Archive: August, 2008

Earlier today, co-host Dave Davies and I covered the Net Neutrality debate on our weekly WebmasterRadio.fm show, Webcology.

Dave and I have taken a special interest in the issue of Net Neutrality and have done a number of shows about issues surrounding the debate. Last week at Search Engine Strategies San Jose, Dave and I squared off against each other taking opposing sides of the issue in a shortned, hour-long panel debate.

This morning, Dave published an excellent piece in the Expert Articles section of WebProNews, “What in the World is Net Neutrality?”

We both have fairly strong feelings about Net Neutrality or, in Dave’s case the argument against Net Neutrality. Though we each understand and can articulate the others’ side. It is a complicated issue which at times poses challenges to one’s sense of philosophy, business, fairness and accountability. The one absolute certainty I have in the entire debate is the fact that the ‘Net is changing rapidly and  our traditions and legal systems must to race faster and learn far more to understand and make informed decisions.

Even the most solid reputations can be somewhat fluid online. Great and well known brands have been damaged online in ways previous generations never had to consider. From the easy sale of knock-off products and stolen inventory to the kiss-off tone of many consumer complaints, large business operations are uniquely vulnerable to the undermining influence of unscrupulous individuals or small groups.

An isolated issue with a prolific individual can lead to hundreds or even thousands of duplicate complaints in blog posts (often replicated and reprinted), comments, on unofficial consumer advocate sites, and even in paid search results. Online, one person can look like many far easier than they could have just over a decade ago.

Similarly, the small cartels of counterfieters that can move fake merchandise from factory to street-corner in a matter of days have found a more comfortable way to hawk their faux-wares. The Internet provides the fakers a virtually unlimited number of options to present items for sale to consumers including some that are considered highly legitimate marketplaces like eBay. Many major corporations share a multi-billion dollar problem and to make the matter worse, few of them realize the actual extent of it.