The Tyee has an extensive article on why net neutrality needs more attention in Canada. Quick save the internet!
Digg this story.

On January 17, Bryan Zandberg wrote an article on The Tyee about net neutrality and the lack of attention this issue is getting in Canada.

Quote: Canada Sleeps Through War to ‘Save the Internet’
Pitched battle in U.S. over ‘net neutrality’
Digital democracy at risk if telecoms get their way say opponents.

What’s Net Neutrality?
It’s the internet as we know and love. A data network that does not discrimate or allow degraded service for one group of people (or companies) over another. Meaning, downloading a video from YouTube is the same as downloading a video from CNN and the same as downloading it from my website. Same costs, same amount of time for you as a user–same costs and time for me, CNN and YouTube to upload the info. It’s neutral.

The controversy is that the telcos want to create tiered service. So maybe CNN pays the telecos a bunch of money to get preferred service but YouTube doesn’t. For you as a user, you can quickly download video from CNN but try my website or YouTube and churn, churn, churn.

There’s not a good reason for hierarchical service. There’s not a shortage of bandwidth. There’s just a shortage of ideas within telcos on how they can make more money.

My explanation is less sound than those in The Tyee.

Read the article here.

Or at least read these highlights:
Quote: ‘In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) redefined “broadband,” recasting it as an information, rather than a telecommunication, service.

‘ “It sounds like an innocuous change, but it isn’t,” explains Ben Scott, a spokesperson for net neutrality for Free Press, a media democracy NGO based in Washington, D.C. With the stroke of a pen, Scott says the decision undid the entire regulatory regime attached to telecom services, thrusting them into “a category that has virtually no regulations.”

…

‘Whereas previously telcos were legally obliged to deliver packets of bits and bytes blindly, as an information service that restriction was no longer in force. This opened the door for what Scott calls a “CEOs-go-to-Wall-Street” scenario: almost immediately, the major carriers began to toy with the idea of creating a two-tier Internet, replete with a fast-track for content creators willing to pay for preferential service, and a slow lane for everyone else.

…

‘Just like in the States, net neutrality in Canada hovers in a state of legal limbo; the threadbare language of the Telecommunications Act means that two-tier Internet is more than a distant possibility; it’s already here.

…

‘[Kevin] McArthur goes further. He says companies are in effect creating a problem so they can charge to fix it. “[Even] if everyone paid for a tier-one service, it would be THE EXACT SAME service we have today,” he wrote by e-mail. “Quality of service only works while someone else is getting screwed.”

‘”It’s an attempt to extract more rent out of your server,” [Michael]Geist summarizes, “even if it comes at the expense of both their users’ interests and the broader interest of the Internet as a whole.”‘

Absolutely fantastic!

The first three minutes of the 3-Day Novel Contest: The Series is available at YouTube and at BookTelevision.com.

Here are the links:
Watch it on YouTube

Watch it on BookTelevision.com

3-Day Novel Contest is an annual marathon to write a novel in 3 days. The winner gets a publishing contract. September 2007 is the 30th anniversary of the contest and as promo BookTelevision has created a mini series based on 12 writers from last year’s contest.

The 12 writers holed up in an Edmonton Chapters for 3 days, writing their novels, sleeping and eating, doing word challenges and competing against the clock.

This is reality TV with enough of tongue-in-cheek to work for me. BookTV is really hitting the right notes with this promo. It’s from a trusted source (I was sent an email from a friend, and I like BookTV), it’s a message tailored to my interests, and it’s funny enough that I want to pass it on–so it’s viral. Those are the top 3 requirements for this type of online campaign to work. I’m a fan. Good work.

Here’s the plug for the TV series (although I hope they continue to release teasers before the show airs and then post the entire segment after):

The 3-Day Novel Contest – The Series airs on:

BookTelevision
Sundays starting February 4th @ 9:30pm ET / 7:30pm MT

Access
Tuesdays starting February 6th @ 8:00pm MT

CLT
Wednesdays starting February 7th @ 9:00pm ET / 7:00pm MT

Quill & Quire is the book industry trade magazine. They’ve had a blog-like page for a long time, but now there’s RSS, searchable archives, a new design, and it’s all run on WordPress.

I’m subscriber #3 according to Bloglines.

Quill & Quire Blog link.

Quill & Quire is Canada’s magazine of book news and reviews. And, they’ve just launched a new Flickr group for photos of
Canadian authors and book events. Images submitted to part of the group may also be posted on the Quill blog or printed in their magazine (rights cleared I’m sure).

If you’re keen on joining or viewing the photos here’s the link to the group:
www.flickr.com/groups/20543830@N00

HarperCollins Canada has an immediate opening for a Digital Marketing Manager. I’ve met Steve Osgoode several times and have admired the Harper Collins’ online program from afar. If you’re in Toronto or want to be, and you have experience in books and online marketing, apply now. Details below.

As Digital Marketing Manager, the successful applicant will be responsible for:

Responsibilities:

– Develop digital marketing plans for select Canadian, US and UK titles
– Manage online advertising campaigns for titles and authors
– Co-ordinate the development and production of new website builds for key brands, authors and series, and market these sites to build traffic and loyalty
– Working with the marketing associates, schedule content and features for harpercollins.ca and other corporate sites
– Supported by the IT department, ensure data and images are provided to online retail partners and other third-party sites
– Develop strategies to further increase traffic to all of HarperCollins Canada’s corporate websites
– Strengthen existing relationships with online reviewers/editors, service providers, and other partners, and actively build new partnerships to open fresh opportunities
– Monitor and analyse all website metrics and provide regular reporting to specific departments as well as the company at large
– Review, evaluate and provide recommendations for online campaign activities and reports to understand successes and develop future plans

Relevant Skills

– At least 3-4 years marketing experience
– Demonstrated acumen in developing online initiatives and websites
– Highly self-motivated, with a strong creative bent, and excellent copywriting skills
– Knowledge of HTML (and/or ability to use a web-editing program) as well as web analytic software
– Confidence and adaptability in using new content management tools and database systems
– Good communications skills, and ability to work well in a collaborative environment
– Must be detail-oriented, well-organized and able to set priorities and meet deadlines under pressure

If you are looking for an exciting and challenging opportunity please email a cover letter and resume to dianne.aquilina at harpercollins dot com.

Please be advised that we can only contact those who are selected for an interview.

Deadline for submissions is January 26, 2007.

Congratulations, here’s an example post.

Here’s unbold.

At 3:15 today, James and I had just returned home. The wind was gushing and the trees were being whipped around. I decided to film the wind because it was so intense, howling and twisting the trees about. Just as I finished the first clip I turned around to film up the street and a huge tree on the corner of First Ave. and Maple came crashing down. I just missed catching it on film. One crack, no other sound, and then it was covering the entire intersection. The tree just missed a car parked behind the stop sign, and just missed a woman who was crossing the intersection.

My guess is the tree is 60-70 ft but I’m never very good at these things. The building is a three-story apartment and the trees are taller than the building.

The wind is still howling.

Here’s 5 photos. I’ll post the video soon.

UPDATE: This story is NowPublic (photos and video).

UPDATE 2: Here’s my YouTube video of the wind storm and tree knocked down in Kitsilano (post-fall).