There is a long standing practice on the Internet called "net neutrality" which specifies that all participants on the internet travel on the same virtual highways at the same speed regardless of their ability to pay. This doesn't mean that companies can't pay for super fast servers or high-speed access but it means that the speed that data is routed over the internet infrastructure itself is based on available bandwidth, not the ability to pay.
There are some who feel that this principle should change and are arguing that companies should have the right to pay extra for higher speed traffic. It would be tantamount to a diamond lane on the freeway or a private toll lane on the internet.
While opponents of net neutrality argue that special lanes are desirable to encourage advanced services, there is a growing coalition of industry and consumer groups who feel that maintaining neutrality is essential for there to be a level playing field and freedom to innovate. Craig Newmark, founder of Craiglist.com, is a spokesperson for the cause of net neutrality.
Craig Newmark is the founder and now a customer-service representative of Craig's List. In 1995, he was sending his friends in San Francisco e-mail messages with lists of local events. With their encouragement, this became Craig's List, which has now expanded to Boston, Seattle, New York and 19 other regions. Nine years later, Craig's List now gets 500 million page views and 4 million unique visitors every month. The staff numbers 14, and the site runs on about 30 Linux boxes. Craig says his success is based on "a culture of trust." When I asked about his business model, he just laughed.
A self-described nerd, Craig has become somewhat of an international celebrity. He has been asked by San Francisco mayor-elect Gavin Newsom to join the mayor's transition team. "In San Francisco City, people have given up because they seem to feel that their leadership has told them that it doesn't matter if they're doing a good job. It doesn't matter that much if they get things done." Craig's mission -- should he decide to accept it -- is to recommend how the use of computer systems and the Internet can better serve the public. "So far, it looks pretty good," he says.
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