Three years ago, when it was clear that my job at an Internet startup wasn't going to lead to the type of career opportunities I once thought, I decided to go into business for myself.
While I didn't have a lot of examples of black women Internet entrepreneurs to model my career after, I knew creating my own company would enable me to do the work I love, on my terms, and create real value for my family, my community and myself.
The opportunities that I've been able to take advantage of have come about because I learned how to access and leverage the dynamic potential of the Internet.
At a time when many are still reeling from high national unemployment during the worst economic downturn this nation has seen since the Great Depression, the choice of Internet entrepreneurship may become a more viable business opportunity for many Americans, particularly, minorities and women. The extent to which those of us who seek this outlet will be successful however, depends, at least in part, on the outcome of the net neutrality debate that has for far too long consumed the FCC and prognosticators inside the Beltway.
Over the years, my customers and I have no doubt benefited from application of the Four Internet Freedoms -- the standard to which Internet infrastructure, content, application, and service providers have long since adhered. So much so, that these Four Freedoms define the Open Internet we all strive to preserve, and provide the basis for most of what the FCC has proposed as its new standard of net neutrality rules.
The FCC is also promoting new transparency requirements, which makes great sense if you consider that today, the simple fact of Internet interaction has given us more access to information than we previously thought possible. As such, it stands to reason that we, as businesses and consumers alike, should be fully informed about the practices of Internet service providers (ISPs) in managing the broadband networks upon which we all rely. After all, we depend on these networks to work for us, so it's only reasonable that we understand just how they're able to do that.
The Four Freedoms plus transparency are good things. But the thriving culture of the Internet -- the kind of culture that makes minority owned start ups like mine possible -- could be at risk if the FCC adds to these requirements an economic non-discrimination and anti-prioritization rule (a.k.a. the "Fifth Principle"). That is the case being made by 24 National Organizations who recently filed comments in the FCC's Open Internet and Broadband Practices docket.
I do not profess myself to be an expert, nor do I represent that I have fully mastered the complicated minutia of this debate. But it rings true, as the National Organizations profess, that my business expansion opportunities would be enhanced if the FCC did not take away my ability, as a new entrant, to enter into specialized arrangements with network providers whereby my customer-generating, culturally relevant content could receive priority treatment.
Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, GoToMeeting, BET, TVOne -- all of these outlets, mainstream and minority alike -- have benefited in some way from managed or prioritized services. If the FCC imposes its Fifth Principle, I could lose out on substantial business opportunities to grow, expand, and reach new markets. I just don't understand how or why that's fair. Why would the FCC do that in times such as these when our country's economic recovery depends on the success of small businesses and our ability to create jobs while providing consumers with affordable products?
I would never advocate opportunities for "big companies" to crush the little guy. I'm a small business owner, so that would be totally against my interest. But we must find a way to preserve the Open Internet and also expand future minority business opportunities.
Whether the FCC continues to focus on its rigid net neutrality proposal or whether Congress takes up Open Internet legislation again in the lame duck session is anyone's guess. But one thing remains clear -- too much is at stake to make a mistake. The fate of many businesses, our nation's economic viability, and our global competitiveness hangs in the balances if we get this wrong.