Twenty some East Bay and San Francisco peeps headed down from Berkeley this morning to Mountain View to - and, no, I'm not making this up - Occupy Google.
Hoping to engage the Google community in discussion about Net Neutrality and spur Google's management (hello Sergei! hello Larry! hey there Eric!) to take further action to protect the Internet for use by all, for the benefit of everyone, they've taken up residence on Google's campus between Highway 101 and the Bay with a popup, wireless infrastructure and more.
They've established a website, occupygoogl.com, and on it is an invitation ...
Come join us in a 24/7 occupation of Google headquarters
to create a space for open dialog on the future of the Internet.
And a statement...
The Internet is one of the most powerful tools we have for changing the world.
The choices we make today will determine how this amazing tool will be used to craft the world we live in tomorrow.
Since it's inception, the Internet has remained a horizontal space where all users have equal access to information & communication. As the FCC considers new rules that will allow for large corporations to have faster connection pathways than individuals, we must consider what kind of internet we want. There is an overwhelming consensus that we all want an Internet based on a few simple principles: a space that does not discriminate between it's users, a space that does not limit content or censor information, and a space that does not require you to pay to have greater access. This is the essence of net neutrality.
The truth is that the Internet is quickly becoming the greatest catalyst for transforming and changing the world we live in. It is through these tools that we have recently seen governments & corporations challenged, entire political systems revamped, and new innovations birthed.
They've also created a set of requests for Google:
- Blackout their entire website for a day, replacing it with a link to petitions and the FCC comment page.
- Add a link to their homepage to inform visitors and connect them to petitions online.
- Create their own creative way to connect their users to this issue and how to fight back.
You can get updates on the action from the website and via the twitter accounts
@occupygoogl, @occupyoakland, and more.
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