Ethos News
Ethos Masters of the Muni-Verse Challenge Contest
Ethos Wireless Masters of the Muni-Verse Challenge
The Ethos Group announces our first Masters of the Muni-Verse Challenge, a contest to identify and share the best free online resources available on municipal and community broadband with fabulous prizes.
Send us your recommendations for the best freely available municipal broadband resources by filling out our online entry form. We'll choose the top 100 and make them available to everyone -- Select Muni-Verse Master entrants will win fame, glory, travel funding, and chocolate. Your suggestions will help shape The Ethos Group's upcoming Municipal Broadband Online Resource Center and Toolkit. Contest entries must be received by April 23th, 2007 -- so take a break from taxes and for a chance to win some chocolate and travel!
Selected Masters of the Muni-Verse Receive
:
1st Prize. Complimentary registration and $500 travel stipend for the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks May 18-20, 2007 at Loyola College in Columbia, Maryland (www.WirelessSummit.org) and a half-pound box of fair trade organic hand-made chocolates delivered to your door from Lucky Chocolate.
2nd Prize. Complimentary registration and $250 travel stipend for the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks May 18-20, 2007 at Loyola College in Columbia, Maryland (www.WirelessSummit.org) and a half-pound box of fair trade organic hand-made chocolates delivered to your door from www.luckychocolates.com.
3rd Prize. A half-pound box of fair trade organic hand-made chocolates delivered to your door from www.luckychocolates.com.
What is a “resource”? Resources are broadly defined and open to your interpretation but may include: articles, blog posts, educational materials, organizing tools, municipal documents such as task force report, original research, white papers, presentations, maps, graphs, analysis tools, websites, critiques, or even other resource lists.
What topics are the Ethos Group looking for? Ethos is looking for useful tools for community organizers, decision-makers, implementers, and residents and may span (but are not limited to) topics such as: case studies, business models, technical information and comparisons, digital inclusion initiatives, rural connectivity, public health and safety, disaster response, policies and governance, do-it-yourself networking, as well as more general information on broadband and how it works.
How do I win? Ethos Group staff will select the winners from among completed entry forms. The more resources that you share with us, the higher your chance to win.
More contest details, rules, and fine print can be found here.
Coming Soon! The Municipal Broadband Online Resource Center and Toolkit
Most people charge for this information; why are you planning to give it away?
Not every municipality can afford a consultant to hold their hand through the process of figuring out what the best communication options are for their community. Those who hire us, or another consulting firm for that matter, will get more value for the money if they understand the basics.
How Can I Get Involved?
We invite you to nominate resources that can enlighten the public on any aspect of Municipal Broadband for our Masters of the Muni-Verse Challenge. You'll be entered into a drawing to to win a trip to the International Community Wireless Summit May 18th-20th, complimentary registration to the conference, and a box of fair trade organic chocolate.
If you would like to contribute to this project as a writer or editor, please contact us.
Save The Internet coalition.
A national coaltion of public interest groups from across the political spectrum recently launched to protect Network Neutrality. The four SavetheInternet.com Coalition Statement of Principles are:
- We believe that the Internet is a crucial engine for economic growth and democratic discourse. We urge Congress to take steps now to preserve network neutrality, a guiding principle of the Internet, and to ensure that the Internet remains open to innovation and progress.
- Network neutrality is the Internet's First Amendment. Without it, the Internet is at risk of losing the openness and accessibility that has revolutionized democratic participation, economic innovation and free speech.
- From its beginnings, the Internet was built on a cooperative, democratic ideal. It has leveled the playing field for all comers. Everyday people can have their voices heard by thousands, even millions of people. Network neutrality has prevented gatekeepers from blocking or discriminating against new economic, political and social ideas.
- The major telecommunications legislation now under consideration in Congress must include meaningful and enforceable network neutrality requirements to keep the Internet free and open to all.
