Perspective: SUPERCOMM Panel

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I've been asked to speak on a SUPERCOMM panel this Thursday, October 22, 2009, at 4:15 PM Central Time.

Overview details mention that bloggers, journalists and industry analysts will discuss all things broadband, including:




- The current state of broadband infrastructure and technology
- Key broadband industry developments and trends
- National broadband strategy
- Broadband service delivery
- The future of broadband service and infrastructure

A few other topics I'd like to see discussed include:

- FTTH / FTTx (fiber to the premise) as it corresponds to streaming media and the need for IPv6

- Network neutrality (love it, hate it, or want to marginalize it, net neutrality ties closely to the philosophy of an open network that has gained ground in other parts of the world)

- The consistent digital divide between urban and rural locations (keep an eye on this topic during the deployment of the $7.2 billion in loans and grants in the stimulus plan)

In addition, I'd been asked by the moderator, Patti Reali, to discuss my blogging approach and philosophy. As a heads-up for the audience, I'm the newest blogger in the group: while I'm an
early adopter in many areas, I'm one of those long-time holdouts on blogging for a variety of reasons (tools that limited my ability to blog effectively on multiple platforms, lack of an editor to grammar / reality check my work, etc).

I find that I may post "articles" or "mini articles" that might not have a home in any of the magazines I write for, but are still newsworthy from an analytical standpoint. I'm not really interested in micro-blogging or twitter since I can't see immediate value in 140 characters, unless it's to send a URL to a longer analytical piece.

I am very interested in applying the "on the record / off the record" and basic journalism mindset to the analysis I provide, though, so I also see a move to blogging as a way  to supplement prior articles that were required in a more timely "news" manner.

I'm still learning about blogging processes. For instance, as additional information reveals itself, one philosophical question I have is whether to go back and update the original blog post, or to apply a newspaper-like approach with an additional follow-up story.

Oh, and I think the FTC rule about bloggers revealing compensation for product reviews is a good thing . . .