Often called the Father of the Internet (though he calls himself a “cofounder”), Vint Cerf these days works for Google being, as Valleywag’s Own Thomas puts it, “vice president in charge of being the guy who created the Internet.”
So that’s what “Internet Evangelist” means!
Whatever his title, he’s using throwing some of the clout onto YouTube to endorse Senator Barack Obama as President. The wedge issue for Cerf? The one that protects his baby of course: Net Neutrality.
In his video address to whoever’s listening, he says, “In the upcoming presidential elections, the two candidates have rather different views of this particular matter. Senator Obama in particular sees things the way I do which is that the net should remain open and fully accessible and providing access on a nondiscriminatory basis to people who want to offer new services on the network. My name is Vint Cerf, a scientist, and I’m voting for Barack Obama.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O60x75K9Fgw
Though Net Neutrality isn’t that simple, he explains it in very simple terms, a less mind-twisting definition perhaps many have been waiting for. Cerf’s endorsement doesn’t come as a big surprise. Other bigwigs at Google, like Eric Schmidt, are known Democrat party members, and Net Neutrality is one of those issues you can usually guess by party line who’s for or against it.
It probably wouldn’t be that way if many Republicans took a careful look at the topic and see that an absence of neutrality only really benefits telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon—and the packet-shaping equipment providers needed for what has been proposed by them—the DOJ, and just about any other intelligence or law enforcement agency with its own acronym, and huge corporate content providers looking to squeeze others out of the game. Those entities and traditional small-government Republicans have labeled enforced Net Neutrality as needless government intervention.
However, if all those small and medium sized business owners out there want their level online playing fields to stay level, even for future, innovative ventures, then Net Neutrality would ensure that’s possible. What’s good for business and good for entry into business, is good for everyone.
