John Palfrey

The FCC is getting serious about being involved in Internet
regulation.  One modest indication: a part of their site is now
devoted to the History of the Internet (thanks to Scott Bradner for the pointer).

Perhaps the most clever writer I know is Matt Wood, who is contributing to the new Safer Together ‘04 weblog. 

The public is invited to comment on the proposed budget
for ICANN for 2004 - ‘05.  The new budget proposes a substantial
increase in funding as compared to the current year. 

I’m particularly
interested in the $2.45 MM for “providing a forum for the bottom-up
development of policy to ensure continuous improvement in the DNS” and
the $2.55 MM for “ensuring, on a global basis, an opportunity for
participation in the ICANN process by all interested parties” (p. 7 of
the proposed budget).  Both of these are noble undertakings. 
The trick will be to establish metrics to ensure that this $5 MM is
well-spent and that ICANN makes progress in these important areas using
the increased funds.

A great deal of the increase in the budget from the current year to the
coming year maps to an increase in budgeted staff from 38 to 59.  The
proposed budget notes that some of the increased funding will go
toward: “General Manager of Public Participation: This position is
mandated by Article III, Section 3 of the new ICANN Bylaws. As stated
in the ICANN Blueprint for Reform, this position is ‘…responsible for
developing mechanisms to encourage full public participation in ICANN,
and to facilitate the receipt and analysis of all public comments
received on a given proposed action by the ICANN Board. This position
would also be responsible for the design and content of other relevant
outreach activities, including the ICANN website, public forums and
mailing lists, and other options for public comment and participation.’”

In cased you missed it, Gator, under its new name of Claria, has filed with the SEC to go public.

Sarah Brown of BBC Online writes today about Iraqi bloggers.  She includes a wonderful pull-quote from a blogger named Nabil: “I always wait for the electricity to work to get on the internet… because I think it’s the only thing which makes me feel I am living my life.”  An important reminder that it’s awfully hard to blog in the dark — and about the darkness, for that matter.

Dean Kamen noted during his IDEAS Boston talk today that Boston is one of the only major cities in the United States not to have a regional competition as part of FIRST, a cool program which encourages young women and minorities to get involved in science and technology.

Today and tomorrow, the Boston Globe is hosting quite a cool conference: IDEAS Boston.  The best way to follow it, perhaps needless to say, is through the weblog.  Berkman fellow David Weinberger and Scott Kirsner are official bloggers on respective days.  So far, I’ve been struck by the 1) global focus of the speakers (Gloria White-Hammond devoted her talk to the Sudan crisis) and 2) less surprising, the dominance of the health-related sciences.