[Chapter-delegates] Fwd: The Internet User is the Person of the year

[Anne Lord]

Dear Chapter Delegates,

You may be interested to share the letter below with your members. It  
was sent by Lynn St. Amour to the editor of the Times Magazine in  
response to their choice of "you" the Internet user, as the person of  
the year.

Best wishes,

Anne
---

>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: The Internet User is the Person of the year  #1
> Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:44:47 -0500 (EST)
> From: Lynn St.Amour <st.amour at isoc.org>
> Reply-To: st.amour at isoc.org
> To: letters at time.com
> CC: st.amour at isoc.org, godwin at isoc.org
>
> Letter to the Editor,
>
> We were delighted by Time's choice of Person of the Year. This is
> well-deserved recognition for the users that are coming together to  
> shape
> the future of applications and tools empowering advancements and
> communities in virtually every sphere of our lives.
>
> But it is also an opportunity to reflect on how a unique global
> infrastructure - the Internet - has made these developments  
> possible. The
> fact that the Internet itself is a product of the work of  
> collaborating
> communities means there is no central control, and no restriction  
> on the
> creativity and genius that brings new applications online each day.
>
> Open standards such as those produced by the Internet Engineering Task
> Force (IETF) as well as collaboration amongst all those communities  
> and
> organizations that have contributed to the Internet's development,  
> rather
> than top down or centralized governance, has ensured that the  
> Internet's
> development remains in the hands of those who know most what they  
> need.
>
> For the last 14 years, the Internet Society has encouraged and  
> supported
> these communities - and today we are working to promote and defend the
> open, collaborative processes to ensure that today's Person of the  
> Year
> will  continue to not only have the ability to innovate, but also to
> choose how he or she uses the Internet tomorrow.
>
> People sometimes refer to the famous 1993 New Yorker cartoon  
> entitled 'On
> the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog'. But in 2007, a more  
> appropriate
> tag line would be 'On the Internet, anybody can help shape the  
> future'.
> Remember - YOU are not only a user, YOU can decide how the Internet  
> will
> evolve for the benefit of people everywhere.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Lynn St.Amour
> President & CEO, Internet Society
>
>
> About the Internet Society (ISOC)
>
> The Internet Society is a not-for-profit membership organization  
> founded
> in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards,  
> education,
> and policy.  With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva,  
> Switzerland, it
> is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of  
> the
> Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.  ISOC is the
> organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and
> other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in
> ensuring that the Internet develops in  a stable and open manner.  For
> over 14 years ISOC has run international network training programs for
> developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting  
> up the
> Internet connections and networks in virtually every country  
> connecting to
> the Internet during this time.
>
> For further details
>
> Internet Society
> e-mail: info at isoc.org
> 4, rue des Falaises
> 1205 Geneva
> Switzerland
>
>
>
>
>