Si a Internet: our answer to traditional media

Last Friday I organized a dinner in La Judería resturant in Sevilla and a lot of people from the Spanish Web and Blog community were present: Wicho from Microsiervos, Enrique Dans, Ismael El-Qudsi from Microsoft, Anil de Mello from Mobuzz, Ricardo Galli from Meneame, Julio Alonso from Weblogs SL, Eduardo Arcos, Arturo Paniagua, Manu Contreras, Carlos Martinez, Alexandra Guerrero, Carlos Mantero, Paloma Abad and Jaime Fernández from Hipertextual, Fernando Serer and Alejandro Carravedo from Blogestudio , and Jonan from Pixel y Dixel.

During the dinner I realized that most of the Spanish Internet was at the same table, that together we had something like 30 million uniques per day if you added all those sites and Fon. It was then I started thinking at how to turn to good use this great communication potential. While having a drink after dinner I talked with groups of bloggers asking them what we could do together. Ricardo Galli had a great idea for which he suggested the name “Si a Internet”, “Yes to the Internet”.

This initiative begins from noticing something which is probably already clear to most of the people who work or live on the Web: traditional media see the Internet as a threat to their business and power and frequently publish articles or TV programs and print talking that portrays the Internet as the wrong lifestyle choice. One day is about pedophiles, another one about terrorists on the internet, or whatever may make the average person feel uncomfortable with a new media that is undermining their cozy livelihood.

“Si a Internet” would be our answer: a button on the websites represented at the table and everyone else who likes this idea that will link to a website explaining how Internet is becoming the real source for critical thinking and not a safe haven for terrorists, drug addicts and pedophiles, as the Spanish press likes to argue ( same happens in many other countries).

I think it´s time that all key web sites adopt a common ethics code and endorse a common platform that would make the average citizen feel comfortable with the internet as its major source of news, communication and entertainment. This would of course require more self policing on the side of those who work on the internet including a fight against spamming and other sources of discomfort on the net.

In any case this is still only at the idea stage.