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Thank you for coming to F2C: Freedom to Connect 2012! #f2c

[Page last revised 29May12] . . . See you next year, I hope!

Videos of all the presentations (and some slides and transcripts) are available here.

Grateful thanks to all who helped make F2C2012 a success.

Register now. All discounts and promotional codes expire COB Friday, May 11. Door price, effective Saturday, May 12 through Tuesday, May 22, is $595.

[8May12 Musicians in Residence this year will be (Day 1) Cathy Fink and Marcy Marcy Marxer, with a special guest appearance by beat-boxer Christylez and (Day 2) Cathy Fink and Rickie Simkins, with a special guest appearance by multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven. More below.]

[8May12 Author Barry C. Lynn has been added to agenda for a keynote on dangers of business consolidation.]

[8May12: One report of reservation desk cluelessness at Crowne Plaza 800 number. I will investigate. 30April12: The Crowne Plaza Silver Spring has just sprung for a pretty good F2C rate of $141.25 after taxes. It is about two blocks from the F2C: Freedom to Connect venue. Call 301-589-5200 and ask for the Freedom to Connect rate. As far as I know, it doesn't expire. If you have questions or concerns, contact the hotel's guest services rep, Aloysious Phillips, at 301-589-5200.]

F2C: Freedom to Connect will be held on May 21 and 22, 2012 at AFI Silver Theatre. Registration is open. Admission is $395 until May 7, when it rises to $595, so register as soon as you can.

[4Apr12: Two conferences with themes common to F2C: Freedom to Connect are linked in the sidebar. The SHLB coalition conference follows F2C immediately. Human Rights & Technology is two weeks after F2C. Go to both!]

The Agenda is now quite stable.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Vint Cerf, Michael Copps, Susan Crawford, Cory Doctorow (via telecon), Benoît Felten, Lawrence Lessig, Barry C. Lynn, Rebecca MacKinnon, Eben Moglen, Mike Marcus and Aaron Swartz.

Panels include:

  • Big Enough to Succeed
  • BTOP, Gig-U and other big pipe experiments
  • Freedom & Connectivity from Alexandria, Egypt to Zuccotti Park
  • Internet Freedom is Local
  • The Fight for Community Broadband

There are a couple of TBDs in the program pending confirmation by invited speakers. Watch this space for further details.

Sponsors needed. Interns & volunteers needed. Press passes available to working press with direct interest in telecom/Internet issues. Contact David S. Isenberg — isen@isen.com

About F2C: Freedom to Connect

F2C: Freedom to Connect is a conference devoted to preserving and celebrating the essential properties of the Internet. The Internet is a success today because it is stupid, abundant and simple. In other words, its neutrality, its openness to rapidly developing technologies and its layered architecture are the reasons it has succeeded where others (e.g., ISDN, Interactive TV) failed.

The Internet’s issues are under-represented in Washington DC policy circles. F2C: Freedom to Connect is designed to advocate for innovation, for creativity, for expression, for little-d democracy. The Freedom to Connect is about an Internet that supports human freedoms and personal security. These values, held by many of us whose consciousness has been shaped by the Internet, are not common on K Street or Capitol Hill or at the FCC.

F2C: Freedom to Connect is about having access to the Internet as infrastructure. Infratructures belong to — and enrich — the whole society in which they exist. They gain value — in a wide variety of ways, some of which are difficult to anticipate — when more members of society have access to them. F2C: Freedom to Connect especially honors those who build communications infrastructure for the Internet in their own communities, often overcoming resistance from incumbent cable and telephone companies to do so.

The phrase Freedom to Connect is now official US foreign policy, thanks to Secretary of State Clinton’s Remarks on Internet Freedom in 2010. She said that Freedom to Connect is, “the idea that governments should not prevent people from connecting to the internet, to websites, or to each other. The freedom to connect is like the freedom of assembly, only in cyberspace.” Her speech presaged the Internet-fueled assemblies from Alexandria, Egypt to Zuccotti Park.

F2C Musicians in Residence for 2012

This year, F2C: Freedom to Connect Musicians in Residence are Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (Day 1) and Cathy Fink and Rickie Simkins (Day 2). There will also be guest appearances on Day 1 by beat-boxer Christylez (Chris Styles) and on Day 2 by Joe Craven. Folk Legend Tom Paxton writes, “Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are at home in a dozen styles. On this album they swing you, jazz you, bluegrass you and old-timey you till you just give up and bliss out. Their complete command of so many styles is astonishing and their choice of material is exquisite.” Up-and-coming beat-boxer Christylez will contribute his own take on Internet technology. On Day 2 Cathy will be joined by Rickie Simkins, who has played fiddle and mandolin with the best, including Tony Rice, Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. The astounding Joe Craven (F2C2006), formerly a regular in the Jerry Garcia, David Grisman acoustic band, will join Cathy & Rickie later in the day.

Register now. All discounts expire on Friday, May 11. Door price, effective Saturday, May 12 through Tuesday, May 22, will be $595.

Prior Years:

The theme of F2C: Freedom to Connect 2009 was “The Emerging Internet Economy.” All eyes are on the economy. The Obama Administration has declared the Internet a keystone. Columnist Tom Friedman was our keynote speaker.

The theme of F2C: Freedom to Connect 2008 was “The Netheads Come to Washington.” Open fiber projects in Amsterdam, Tokyo, Louisiana and Vermont were presented. Netroots US Representative Donna Edwards and security expert Bruce Schneier spoke. In addition, F2C devoted half a day to “Making the Internet Carbon-Negative.”

The theme of F2C: Freedom to Connect 2007 was “The Wealth of Networks” featuring Yochai Benkler. Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced Vermont’s e-state initiative, and FCC Commissioner Adelstein spoke and played the harmonica.

The theme of F2C: Freedom to Connect 2006 was “The Network Neutrality Battle.” James Q. Crowe was the keynote speaker, FCC Commissioner Copps made an appearance, and Representative Rick Boucher gave a frank insider’s view of the politics of the unsuccessful telecom bill of 2006.

The theme of F2C: Freedom to Connect 2005 was “The Future of Communications.” Vint Cerf was the keynote speaker.

Musicians in Residence

Music is perhaps the oldest form of communications technology and an integral part of F2C: Freedom to Connect. Past F2C musicians include:

  • 2009: John Jorgenson Quintet
  • 2008: Howard Levy and Chris Siebold of Acoustic Express
  • 2007: Howard Levy, founding member of The Flecktones and a regular on Prairie Home Companion
  • 2006: Joe Craven, the “utility infielder” of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman’s acoustic band
  • 2005: Andy Stein, a regular on Prairie Home Companion, founding member of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen

Permanent link to this article: http://freedom-to-connect.net/2012/