon echoed across this room by students from the far reaches of the globe as they recalled life without the Internet and Google. Tales from Kazakhstan, India, and from across Africa each charged with such compelling energy and passion. The Internet is an escape, a laugh, an education, a weapon, it is medicine, it is family, it is resistance to oppression.
I need to jump back into the fray and work over some of these ideas with the students, but in the meantime, this is one of those days that reminds me of how lucky I am, and how lucky we all are. The Internet is nothing short of a gift.