Into the Light

We’re at the winter solstice, the beginning or middle of winter. It’s hard to fathom a day in the year that has had more impact on human behaviors over millennia. We, in the Northern Hemisphere, will experience it for an instant around 11:38 PM tonight and those in the Southern will have to wait 6 months. Today brings the winter tipping point for day length, that is, tomorrow’s day will begin to be longer and nights will become shorter. Day length was the metric for our earliest forms of calendaring. If early man did not have enough food stored by now, famine was a likely threat in the months of March-April. Although time is continuous, we are anthropologically moved by seasons and milestones. (It even shows up in some of end-of-budget yearly behaviors.)
But today is an important transition moment for a different reason. The US Federal Communications Commission is set to rule on something called net neutrality. What it intends to do is prevent cable internet providers from blocking access to specific sites and applications, particularly competing ones. It is an effort to level the competitive playing field and tame the predatory instincts that ensue when control and constraints are abused for gain. Many years ago this war was fought over electric power transmission and distribution and it revolutionized the way electric utilities planned, operated, and thrived or died. It drove more competitive behaviors and increased customer choices. This issue is not a simple one since the risks and investments to develop these networks were borne by the providers under different rules and expectations. The line between investment, rewards, risk, and access moves often.
While this impending ruling speaks to access by cable, it does not speak to the wireless world, and we’re becoming more wireless every day. It’s estimated that handheld devices will dominate online transactions in the not too distant future. This also marks another milestone in our cyber-metamorphosis. This year, more advertising dollars went into internet advertising than to print. Much like the open access issues, the online world has made us all more competitive and consumers smarter.
The winter solstice brought dread to the unprepared and optimism to those for whom increasing daylight brought new opportunity. I suspect that net neutrality may bring both. As the year ends and the new one arrives, we wish for you a happy and safe holiday season and new light on many opportunities before you.