You'll be pleased to hear that a coalition of bloggers has assembled to promote the issue of net neutrality. They've started a series of conference calls. This is not insignificant; bloggers have become a growing and increasingly influential political force. What is encouraging is this post from Timothy Karr's blog. This campaign to preserve net neutrality needs to grow much larger across public consciousness, but the opportunity for victory is ripe. I'm heartened by the words of former U-Chicago guy Lawrence Lessig:

"One thing I saw at the hearing, when I was testifying, is that it just didn't sit right, either with Republicans or Democrats, to imagine the Internet changed into a place where you basically could control what people had access to, or the networks had the right to control what people had access to. There really is an opportunity to do something successful in this context if there really were a movement."

I think we're on the cusp of becoming a movement on Net Neutrality. But what winds up happening with this movement, and for the future of internet and the media in the U.S., is up for us -- each of us -- to determine.

So, get involved. Here's one quick way how: Spread the word. We've asked a New York graphic designer to design a series of website/blog ads about the issue, pointing to the Net Freedom Now campaign, with hopefully more ads coming. If you have a website or a blog, we encourage you to link to the campaign. (Plus, look for more actions in the coming days.)

If the telcos get away with abolishing or maiming net neutrality, it'll amount to strangulation of innovation of the internet and the coming digital media transition through economic means. It would, quoting Ben Scott, "banish hundreds of thousands of bloggers to the slow lane".

Freedom: Use it or lose it.

UPDATE: I think this qualifies as a breakthrough of sorts. Let's keep it going.

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