Media Re:Public - Internet
Framing the Net: What We Say is What We Get. Or "Caught in the net while hurtling down the information superhighway" Session Organizers: Steve Schultze
Nothing matters more than what the Net *is*. Yet when we call it a "space" or a "stage" or "pipes," we frame it with metaphors that yield very different purposes, laws and business modelsâalso different futures. What different laws and regulation do we get by framing the Net in terms of real estate ("domains," "sites," "commons"), transport ("packets," "content," "pipes") or theater ("audience," "experience")? How do these different frames guide debate over net neutrality, open infrastructure, governance, regulation, public good and business opportunity? Are there other ways of framing the Net, and how might they help?